Ken Onion Worksharp Opinions

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Shann

Joined
Sep 2, 2004
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I was looking at these online, including the blade grinder attachment. Would this work well for a dubber like me who is just mainly looking to sharpen a bunch of knives nothing high end. I wouldn't mind giving a try at making a knife but more for just a hobby thing.

I've got a couple different stones and a Spyderco Sharpmaker but I'd like something powered to give a try.

It seems to be a bit expensive, but pretty easy to learn how to use. I've got a couple hundred dollars from the end of the year burning a hole in my pocket. The bigger "true" belt sanders seem a lot more expensive and the cheap ones like from Harbor Freight seem to run way to fast for a beginner.
 
I adore my WSKO with blade grinder attachment! I use to not use knives after I got them sharp because of the time it took by hand. It really increased my love of using knives. Just following the directions and watch the dvd. If you read about it rounding tips it's due to user error.
 
Thanks. I have read about rounding the tips but it did seem to be because of not doing something right. I'll be sure to use old kitchen knives for the first few usees.
 
it makes all your blades convex, so if your good with that then it works but also there are many quirks that you have to overcome by practicing. you can recurve your blades and round off the tips and even uneven bevels. it will also most likely scratch the blades up too.

I haven't tried the blade grinder attachment though. which i assume also has hurdles to overcome.
 
I've got one but the only use it gets is leather stropping on the grinder attachment.
I'd still rather use my Edge Pro most of the time just for the accuracy.
It's a nice little unit and useful for a lot of things but I'll probably put it on the exchange eventually.
 
Have one, hate it. Not precise, even with tape you risk scratching the blade, running cost of belts. I'd go guided system with diamonds every day of the weak. And when the Worksharp is precise enough than you might as well freehand.
 
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After a little practice, I’ve had really good luck with mine. I have yet to get the BGA, but I think I will pick one up soon. Standard setup (with practice) gives me razor edges in a fraction of the time, with every knife I carry. As mentioned, be extremely careful and watch the tutorials.
 
SV-97 said:
Have one, hate it. Not precise, even with tape you risk scratching the blade, running cost of belts. I'd go guided system with diamonds every day of the weak. And when the Worksharp is precise enough than you might as well freehand.
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Thanks for your input. I see that you are a knifemaker so your standards are higher than mine; I wouldn't mind a few scratches on most of what I do.

Do the guided systems work well with large blades? I have a number of kukris and machetes. What guided systems do you like?
 
Shann said:
Thanks for your input. I see that you are a knifemaker so your standards are higher than mine; I wouldn't mind a few scratches on most of what I do.

Do the guided systems work well with large blades? I have a number of kukris and machetes. What guided systems do you like?
Click to expand...
I'm no knife maker ;)
Wicked edge, biggest I've done was a Tops tahoma field knife, was pretty easy
 
I bought the KO Worksharp tried it several times. Definitely did not like it. Gave it away.

Paul
 
Mine is used primarily for axes and hatchets. I don't have to worry about rounded points and unwanted recurves sharpening freehand. If I knew what I know about them now, I wouldn't have bought one. 50 + years of freehand sharpening experience is hard to improve on.==KV
 
I've been getting razor edges on knives, axes, fine woodworking tools, etc for many years with a set of water stones; and before that with oil stones. The only problem is that it took quite a bit of time.

A couple years ago, I got a Ken Onion WS & blade grinding attachment. Now I can put a fine edge on anything from my nicest vintage Barlow to the blades on the garden tractor in a fraction of the time it used to take. As long as I'm careful the KO does a nice job. One thing I learned long ago in my cabinet making hobby, is that a power tool will ruin a job in a fraction of the time a hand tool will, if aren't careful.
 
I have the ken onion design but don't have the blade grinding attachment.

I think this is amazing for sharpening multiple knives at once (multiple kitchen knives for a family member) it really cuts down the sharpening time. I have used it for my good folders as well. There is a learning curve, but is easy to get the hang of. For example, as mentioned above- don't drag the tip off of the belt. Watch the videos, start with cheap knives and take your time learning. I like that the speed is variable.

I usually strop after using the KO and get really good edges. I like it for my ZT 0566, as the spine is hard to use on a guided system's attachment. I am not great at freehand on stones and I enjoy my guided system better. I probably will sell my KO because I don't use it too often (I tend to use the same couple of knives and maintain the edges through stropping).
 
Thanks for the opinions, both pro and con.

I got one and it arrived Sunday (very quick turnaround by Amazon-I ordered it Thursday).

I played around with it for about a half hour. Disappointed that I wasn't able to seemingly raise a burr on the two cheap knives I was using.

I will try to use a sharpie to see where I am grinding. I will continue to work at it before I reach any conclusions.
 
oh, forgot to mention the belts are not going to sharpen super steel very well at all because the abrasives used are not hard enough to cut vanadium.

had a d2 @61hrc blade that wouldn't sharpen at all, then I bought the diamond belts but it wore out after two knives. it was said these diamond belts are not for steel knives but ceramic, and run really low speeds (I did run it pretty low).
 
I am bumping up
I have a kows with leather belts, use 1 micron diamond paste on my super hard steel to get a hairy scary sharp @ 17* on my spyderco stuff and 440c vintage gerber magnum
 
I have the Ken Onion and the blade grinding attachment. It took more practice than I had anticipated to become proficient with it. I found a very light touch to be the solution - let the tool do the work. I was unsure about convex grinds at first, but now am fine with them. I now really like it!!!

Over the years, before the Ken Onion, I tried many different sharpening systems including paper wheels. For me personally, none of those methods worked as well as I liked, and took way, way, way too long. I am not an inherently steady person, and keeping angles consistent was a problem.

My personal test of sharpness is: does it take the hair off my arm, and does the knife cut the stuff I want to cut with relative ease. That being said, I really admire the folks that are really into super sharpening of their knives, mirror finishes, etc. I read tons of stuff here on the forums and am awed by many of the dedicated sharpeners. I think for many it is a really great hobby. I simply do not have the patience or the desire to spend the necessary time to enjoy manual or guided sharpening. Pershaps it is the nature of my being - I like boats with motors and keys, and not sail boats. In other words, I tend to be lazy!
 
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