The work sharp Ken onion edition

Ok so I have a question for those of you who have been using the wskt for awhile now...so obviously this puts a convex edge on a knife, but how does it do sharpening an actual convex grind like found on the bravo 1? And obviously I wouldn't run a true scandi grind thru it, but what about a tops b.o.b. fieldcraft knife? It has a modified scandi grind with a somewhat convex micro bevel, would that be ok ran thru the work sharp?
 
Ok I can't express enough how much of a life saver this machine is, my 12 year old step son asked me to sharpen his prodigy for him today.
I thought it was strange since I Just sharpened it a week ago, but told him to go get it.

I take it out to the garage and get everything set up, thinking it only needed touched up a lil I had placed the fine belt on in preparation.

Here's where my jaw drops, I unsheathed the knife and was in complete shock. This thing didn't need sharpened it needed major help, the tip was snapped off about 1/32" and all along the belly there were chunks missing from edge deepest one being almost 1/16". I don't know what the hell he was trying to cut or chop thru but whatever it was it was obviously harder than steel. I wish I'd taken a b4 photo of just how bad it was...

This would've taken forever to correct with stones and probably wouldn't have tried. After about 30 minutes of grinding steel off, I've managed to not only clean up the edge but restored the tip with the worksharp. I actually found myself free handing most of it especially around the tip.
This machine is a must have for anyone who actually uses there knives or has a kid like mine. Lol
 
Finally! Someone who is sharpening knives like the ones people bring me!

I've sharpened dozens and dozens like that. It got so bad that the P120 really wasn't cutting it any more in terms of speed because I had so much metal to remove. It really made most blades take 20+ minutes. Some, like yours, 30 minutes or more. So I bought some more aggressive belts from WorkSharp direct. The x200 Stiff Precision and the x100 SP are both great belts. I also got a 60 grit ceramic which hogs metal off pretty damned quickly.

I've even had to cut some blades edge in to the belt (at around 75 degrees or so) to grind out deep chips and then re-establish the blade shape. From there, you're pretty much grinding in a brand new edge bevel. It's actually kind of fun, but it can be time consuming.

Sounds like you're enjoying your WSKO, and that's awesome.

Brian.
 
bgentry said:
Finally! Someone who is sharpening knives like the ones people bring me!

I've sharpened dozens and dozens like that. It got so bad that the P120 really wasn't cutting it any more in terms of speed because I had so much metal to remove. It really made most blades take 20+ minutes. Some, like yours, 30 minutes or more. So I bought some more aggressive belts from WorkSharp direct. The x200 Stiff Precision and the x100 SP are both great belts. I also got a 60 grit ceramic which hogs metal off pretty damned quickly.

I've even had to cut some blades edge in to the belt (at around 75 degrees or so) to grind out deep chips and then re-establish the blade shape. From there, you're pretty much grinding in a brand new edge bevel. It's actually kind of fun, but it can be time consuming.

Sounds like you're enjoying your WSKO, and that's awesome.

Brian.
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That's basically what I had to do and why I ended up free handing a good bit. After like 20 passes using the guides it just wasn't removing the amount of steel I needed. I cut the edge into the belt to grind out the the chunks missing and reset the edge...
I'll have to look into those other belts, especially if this becomes a common occurrence with his knives...thou a few more sharpening sessions like today his poor prodigy won't be much of a knife anymore lol
 
Here's the after shots of the prodigy...I could've gotten the point a lil better, but I'd spent enough time on it already, taken off a lot of steel already, and figured he was just gonna muff it up again anyway so it was good enough.
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One problem I'm having on my Ken Onion WS is with pocket knives. When I get near the tip and raise the handle slightly (to follow the curve of the blade as the manual suggests) the blade drops out from the bottom of the guides and the tip loses contact with the belt altogether. Kind of frustrating actually. Have you guys run in to this problem? It's probably just my technique as I've only had this machine for about a week now.
 
jonnyt16 said:
One problem I'm having on my Ken Onion WS is with pocket knives. When I get near the tip and raise the handle slightly (to follow the curve of the blade as the manual suggests) the blade drops out from the bottom of the guides and the tip loses contact with the belt altogether. Kind of frustrating actually. Have you guys run in to this problem? It's probably just my technique as I've only had this machine for about a week now.
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Are you using the rotating guide on the front? When doing smaller knives I pull it using the edge guide to support the weight of the blade and typically since the blades aren't very big I only need to lift up slightly for the tip. Once it loses contact with the angle guide I just try to hold the angle as I pull the last bit along the belt.
 
Okay, mine arrived today, a set with one already used belt set and 2 more sets as replacement. It was sold as "like new" and it sure looked that way.
Short version: this is what I always wanted.
Longer version :
I first started with a cheap 420 knife, which basically only holds sentimental value as it was a gift. That and some dumb plumber broke off the tip when he asked for a knife. Another story though.
So here are some before pictures...




A wonky grind trying to reshape to 20 degrees and overall bad shape. (my fault)

So after establishing the bevel with the roughest belt, I did 8 passes per side with the next one and 4 per side with the two thereafter, up to and including the x4.




Reestablished some semblance of a tip and it effortlessly slices paper now, something I could never get quite right with this knife before.

I also resharpened my small aeb-l belt knife which is now cutting better than ever.

I really like the system and to me it is a great way so far to easily achieve a really nice edge.

One thing I am wondering though is whether is is possible to achieve a "screaming sharp" result with this. The x4 seems to somewhat diminish the cutting ability, but maybe I just need more practice, and the results so far are a above average working sharpness as well, which is basically all I need.
I will also try honing the blades on my sharpmaker fine stones later. And I always wanted to get a strop anyways. I guess these will improve the results even further.
So thanks everyone who contributed in this thread, this was a great purchase!
 
vilePossum said:
Okay, mine arrived today, a set with one already used belt set and 2 more sets as replacement. It was sold as "like new" and it sure looked that way.
Short version: this is what I always wanted.
Longer version :
I first started with a cheap 420 knife, which basically only holds sentimental value as it was a gift. That and some dumb plumber broke off the tip when he asked for a knife. Another story though.
So here are some before pictures...




A wonky grind trying to reshape to 20 degrees and overall bad shape. (my fault)

So after establishing the bevel with the roughest belt, I did 8 passes per side with the next one and 4 per side with the two thereafter, up to and including the x4.




Reestablished some semblance of a tip and it effortlessly slices paper now, something I could never get quite right with this knife before.

I also resharpened my small aeb-l belt knife which is now cutting better than ever.

I really like the system and to me it is a great way so far to easily achieve a really nice edge.

One thing I am wondering though is whether is is possible to achieve a "screaming sharp" result with this. The x4 seems to somewhat diminish the cutting ability, but maybe I just need more practice, and the results so far are a above average working sharpness as well, which is basically all I need.
I will also try honing the blades on my sharpmaker fine stones later. And I always wanted to get a strop anyways. I guess these will improve the results even further.
So thanks everyone who contributed in this thread, this was a great purchase!
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For me the x4 placed an edge on my Gerber that I could literally shave my face with. The last purple belt is the one I found that dulled my edge a lil. I think I follow up with a strop and compound is what'll take the edge over the top.

I also have noticed different steels will take a different degrees of sharpness...I just did a cheap elk ridge assisted folder with 440 at 20 ° and omg is this thing scary sharp..

Glad your enjoying it
 
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Also a word to the wise, make surer when your sharpening you stay focused lol...My 5 yr old decided to join me in the garage and kept pulling my focus away and I ended up hesitating at the beginning of my pull on a course belt...needless to say I slightly wore down the first part of the blade the width of the belt...nothing too bag and will get corrected during future sharpening..

Just don't hesitate at all with your pull, as soon as you fire the machine up start pulling.
 
My work sharp arrived today and the first run through an old set of kitchen knives went well and got them screaming sharp! I'm impressed so far.
 
Tetsujin 140.6 said:
My work sharp arrived today and the first run through an old set of kitchen knives went well and got them screaming sharp! I'm impressed so far.
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Congrats bud, what I'm starting to like most is after your initial sharpening, you can take your outdoor knives out and chop or baton wood with them. Then when your done you still have a sharp working edge after hard use, you might have slight rolling but few swipes on a leather strop in the field and your razor sharp again, or when you get home a few passes with a fine belt on the wskt and your knife is good as new.
 
I played with mine again the other night. Still having trouble with my folders (smaller blades) falling through the bottom of the angle guides when I get near the tip and messing up my stroke.

Also, I've noticed that the motor will sometimes speed up on its own when I'm holding the trigger down (and no, I'm not depressing it further to speed it up), it just does it on its own randomly. Kind of annoying. Has this happened on anybody else's machine? Thanks.
 
jonnyt16 said:
I played with mine again the other night. Still having trouble with my folders (smaller blades) falling through the bottom of the angle guides when I get near the tip and messing up my stroke.

Also, I've noticed that the motor will sometimes speed up on its own when I'm holding the trigger down (and no, I'm not depressing it further to speed it up), it just does it on its own randomly. Kind of annoying. Has this happened on anybody else's machine? Thanks.
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On the first question, don't use the angle guides. Freehand is the way to go. Just use sharpie on the edge to check where you're hitting it.

On the second, I see that but only when I press the trigger further. I.e., there can be some variation in speed but you still control it---just be aware of your pressure on the trigger---and the sound of the motor. It's still under your control.

Andrew
 
jonnyt16 said:
I played with mine again the other night. Still having trouble with my folders (smaller blades) falling through the bottom of the angle guides when I get near the tip and messing up my stroke.

Also, I've noticed that the motor will sometimes speed up on its own when I'm holding the trigger down (and no, I'm not depressing it further to speed it up), it just does it on its own randomly. Kind of annoying. Has this happened on anybody else's machine? Thanks.
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Are you applying pressure on the belt as your pulling? I've noticed if you apply to much pressure as you near the tip it'll cause to belt to shorta grab the knife causing it to fall down belt...with basically just the weight of the blade applying pressure on the belt I've found that less likely to happen.

As far as the motor speeding up on its own, unless you have it set to constant on its likely you speeding it up...The slightest variance in you squeezing will speed it up.
 
Also for those of you just acquiring this awesome machine, Don't just sharpen your knives, experiment with different angles. I typically always sharpen my outdoor knives to 25° (per side), which generally produces a sharp edge that lasts. Well while it may be sharp, that doesn't mean it's going to perform well in the field.
I was messing around with a few of my cheaper knives(my edc schrade schf14 and a Gerber big rock) cause I didn't wanna start grinding off steel on my good ones. Nether one were great slicers, nor would they easily make a featherstick...I ended up reprofiling the schrade to 20° and the Gerber to about 18° and they perform like completely different knives now. The work sharp made quick work of it as well, something that would've taken hours before took about 15 minutes per knife...every time I use this machine I'm blown away by just how simple it is, it's by far one of the best buys I've ever made.
 
I can't free hand well yet (though Im working on it) and have been looking into the KO over the edge pro mostly for convex edge capability. To my understanding the edge pro apex does not provide the ability to do a convex edge. Please correct me if Im wrong.

I mostly carry traditional pocket knives, will the guide keep me from getting the full length of the blade on the belt with my smaller blades? It seems to work great for fixed blades, longer folder blades that have more clearance from the bolster, kitchen knives, etc, but is it even possible to get the smaller ones in there?

Thanks. Any suggestions until I get the free hand down would help.
 
KBA said:
I mostly carry traditional pocket knives, will the guide keep me from getting the full length of the blade on the belt with my smaller blades? It seems to work great for fixed blades, longer folder blades that have more clearance from the bolster, kitchen knives, etc, but is it even possible to get the smaller ones in there?
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Brett,

I don't have a Work Sharp, but your question reminded me of AFAustin's write-up(s) of using one with traditional blades-- because Work Sharp or no, I really appreciate the time he put into presenting the sharpener and his results on familiar-to-me knives.

His review, including comparison of original Work Sharp and the Ken Onion edition

A follow-up, with pictures of traditional knives/edges.

Maybe ask him to chime in?

Cheers,
~ P.
 
KBA said:
I can't free hand well yet (though Im working on it) and have been looking into the KO over the edge pro mostly for convex edge capability. To my understanding the edge pro apex does not provide the ability to do a convex edge. Please correct me if Im wrong.

I mostly carry traditional pocket knives, will the guide keep me from getting the full length of the blade on the belt with my smaller blades? It seems to work great for fixed blades, longer folder blades that have more clearance from the bolster, kitchen knives, etc, but is it even possible to get the smaller ones in there?

Thanks. Any suggestions until I get the free hand down would help.
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The edge guide on the front of the ko will prevent a knife with a edge that runs to the handle with a protruding guard from being fully inserted. However it flips out of the way for smaller knives and situations mentioned above. It only serves as a rest as your pulling the knife thru, but once you do a few and get a feel for it you'll be fine. Just practice in cheap knives first.

I love the machine, I've never had knives this sharp and the convex edge slices thru material like butter.
 
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