Ken onion work sharp uneven bevel

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nlewman

Joined
Dec 26, 2015
Messages
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Hey yall. I saw this come up before I got my work sharp, but I couldn't find the right thread again. So I have even sharpening a bunch of my knives with my work sharp, and I'm having a hard time making the bevel even on both sides. I took off the angle guide, but it's almost like the belt is off angle, or it is bending differently to convex with a larger radius on one side. The angle guide just got in the way for me. Also, I'm having a hard time getting the edge shaving sharp.. I can slice paper very well, but I cannot shave. Can't figure this out. Any tips to even out that bevel and to get it sharp? I have been doing maybe 10 passes on each side with the belt progression after forming a burr on the coursest belt. Sorry if this post is kind of hairbrained, I've be be very busy but meaning to post. Let me know if I'm missjng something.

Thanks,
Nathan
 
nlewman said:
Hey yall. I saw this come up before I got my work sharp, but I couldn't find the right thread again. So I have even sharpening a bunch of my knives with my work sharp, and I'm having a hard time making the bevel even on both sides. I took off the angle guide, but it's almost like the belt is off angle, or it is bending differently to convex with a larger radius on one side. The angle guide just got in the way for me. Also, I'm having a hard time getting the edge shaving sharp.. I can slice paper very well, but I cannot shave. Can't figure this out. Any tips to even out that bevel and to get it sharp? I have been doing maybe 10 passes on each side with the belt progression after forming a burr on the coursest belt. Sorry if this post is kind of hairbrained, I've be be very busy but meaning to post. Let me know if I'm missjng something.

Thanks,
Nathan
Click to expand...

If you took the guide off, are you still using both sides? If so, try just using one side. As for the lack of shaving sharp, too much pressure is what I'm thinking off the top of my head.

bgentry has a video demonstrating using it without the guide...

[video=youtube;ApyDcJzKBgk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApyDcJzKBgk[/video]
 
Forgot to specifiy, I'm treating it like a sharp maker. Using both sides, alternating.. Keeping the blade vertical.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
 
Keeping the blade vertical on the sharpmaker is one thing, you know what angle you are sharpening at. On the Ken Onion I actually have no idea what the belt angle is, it may or may not be a good angle for your blade. I have the ken onion but don't actually like it very much. On the other hand I love the blade grinding attachment. It's more or less a free hand system but you set the belt angle to the angle you actually want.
 
nlewman said:
Forgot to specifiy, I'm treating it like a sharp maker. Using both sides, alternating.. Keeping the blade vertical.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Without the guide, consider using just one side (like in the video).
 
The best way I've found to keep the bevels consistent on both sides is to sharpen freehand but use sharpie---ideally with each belt in your progression. If you want to "cheat" a little, at least use the sharpie on the first couple of belts. Once you get your bevels established with the coarser belts, the subsequent belts will tend to follow the same path and it's not quite as crucial to have the sharpie applied.

As for not getting maximum sharpness, it sounds like you are already sharpening on one side till you get a burr along the full length of the blade? It helps to have a cork or soft wood handy, and maybe a strop as well, to de-burr before moving on to the next belt. Instead of passes, I like to lightly move the blade back and forth a few times---being careful not to let the heat build up---as this makes it easier for me to maintain the same angle. In other words, a bit like the "scrubbing" method with a stone or Sharpmaker.

I also keep a big stack of phone book paper next to my set-up, for easy testing of the edge as I go through the belt progression. If you've done a good job apexing the edge with the first (coarse) belt, and then de-burr it well, it should slice phone book paper pretty cleanly even with the initial toothy edge.

Andrew
 
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Possibly related to one side leading, one side trailing (the direction of the belt in relation to the edge).
 
I'm relatively certain that the WSKO's belt "leans forward" so the angle from vertical is different on the front side versus the back side. Using one side only will let you put the same angle on both sides of the blade. Of course, doing it freehand, you can set nearly any angle you want this way.

Brian.
 
I believe somebody from Darex said (here) that the two sides are the same angle- the appearance that it's off-center is an optical illusion. I think he said it's 17.5 degrees.

I sharpen with it like it's a Sharpmaker with good results. I think you may be pressing too hard. I use a very light touch. Maybe see if you get better results with light pressure.
Dave
 
wvdavidr said:
I believe somebody from Darex said (here) that the two sides are the same angle- the appearance that it's off-center is an optical illusion. I think he said it's 17.5 degrees.
Click to expand...

Yup...

668e6f3ad90461d06fa5353fd134128e_zpsjqttxhqq.jpg


wvdavidr said:
I think you may be pressing too hard. I use a very light touch. Maybe see if you get better results with light pressure.
Dave
Click to expand...

I think so too.
 
Just get the blade grinding attachment and call it a day

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
 
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