Need to invest in sharpener to handle things from Opi no.2 Espada XL, no need for mirroredges but quality edges on various shapes/serr, foolproof?

[000Robert]

Dang... it looks good, but that is a thousand dollar difference, which is intimidating!

You might want to read this article before you think about investing in a dry belt grinder.

 

[Guy McVer]

I still do not 100% understand it myself, but... you know how the microbevel has its own little area, that dulls, and then gets cleaner and finer with the SM? Well, what about the steel above that? The actual shoulders of the grind coming down? The sharpmaker does not "make a new edge", it just refines the one that already exists.

I understand how this works, but not how to explain it very well. Look this up and you'll see people explaining it far better than me, I just had this explained to me not a week ago. You CAN give the knives a true sharpening with the Sharpmaker, but you have to figure out angles and such. Again, my understanding is lacking, my explanation even more so.

If you can't explain it, then you probably don't understand it. If you don't understand it, then maybe you shouldn't rush to buy something to fix the problem just yet. How are you going to know what to buy? Are you just going to keep relying on what other people tell you?

Does the Sharpmaker work? Keep using it. Is there a specific problem that you're running into? If not, then don't worry about it. Worry about it if and when it happens.

And here's a small tip: you can take the stones out of the sharpmaker and lay them flat if you really need to. Put them between a couple blocks of wood if you need the top to be flat, secure the ends to hold it in place, and then you can use them like a normal stone.

 

[Hashishiin]

If you can't explain it, then you probably don't understand it. If you don't understand it, then maybe you shouldn't rush to buy something to fix the problem just yet. How are you going to know what to buy? Are you just going to keep relying on what other people tell you?

Does the Sharpmaker work? Keep using it. Is there a specific problem that you're running into? If not, then don't worry about it. Worry about it if and when it happens.

And here's a small tip: you can take the stones out of the sharpmaker and lay them flat if you really need to. Put them between a couple blocks of wood if you need the top to be flat, secure the ends to hold it in place, and then you can use them like a normal stone.

This is a very good point. I am a bit "ahead of myself" in ways. I'm certainly scrambling a bit, and my seeming need to depart from the Sharpmaker was mainly because I was worried about the warnings I got about that eventual dulling.

Yeah, I am not cutting up a storm daily, but I seek to increase my involvement in activities that will require cutting, thus my desire to know to sharpen.

 

[RayseM]

LOL! One foot by one foot is a lot of space?

Well it seemed like it. Open it all up and spread your knives out and... Like I said - "seemed" like it. My shop is a woodworking shop. Bench space that isn't dusty is not available. Somehow the WorkSharp sitting on the bench is just another tool but the WE and others were aliens. You had to be there. The WorkSharp you turn it on and 1 minute or less later you have a sharp edge. Maybe 6 to 8 minutes if you are changing out belts. Certainly not for everyone but for me, it has proven to be excellent.

 

[000Robert]

Well it seemed like it. Open it all up and spread your knives out and... Like I said - "seemed" like it. My shop is a woodworking shop. Bench space that isn't dusty is not available. Somehow the WorkSharp sitting on the bench is just another tool but the WE and others were aliens. You had to be there. The WorkSharp you turn it on and 1 minute or less later you have a sharp edge. Maybe 6 to 8 minutes if you are changing out belts. Certainly not for everyone but for me, it has proven to be excellent.

I have a WSKOWBGA. It's in its case underneath my firearms/knife bench. I keep it to fit firing pins and small steel parts. I don't use it for knives anymore because I learned that you can ruin the heat treat on the edge bevels using a dry belt.

 

[RayseM]

I have a WSKOWBGA. It's in its case underneath my firearms/knife bench. I keep it to fit firing pins and small steel parts. I don't use it for knives anymore because I learned that you can ruin the heat treat on the edge bevels using a dry belt.

So I've heard but I can't imagine except with big blade regrinds. My experience is that with a light touch, at medium speed, I barely generate any warmth while producing a very keen edge. Maybe you could sell your set up to Hashishiin

​

 

[sharp_edge]

The Sharpmaker will work to maintain the secondary bevel as long as you are contacting the whole bevel.

No it will not unless you do not use your knives often.

 

[000Robert]

So I've heard but I can't imagine except with big blade regrinds. My experience is that with a light touch, at medium speed, I barely generate any warmth while producing a very keen edge.

The edge bevel is a very small section of steel. You can overheat it without feeling any heat in the rest of the blade. I urge you to read Dr. Larrin Thomas's article that I provided a link to.

Maybe you could sell your set up to @Hashishiin?

No thanks. It is quick and handy to use when I need it.

 

[Guy McVer]

The Sharpmaker will work to maintain the secondary bevel as long as you are contacting the whole bevel.

No it will not unless you do not use your knives often.

A secondary bevel can be added simply by tilting the angle of the blade up so that the spine moves farther away from the stone. This is true whether you're using a traditional whetstone or a sharpmaker. It works the same.

Now if you are overly obsessed with exactness, then you're going to reach a point where you are no longer sharpening freehand. That's fine and it has it's place but you have to learn and practice freehand and get good at field sharpening because at the end of the day you'll discover that you're nothing without your special equipment. That's not a good place to be when it counts.

If you can't do it freehand, then you can't do it.

 

[MolokaiRider]

No it will not unless you do not use your knives often.

I don't understand why you say this.

It does and has when I use mine.

 

[toker]

I have a WSKOWBGA. It's in its case underneath my firearms/knife bench. I keep it to fit firing pins and small steel parts. I don't use it for knives anymore because I learned that you can ruin the heat treat on the edge bevels using a dry belt.

I had the same exact experience. I started with the Wicked Edge (Gen 1) and bought the KO Worksharp to do kitchen knives. I wasn't 100% happy with the edges that the Worksharp produced and I rounded a few tips due to impatience. I still used my Wicked Edge for all my nicer knives. I recently bought the Wicked Edge WE120 since I wanted the bearing arms and more options for sharpening angles. It's a nice improvement over the Gen 1.

I haven't touched my Worksharp in months. I'll probably end up selling it when I finish cleaning everything else out that I also need to sell.

 

[000Robert]

I had the same exact experience. I started with the Wicked Edge (Gen 1) and bought the KO Worksharp to do kitchen knives. I wasn't 100% happy with the edges that the Worksharp produced and I rounded a few tips due to impatience. I still used my Wicked Edge for all my nicer knives. I recently bought the Wicked Edge WE120 since I wanted the bearing arms and more options for sharpening angles. It's a nice improvement over the Gen 1.

I haven't touched my Worksharp in months. I'll probably end up selling it when I finish cleaning everything else out that I also need to sell.

I started at the other end and ended with a Wicked Edge 130. I love mine and will kick the bucket owning it.

I wouldn't sell the Worksharp. It can come in handy for fitting and polishing small parts, and sharpening lawnmower blades and other stuff.

 

[toker]

I wouldn't sell the Worksharp. It can come in handy for fitting and polishing small parts, and sharpening lawnmower blades and other stuff.

You're right. I keep forgetting that I do use it once in a while for that kind of stuff. I also have used it to fix broken tips on a few of my knives.

 

[000Robert]

You're right. I keep forgetting that I do use it once in a while for that kind of stuff. I also have used it to fix broken tips on a few of my knives.

I wouldn't use it on knives. I would be too afraid of damaging the heat treat. The 50/80 stones on my Wicked Edge can hog some steel off pretty quick.

 

[RayseM]

000Robert - Isn't a dry belt the pretty standard knife maker's tool?
You aren't scaring me off use my WS Belt Grinding attachment As I wrote - light touch and medium speed and I add, sober attention to the task. It would seem to me it would take negligence to ruin the edge temper with this tool.

 

[000Robert]

000Robert - Isn't a dry belt the pretty standard knife maker's tool?

It's ok before you heat treat the knife. But I've learned here that the best knifemakers use wet belts.

You aren't scaring me off use my WS Belt Grinding attachment As I wrote - light touch and medium speed and I add, sober attention to the task. It would seem to me it would take negligence to ruin the edge temper with this tool.

My guess is that most people that run down steels claiming that they chip and stuff probably ruined the heat treat in the edge bevels themselves.

 

[toker]

You aren't scaring me off use my WS Belt Grinding attachment As I wrote - light touch and medium speed and I add, sober attention to the task. It would seem to me it would take negligence to ruin the edge temper with this tool.

000Robert linked this article a while back in a KO Worksharp thread.

Does Sharpening with a Grinder Ruin Your Edge? - Knife Steel Nerds

You have to sharpen a new knife a few times to get it cutting well. Right? Or do you? Are knife manufacturers improperly sharpening their knives?

knifesteelnerds.com

 

[Hashishiin]

A secondary bevel can be added simply by tilting the angle of the blade up so that the spine moves farther away from the stone. This is true whether you're using a traditional whetstone or a sharpmaker. It works the same.

Now if you are overly obsessed with exactness, then you're going to reach a point where you are no longer sharpening freehand. That's fine and it has it's place but you have to learn and practice freehand and get good at field sharpening because at the end of the day you'll discover that you're nothing without your special equipment. That's not a good place to be when it counts.

If you can't do it freehand, then you can't do it.

Actually, when you asked yesterday, if the Sharpmaker is currently doing it all for me - sort of, now that I think about it.
It can turn a dull knife, of a soft steel, into a knife that can cut. I shaved once. But I can't get the hang of coarser stones, as the S30V (sharpening a Leatherman today) keeps... sticking. like there are mini ledges in the CBN. I cannot figure out why this is and am hesitant to push too hard so as to dislodge the CBN.

I did bring it from being unable to catch paper, to cutting paper... I just don't know how to refine it further as is easier with other steels. Could be that I just need to keep hitting it and bust out a sharpie.

Also, to the folks talking, I am definitely hesitant to invest in a belt grinder. I am thinking that for my needs, just good, quality edges, that I can do it by hand. On the DMT website just picking out my stone combo, and then finding an angle helper.

 

[000Robert]

Actually, when you asked yesterday, if the Sharpmaker is currently doing it all for me - sort of, now that I think about it.
It can turn a dull knife, of a soft steel, into a knife that can cut. I shaved once. But I can't get the hang of coarser stones, as the S30V (sharpening a Leatherman today) keeps... sticking. like there are mini ledges in the CBN. I cannot figure out why this is and am hesitant to push too hard so as to dislodge the CBN.

I did bring it from being unable to catch paper, to cutting paper... I just don't know how to refine it further as is easier with other steels. Could be that I just need to keep hitting it and bust out a sharpie.

Also, to the folks talking, I am definitely hesitant to invest in a belt grinder. I am thinking that for my needs, just good, quality edges, that I can do it by hand. On the DMT website just picking out my stone combo, and then finding an angle helper.

Being able to freehand is a good skill. You never know when you may need to use it. I love the perfect edge bevels that I get with my Wicked Edge. They seem to make the edge retention of my blades last longer. My freehand edges look like crap, but they are sharp. And it feels good knowing that if TSHTF, I can freehand if I need to.

 

[greater]

I have used the Lansky, Razor edge, edge pro, Spyderco triangle sharpener, Arkansas stones, and water stones. While the guided systems surly offer precise angle alignment, I now always gravitate towards freehand sharpening under a large lit mounted magnifying glass (~8" diameter.) After doing this for a while I have become proficient at free hand sharpening without the magnifier by feel and eye. It should feel like a smooth glide (or smoothest depending on the stone) because you are flat on the bevel. I am free handing with the spyderco triangle rod (great for tight spots) and the bigger Razor edge stone. I can get hair shaving but not hair popping. I have been reading some posts on blade forums where using a coarse 60 grit stone would create a working edge that holds FAR LONGER than a finer edge so I am gravitating toward coarser rather than finer stones these days.

I have learned that spending the extra money on a guided system does not solve the problems of learning certain skills necessary for sharpening such as getting the curves and points right. In fact you can do quite well with a stone of the low end of moderate quality.

Marking the bevels with a marker will quickly reveal where your sharpening stone is making contact and give your mind an idea of how to move the blade or sharpener over so called difficult spots.