AFAustin
Gold Member
- Joined
- Jun 8, 2004
- Messages
- 2,489
In a thread a while back, I talked about my efforts to sharpen wharncliffe blades on the Worksharp Ken Onion without lifting the tip: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1302361-Sharpening-Wharnies-with-the-Work-Sharp-KO Several of the guys commenting in that thread said they preferred using the optional Blade Grinding Attachment for sharpening wharnies. I've now had a chance to try out the BGA and thought I'd do a similar quick experiment with it.
Right off the bat I should say that I've been sharpening on a Work Sharp---first the original version and then the Ken Onion---for several years, and while I'm no expert, I'm comfortable with it and very pleased with the results it gives me. On the other hand, I have no experience to speak of with the BGA and my little wharnie experiment this afternoon is the first time I've ever attempted a full sharpening with it.
I set up the BGA, which is a simple process, on a built in desk so that I would be sharpening in a seated position. A small "C" clamp secured it and there was no movement or wiggle. There are two positions for the rollers at the top which enclose the sharpening zone of the belt, and I set mine with the rollers in the closer position, which makes for a smaller and more taut section of belt and so a shallower convex grind. I set my angle at 15 degrees per side.
As before, I used the "stiff" version of the Norax belts, but of course this time in the larger 1" x 18" size to fit the BGA. I started with the 45X belt. My wharnie "test knife" was a duplicate of the same super cheapo which I used in the previous exercise.
Sharpie applied.
With the BGA, you lock the trigger on, which means that you need to dial the speed up to a higher setting than you want, because once you release the trigger it notches down a couple of levels. I set my speed right about in the middle, and it notched down from there to maybe 1/3 of the maximum.
As I began, it seemed to me that the belt rotation was a little rougher (more vibration) than with the regular WSKO. It smooths out as you increase speed, but I really didn't want to kick up the speed at this point, so I just put up with it. It's not bad enough to interfere with the task, but I do like the smoothness in the regular WSKO. I later noticed a small amount of scratching on the blade just above the bevel and wondered if the vibration could've caused that. But I also noticed that my bevels were a little wider on this knife than the one in my previous experiment, so it may be that the flatter approach angle caused it.
As I started to get a feel for it, I could appreciate why the guys said they liked the BGA for wharnies: the wider 1" belts provide a lot of stability, and the small tight sharpening zone really minimizes belt deflection. With the trigger on auto, both hands are free for sharpening. It's nice to be able to use the off hand to guide the blade, but being new to this way of doing it, I felt like when the knife handle was in my left hand and I was moving the blade to the left, my right hand blocked my view of where exactly the tip was on the belt. I chalk that up to this being my first sharpening on the BGA, and I imagine the problem can be easily overcome with a small change in technique.
As in the previous drill, I progressed from the 45x belt to the 22x, then the last of the stiff Norax, the 5X. I polished a little after that with a worn (flexible) Norax 4x.
By this time I had a sharp edge and I was pleasantly surprised how quick and easy it had been. But, to my chagrin, the very thing I was trying to avoid---an upsweep in the blade right at the tip---was there.
Granted, it was subtle, but it was visible. I can't say for sure how this happened, but I've got a couple of ideas. With the regular WSKO, it's second nature to release the trigger as I come to the tip, but with the BGA this is impossible since the trigger is locked on. The other factor is that I may've gotten a little overconfident due to the wide and taut belt and lingered a bit too long in the tip area instead of being very light and quick there.
I was curious about something else. In the prior thread I emphasized my lessons learned the hard way on using the super flexible Micro Mesh belts, and how easily they can round a tip. With the wider BGA belt size, and the very tight sharpening zone, I decided to see if that made the MM polishing belts any safer. I put on a 1" MM 6000 (purple) belt and set to polishing, and I was careful as I approached the tip. But, as it turns out, not careful enough---yet another rounded tip! Again, it was pretty slight, and a quick progression with some wet and dry paper restored the pointy tip. But it reinforced the previous lesson---no Micro Mesh on wharnies, not even with the BGA.
My tentative conclusions from this little follow-up experiment are mixed. Right now, I think I can do a better job on wharnies with the regular WSKO, assuming I follow the guidelines I laid out for myself in the previous thread. But given that I've been using the WS and WSKO for years and this was my first go with the BGA, that's not really surprising. I am impressed with the BGA, though, especially how quick and easy it is to use. And for me the question going forward will be whether I take the time to develop better technique with the BGA and try for great results, or just stick with the regular WSKO, which is such a fine tool and has served me so well.
White (top) wharnie sharpened on WSKO. Black (bottom) wharnie sharpened on WSKO BGA.
Thanks for reading and viewing.
Andrew
Right off the bat I should say that I've been sharpening on a Work Sharp---first the original version and then the Ken Onion---for several years, and while I'm no expert, I'm comfortable with it and very pleased with the results it gives me. On the other hand, I have no experience to speak of with the BGA and my little wharnie experiment this afternoon is the first time I've ever attempted a full sharpening with it.
I set up the BGA, which is a simple process, on a built in desk so that I would be sharpening in a seated position. A small "C" clamp secured it and there was no movement or wiggle. There are two positions for the rollers at the top which enclose the sharpening zone of the belt, and I set mine with the rollers in the closer position, which makes for a smaller and more taut section of belt and so a shallower convex grind. I set my angle at 15 degrees per side.
As before, I used the "stiff" version of the Norax belts, but of course this time in the larger 1" x 18" size to fit the BGA. I started with the 45X belt. My wharnie "test knife" was a duplicate of the same super cheapo which I used in the previous exercise.
Sharpie applied.
With the BGA, you lock the trigger on, which means that you need to dial the speed up to a higher setting than you want, because once you release the trigger it notches down a couple of levels. I set my speed right about in the middle, and it notched down from there to maybe 1/3 of the maximum.
As I began, it seemed to me that the belt rotation was a little rougher (more vibration) than with the regular WSKO. It smooths out as you increase speed, but I really didn't want to kick up the speed at this point, so I just put up with it. It's not bad enough to interfere with the task, but I do like the smoothness in the regular WSKO. I later noticed a small amount of scratching on the blade just above the bevel and wondered if the vibration could've caused that. But I also noticed that my bevels were a little wider on this knife than the one in my previous experiment, so it may be that the flatter approach angle caused it.
As I started to get a feel for it, I could appreciate why the guys said they liked the BGA for wharnies: the wider 1" belts provide a lot of stability, and the small tight sharpening zone really minimizes belt deflection. With the trigger on auto, both hands are free for sharpening. It's nice to be able to use the off hand to guide the blade, but being new to this way of doing it, I felt like when the knife handle was in my left hand and I was moving the blade to the left, my right hand blocked my view of where exactly the tip was on the belt. I chalk that up to this being my first sharpening on the BGA, and I imagine the problem can be easily overcome with a small change in technique.
As in the previous drill, I progressed from the 45x belt to the 22x, then the last of the stiff Norax, the 5X. I polished a little after that with a worn (flexible) Norax 4x.
By this time I had a sharp edge and I was pleasantly surprised how quick and easy it had been. But, to my chagrin, the very thing I was trying to avoid---an upsweep in the blade right at the tip---was there.
Granted, it was subtle, but it was visible. I can't say for sure how this happened, but I've got a couple of ideas. With the regular WSKO, it's second nature to release the trigger as I come to the tip, but with the BGA this is impossible since the trigger is locked on. The other factor is that I may've gotten a little overconfident due to the wide and taut belt and lingered a bit too long in the tip area instead of being very light and quick there.
I was curious about something else. In the prior thread I emphasized my lessons learned the hard way on using the super flexible Micro Mesh belts, and how easily they can round a tip. With the wider BGA belt size, and the very tight sharpening zone, I decided to see if that made the MM polishing belts any safer. I put on a 1" MM 6000 (purple) belt and set to polishing, and I was careful as I approached the tip. But, as it turns out, not careful enough---yet another rounded tip! Again, it was pretty slight, and a quick progression with some wet and dry paper restored the pointy tip. But it reinforced the previous lesson---no Micro Mesh on wharnies, not even with the BGA.
My tentative conclusions from this little follow-up experiment are mixed. Right now, I think I can do a better job on wharnies with the regular WSKO, assuming I follow the guidelines I laid out for myself in the previous thread. But given that I've been using the WS and WSKO for years and this was my first go with the BGA, that's not really surprising. I am impressed with the BGA, though, especially how quick and easy it is to use. And for me the question going forward will be whether I take the time to develop better technique with the BGA and try for great results, or just stick with the regular WSKO, which is such a fine tool and has served me so well.
White (top) wharnie sharpened on WSKO. Black (bottom) wharnie sharpened on WSKO BGA.
Thanks for reading and viewing.
Andrew
