I'm impressed... Ken Onion Worksharp.

S

stitchawl

Joined
Jul 26, 2008
Messages
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Having not bought any new sharpeners for several years being quite satisfied with the results from EdgePro Apex, DMT Aligner (diamond stones,) GATCO sharpener (diamond stones,) and all the Japanese waterstones, western-made synthetic stones, strops and compound I've amassed over the years, I decided it was time to splurge on a new, un-needed toy...
I bought the Ken Onion Worksharp sharpener from Amazon, two sets of replacement belts, and few blank leather belts.

Breaking with long-standing tradition, I read the manual. I even watched a few YouTube videos. Then I broke out all my kitchen knives and went to work. German and French made 'French Chef's' knives from 6" to 10", Japanese Santoku and Sujihiki, a handful of 4"-5" paring knives we've picked up along the way, etc. All of these are good to excellent working knives that I've been sharpening over the years, and satisfied with the edges I've been getting. Just not satisfied with the 'time' it takes to properly sharpen them all. Normally, I'd spend a long Sunday afternoon working on them. Yesterday I spent two hours.

I have to say, I'm impressed. I'm impressed with the time saved, of course. But I'm more than impressed with the resulting edges and the ease of getting them. I re-profiled every knife (which took no time at all,) just to be certain of the angles (most to 20°, a few to 17½°) then took them through all the belts. Perfect looking edges. Perfect cutting edges. I'm impressed with the ease and results of the Ken Onion Sharpener for sharpening kitchen knives. It's almost idiot-proof, easy right out of the box, and delivers.

So I decided to sharpen my EDC, a Benchmade axis-lock 710. Every bit as easy, every bit as good as I can get them on Japanese waterstones. I used the leather strop belts with 1mic, 0.5mic, and 0.25mic to finish it up. Just two-three passes with each belt. This knife is sharp. Really, really sharp. If you would like a nice sharpener that delivers what it promises, this is one to consider.


Stitchawl
 
So, is this the original unit or did you also grab the blade grinding attachment? I have been curious about these for awhile.
I think this would be a time saver for my friends abused knives.

Russ
 
I've been using my KOWS on all my users (which is everything) for months now and love it. I did not get the blade grinding attachment, just a pkg of extra belts. Spend less that an hour on Sat afternoon while the wife cleans the house and everything in the kitchen is GTG for another week. Now that we have sharp knives in the kitchen she's the one who's telling me they need to be sharpened, guess the Mrs.has gotten spoiled.
My buddy saw how easy it was and bought the basic WS model but after using his, I like the KO model better, more angles are possible with the dial indicator and no slip over the belts angle guide is needed.

I wish I could just leave it on the counter top but I just put the belts in a cigar box and the WS and box in a small Homer tool bag. So far this year it's my favorite tool purchase. Sure I'd love to have one of those $500 sharpening thingamajigs but for what I want to do this is the cats ass.
 
This is the out of the box Ken Onion Edition WorkSharp. I didn't buy any accessories for it other than waaaaay too many replacement belt sets (3) and leather stropping belts (I bought 6 of these leather belts to experiment with different compounds.) I'm not making knives any longer so didn't feel the need for the grinding attachment. When I first took it out of the box, I grabbed an old unnamed camp knife that wouldn't cut butter to learn on. This had nicks and chips, and a clearly visible platform instead of an edge. 30-45 minutes later it was a nice looking, very sharp knife with a smooth, even bevel. Still a piece of crap, but now it looked like a nice knife and could push-cut copy paper. I wouldn't want to make a knife using 'stock removal,' using this. A 3/4" wide belt would just take too long. I wouldn't want to sharpen a Kris on it either. But for almost any other knife sharpening needs, this tool can do the job.


Stitchawl
 
stitchawl said:
But for almost any other knife sharpening needs, this tool can do the job.
Stitchawl
Click to expand...

Have not tried one but curious: How much convexity does the KOWS introduce to your edge? Is it possible to get a "near" v-beveled edge given you're using a belt?
 
if you have the blade grinding attachment you can get a very flat edge, but it will still be a little convex.
 
maximus83 said:
Have not tried one but curious: How much convexity does the KOWS introduce to your edge? Is it possible to get a "near" v-beveled edge given you're using a belt?
Click to expand...

Is it possible to be 'a little pregnant?'
Convex is convex, flat is flat. Sure, the more pressure you apply to the blade pressing into the belt is going to affect the curve, but even just the weight of the knife is sufficient to create a convex rather than flat grind.


Stitchawl
 
Eh. Flat on a stone really isn't flat either. Unless you are using a fixture or a jig. "Flat" on a stone is still some mixture of convex and concave. My WSKO sharpened blades work just fine and they don't require any special handling if you want to put them on a stone to touch them up or maintain them.

I've been saying for years that this whole phobia of "convex on a belt sander" isn't all that important. The effect is there, but I think it makes almost no difference whatsoever.

No offense intended to my learned forum-mates here. I respect many of you, including Stichawl.

Brian.
 
Yea I know what you mean. When I got the WSKO I had the same reaction as you. I have been spending so much time using stones and fixed systems I was hooked on the ease and speed it took to get a fantastic edge in something. I got the blade grinder atachment and it’s even better.

I still use my other stuff but I use the belt a lot on people’s user knives. No reason to spend a ton of time on edges for people that are going to turn around and beat the hell out of them. I get a very keen polished edge in minutes.
 
All my edges are convex, and i am sure very few people that free hand have a calibrated elbow that allows them to achieve a V grind. I am starting to believe this could be quite a value system.
That is what this thread is about, a trusted member giving thumbs up to a product. Thanks Stitchawl.

Russ
 
I had the original Work Sharp and graduated to the WSKO when it first came out. I also have the blade grinder attachment but am probably in the minority as I much prefer the standard machine for most sharpening. I don't use the angle guide but rather freehand, with sharpie on the edge when setting an initial bevel. I also prefer the extra stiff belts as they provide more control. I do touchups/maintenance on a Sharpmaker and a denim-on-wood strop with compound.

I have no freehand skills with stones, and I've bought and then sold the Edge Pro, Wicked Edge, and KME. I always come back to the WSKO. It's just a fabulous tool IMO---great, even hair whittling edges, in a reasonable amount of time.

(In the interest of full disclosure let me add that 5 years ago, when the KO model was being developed, I was one of the lucky guys who got to test the prototype. I received some free equipment as a thank you.)

Andrew
 
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Well, after much thought, I may blow up my cabelas gift certificate on one of these today. I sharpen many knives for free, some of which are abused and lower quality. This seems like a nice way to save some time.
Several respected members, including stitchawl, have had good luck, think I will give it a whirl.
The blade grinder attachment is not in stock at the southern maine cabelas, so the basic ken onion unit will be my starting point.
Wish me luck...


Russ
 
I essentially bought the WSKO because I was getting so many ridiculously blunt knives from people that wanted them sharp. A few weeks ago, I was asked to sharpen 5 kitchen knives that have been in use for 20 years. Having never been sharpened once since they were brand new!

Back in the bad ole' days, when I was getting started, I only had the P120 belt (as my most coarse) and never ran the speed past about half way. I think it has 13 clicks and I used to work on click 6 or 7 most of the time.

Fast forward a bit and I bought the stiff X200, X100, X22, and X5 belts. The X200 takes off metal quite a bit faster than the old original P120. I also bought a 60 grit ceramic belt. This one is very coarse and I only use it on blades that are crazy blunt, or have big chips that require me to completely flatten the edge before I start. Essentially having to cut in a new edge bevel on both sides, as if I was the knife maker.

I've also started running the machine up to and including full speed. This helps a lot with speed. Previously I might spend 20 full minutes on a damaged blade taking it from butter dull to fairly nicely polished (X4 or X5 as a finisher). Now I find that finishing with a sharpmaker (or a stone if you'd like) is quite beneficial because it tends to cut the burr residuals off quite quickly. Without a buffing wheel or something similar, I think it's hard to fully remove the burr with a belt sander, when you've created a large burr with that belt sander. There are probably techniques to help with this that I'm not aware of. I just know that stroking a freshly sharpened WSKO blade on the sharp maker tends to yield large swaths of nasty burr material falling off of both sides. ...and a very sharp blade to boot.

That last set of knives (that I talked about above) took around 5 to 10 minutes each. No where near "commercial production speed", but fast enough to not feel worn out when I was done.

Good luck!

Brian.
 
Thanks Brian, are these stiff belts after factory? Gonna be 80 degrees here today, heading to southern maine to see about a new hip, fun, fun.....

Russ
 
Russ, I'm not Brian but I can point you in the right direction. I'm not sure if Darex (Work Sharp) is a BF supporting dealer so instead of posting a link, I'll just say go to the Work Sharp website and look for the Ken Onion Edition - Low-Flex Abrasive Belt Kit.

Let us know how you like your WSKO.

Andrew
 
Russ,

I bought all of my belts from WorkSharp (Darex corporation). At one time I had a print out of a chart that was posted here in this forum showing probably 30 to 40 different belt options. I think the belts cost something like $2 to $4 each.

I called WorkSharp and talked to them, reading them part numbers and descriptions and built myself a little order of belts; I think I spent about $40 doing it, but it's been 5 years, so I'm not sure.

Now on their web site they have a chart, but it's much, much smaller and doesn't seem to offer individual belts at all. Unless you buy a bulk pack of a single type of belt, which I don't think I would. If you call them, they may still have the individual belts for sale.

That being said, the "low flex kit" that Andrew referenced is probably a great kit to have. I often wish I had an X65 belt for making really tooth edges for things like filet knives, where you really want the blade to bite into slick fish skin.

I hope you got good news about the hip. Good luck with your health and your hobbies!

Brian.
 
mycough said:
So, is this the original unit or did you also grab the blade grinding attachment? I have been curious about these for awhile.
I think this would be a time saver for my friends abused knives.

Russ
Click to expand...
I use the ken onion with the blade grinder attachment on kitchen knives and it's great, I don't think much of it without the blade grinder attachment, way to easy to scratch the blades.
 
By coincidence, I bought one yesterday. Used it on my very dull Horseman and I too am very impressed with how well it worked on a chisel edge. I usually just use a sharp maker but this time with the Worksharp, it was a real time saver.
 
I've had a KOWS since XMAS and I am I feel like it's more difficult to use properly than you would first think. Example: Lots of belt changing required. Also, be sure to stop the belt when the knife tip is still on the belt. Other than that it's ok for me. Not a miracle cure for the inept knife sharpener though!!
 
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