Ken Onion Worksharp

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Scattergun2570

Joined
Apr 24, 2013
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124
ok,so I just got it. I am very confused.. I believe the belt only turns in one direction...if that's the case I am very confused. How can you raise a burr on each side, if the belt only goes one direction? If I place a knife in the right side of the machine,the belt is turning clockwise..so if I switch to the other side,the belt still turns clockwise..So doesn't this screw up the work you did on the first side of the knife? being the belt is now hitting the blade on an upward angle of attack? I thought the idea was to raise a burr on both sides,,and then go to the finer belt and do the same and so forth... I am lost here..
 
It just works. I can feel the burr on both sides as I swap back and forth until I get to the fine belt. Practice with some cheaper knives and be careful of the tip. Don't pull the tip off the belt. Stop at about 1/2 way.

Lots of other threads. Use google as search engine here is not that good.
 
Spameater12003 said:
It just works. I can feel the burr on both sides as I swap back and forth until I get to the fine belt. Practice with some cheaper knives and be careful of the tip. Don't pull the tip off the belt. Stop at about 1/2 way.

Lots of other threads. Use google as search engine here is not that good.
Click to expand...

I don't understand how it works,,detailed explanation is what I need.
 
Like Spameater says, it works. When using the belt on the right side, it is running from spine to edge, essentially sharpening the left edge (as seen from looking down from the spine, with the spine on top) and raising a burr by pushing the steel from the left side to the right side of the blade. Moving over to the left side does the opposite, even though the belt is running in the same direction, but from edge to spine this time. It still pushes the steel to the side not against the belt.

I can get a blade hair popping sharp with mine, not even using the 2 finest belts. But I have to raise a burr on one side of the blade and then the other to do it. Get a burr all along one edge using passes on one side of the blade only, switch sides and get it on the other, then alternate sides for a half dozen strokes for final burr removal.
 
ok,so I just got it. I am very confused.. I believe the belt only turns in one direction...if that's the case I am very confused. How can you raise a burr on each side, if the belt only goes one direction? If I place a knife in the right side of the machine,the belt is turning clockwise..so if I switch to the other side,the belt still turns clockwise..So doesn't this screw up the work you did on the first side of the knife? being the belt is now hitting the blade on an upward angle of attack? I thought the idea was to raise a burr on both sides,,and then go to the finer belt and do the same and so forth... I am lost here..
 
I don't like the idea of of repeated passes on the same side until the burr is formed.
I feel it is easier to keep an even grind and removes less steel to raise the burr with alternating passes.
 
Sharpening discussions go in Maintenance, Tinkering, and Embellishment.
General Knife Discussion is for discussing knives.
Being in the right forum helps not be lost. Posting the same thing in multiple forums is considered spam, so please don't do it.

Do a search within this section for "Work Sharp" and happy reading.
 
I agree, I have the wsko as well, and I don't really understand how you would be able to raise a burr while working on the left side of the machine
 
^

The creation of the burr doesn't require the abrasive to be moving away from the edge. Intuition tells some that abrasive moving off of the edge will create a burr by "dragging the metal with it". This happens, but it's not the primary effect. The way the burr is formed is by plastic deformation due to point force. In more simple English, the burr forms because when the edge gets thin the force at the actual edge is so strong that it causes the metal to bend and flow like mud. [continued]
 
So even if you are moving the abrasive into the edge, it still produces enough force to squash the metal over the edge, forming the burr. Burrs form in both directions, though they form bigger moving away from the edge, as intuition would tell you.

That said, I'm not a fan of how the WSKO wants you to sharpen one side of the blade with the belt moving away from the edge and then the other side with the belt moving into the edge. With big belt sanders, it's very dangerous to have the belt moving into the edge as it can catch the edge and throw the blade. The WSKO obviously doesn't do this, but it still bothers me. Mostly because it's not the same action on both sides of the blade. It's not truly symmetrical.

Because of these thoughts, I don't use the guide on the WSKO. I use it freehand and sharpen both sides with the belt moving away from the edge. First one side using one hand, then the other side in the other hand.

Brian.
 
bgentry said:
So even if you are moving the abrasive into the edge, it still produces enough force to squash the metal over the edge, forming the burr. Burrs form in both directions, though they form bigger moving away from the edge, as intuition would tell you.

That said, I'm not a fan of how the WSKO wants you to sharpen one side of the blade with the belt moving away from the edge and then the other side with the belt moving into the edge. With big belt sanders, it's very dangerous to have the belt moving into the edge as it can catch the edge and throw the blade. The WSKO obviously doesn't do this, but it still bothers me. Mostly because it's not the same action on both sides of the blade. It's not truly symmetrical.

Because of these thoughts, I don't use the guide on the WSKO. I use it freehand and sharpen both sides with the belt moving away from the edge. First one side using one hand, then the other side in the other hand.

Brian.
Click to expand...

How long did it take you to become accurate with freehanding?
 
^ I felt like I had the hang of it pretty well after maybe 8 or 9 blades. Like everything I keep learning more as I go forward. I learned a few more advanced things after several months. I started with the slowest speed on the finest belt, using sharpie on a blade I didn't care about. That really helped me to figure out the technique. I ramped up from there pretty quickly and started using middle speeds by my second or third blade. I still use sharpie on almost every blade I do, even though I don't really need it all that much any more.

It's easier than you might expect.

Brian.
 
bgentry said:
^ I felt like I had the hang of it pretty well after maybe 8 or 9 blades. Like everything I keep learning more as I go forward. I learned a few more advanced things after several months. I started with the slowest speed on the finest belt, using sharpie on a blade I didn't care about. That really helped me to figure out the technique. I ramped up from there pretty quickly and started using middle speeds by my second or third blade. I still use sharpie on almost every blade I do, even though I don't really need it all that much any more.

It's easier than you might expect.

Brian.
Click to expand...

Being I don`t have the skill to freehand as of yet.. how would you suggest I go about sharpening? Do I raise a burr on one side and then the other with the same grit? Can you detail this for me?
 
^ Yes I think you have the idea. Sharpening is the same with every system. It's essentially this:

1. Work on one side until you form a burr on the OPPOSITE side. This should be a full length burr from hilt to tip.
2.. Turn the blade over and grind on the other side until you form a second burr. The time on the other side of the blade. Again hilt to tip.
3. Remove the burr using light strokes and other deburring techniques.
4. Repeat 1 - 3 with higher grit belts (or stones) until you get to the level of polish and refinement that you desire.

With the WSKO deburring is pretty difficult. I use the absolute slowest setting and I usually have to jump 1, 2, or more grits to really effectively remove it. I also use a cork and/or soft wood to draw the edge through. This strips some of the lingering burr off of many blades.

Forming, detecting, and removing the burr are some of the most important skills in sharpening.

Brian.
 
bgentry said:
^ Yes I think you have the idea. Sharpening is the same with every system. It's essentially this:

1. Work on one side until you form a burr on the OPPOSITE side. This should be a full length burr from hilt to tip.
2.. Turn the blade over and grind on the other side until you form a second burr. The time on the other side of the blade. Again hilt to tip.
3. Remove the burr using light strokes and other deburring techniques.
4. Repeat 1 - 3 with higher grit belts (or stones) until you get to the level of polish and refinement that you desire.

With the WSKO deburring is pretty difficult. I use the absolute slowest setting and I usually have to jump 1, 2, or more grits to really effectively remove it. I also use a cork and/or soft wood to draw the edge through. This strips some of the lingering burr off of many blades.

Forming, detecting, and removing the burr are some of the most important skills in sharpening.

Brian.
Click to expand...


Ok,,not sure if we are on the same page here,, your 2nd step says turn blade over..did you mean switch sides? I cant freehand..will be using guides..
 
Scattergun2570 said:
Ok,,not sure if we are on the same page here,, your 2nd step says turn blade over..did you mean switch sides? I cant freehand..will be using guides..
Click to expand...

I think this is his video:

[video=youtube;ApyDcJzKBgk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApyDcJzKBgk[/video]

Any reason you couldn't sharpen both sides of the knife spine-to-edge while using the guides? I'd think you could...
 
chiral.grolim said:
I think this is his video:

[video=youtube;ApyDcJzKBgk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApyDcJzKBgk[/video]

Any reason you couldn't sharpen both sides of the knife spine-to-edge while using the guides? I'd think you could...
Click to expand...

Yes,ive seen the video,,but I cannot freehand,just started with this sharpening adventure..so I wanted to know what he thinks the best way to go about it using the guides.
 
Scattergun2570 said:
Ok,,not sure if we are on the same page here,, your 2nd step says turn blade over..did you mean switch sides? I cant freehand..will be using guides..
Click to expand...

Yes, I meant to grind on the other side of the blade. Make sure to stop your pull through the machine with the tip still touching the belt and then turn the trigger off. That's a big deal if you want to keep a sharp tip on the blade. Stopping the draw will keep the tip sharp. Pulling the tip all the way through will round it off. Good luck!

Brian.
 
Scattergun2570 said:
Yes,ive seen the video,,but I cannot freehand,just started with this sharpening adventure..so I wanted to know what he thinks the best way to go about it using the guides.
Click to expand...

Leave the guide on and switch sides the way he describes and shows in the video, using only the outside guide-slot where the belt moves from spine to edge. Will that not work?
 
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