Work Sharp Ken Onion alternative belt/grit advice

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boseventy

Joined
Feb 11, 2017
Messages
10
hello,
can anyone advise with some alternative belts/grits for the Work Sharp Ken Onion please?
i`m in the UK and the original belts are not that readily available and usually only the assorted 5 pack or the odd single belt which can be pretty expensive.
i`ve come across some silicon carbide belts from America that fit the Ken Onion, each grit in packs of 10
and i`m thinking these could be better value for money??
they will be used just for sharpening kitchen knives at the moment so along with not really knowing if they will be any good i`m also not sure what grits i would need.

these particular belts are available in grits 120, 400, 600, 800, and 1000

would i need just a few of these grits (if so which ones) or maybe all of them?

thank you.
 
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.....it does`nt look like many if any have the Work Sharp Ken onion on britishblades.com or edgematters.uk
i can`t find any threads at all on either one.....
so if anyone can still advise on here it would be appreciated.
thank you.
 
A Google search shows the original WS belts are easily available in the UK from several sources, including the rainforest site with next day delivery, so not sure what the problem is.

If you're looking for the less common Worksharp belts that are not so easily available, the UK distributor (Casstrom) will order them for you - I have found them very helpful.
 
I used a WSKO for the last 2.5 years. I came across these http://micro-surface.com/index.php/products-by-type/belts/micro-mesh-belts.html about 2 years ago and found them superior to the WS belts. Not to mention MUCH cheaper! They have standard AO belts up to 12K grit, but the MX belts are vastly superior! The MX system is different, but don't think of them like grit. The highest one is MX1200. But it is equivalent to like 8,000, or 10,000 grit! They are awesome! Use them once and you'll never use the stock belts again.
 
banksy said:
A Google search shows the original WS belts are easily available in the UK from several sources, including the rainforest site with next day delivery, so not sure what the problem is.

If you're looking for the less common Worksharp belts that are not so easily available, the UK distributor (Casstrom) will order them for you - I have found them very helpful.
Click to expand...

Have you tried making your own belts?
I use a 1 x 30 belt sander ( I can hear the groans from the 2 x 72 professionals already :D )
and wanted some finer belts than I had (240 grit) so used some 3000 grit paper used for hand finishing.
They worked a treat - just dont press too hard or they will break, but can be fixed.
The vid explains how, and there are other similar vids to the right for comparison.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OzjurvpX1E
 
banksy said:
A Google search shows the original WS belts are easily available in the UK from several sources, including the rainforest site with next day delivery, so not sure what the problem is.

If you're looking for the less common Worksharp belts that are not so easily available, the UK distributor (Casstrom) will order them for you - I have found them very helpful.
Click to expand...

thanks for the reply.....
i have googled a number of times and casstrom was one of the sites i looked on which like most sites tended to just have the assorted multi pack of 5,
i was looking for the 5 packs of either coarse or medium grits etc or whatever else is available by work sharp,
but choice seemed limited over here from my searching.
i was just generally wondering about alternative belts as well, this might not have been the case if my searching threw up i wider choice of original belts....
if you say casstrom will order in specific items this is good to know and i will be looking into this.
i`m not having any luck finding the "rainforest" site you mention at the moment.
the belts i`m looking for are for the ken onion edition, not sure if you were finding belts for the standard (first) version?.....which do seem more popular.
either way thank you again for the reply and info.

(i have just looked on knivesandtools site as well which do have more belts available, i did look on there a few weeks ago and didn`t see this many available as i recall, either i overlooked or they`ve restocked i guess)
 
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DavidHoback said:
I used a WSKO for the last 2.5 years. I came across these http://micro-surface.com/index.php/products-by-type/belts/micro-mesh-belts.html about 2 years ago and found them superior to the WS belts. Not to mention MUCH cheaper! They have standard AO belts up to 12K grit, but the MX belts are vastly superior! The MX system is different, but don't think of them like grit. The highest one is MX1200. But it is equivalent to like 8,000, or 10,000 grit! They are awesome! Use them once and you'll never use the stock belts again.
Click to expand...

thank you...good to know and i will be considering these.
 
stickwhistler said:
Have you tried making your own belts?
I use a 1 x 30 belt sander ( I can hear the groans from the 2 x 72 professionals already :D )
and wanted some finer belts than I had (240 grit) so used some 3000 grit paper used for hand finishing.
They worked a treat - just dont press too hard or they will break, but can be fixed.
The vid explains how, and there are other similar vids to the right for comparison.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OzjurvpX1E
Click to expand...

no i have`nt really considered this....i`m new to sharpening with belts so i don`t want to get ahead of myself lol,
but maybe one day, thank you.
 
Gotchya. I wish you had posted earlier. Couple days before you did, I gave all my WS system & components to a friend. I would have sent you a few of the MX belts to try.
 
Yeah, I caught that, LOL. My bad buddy. I apologize.

Actually I could grab a couple back from him and send them to you to try out. I gave him a bunch of belts! Let me know- PM or email me. I'd be happy to ship them to you.
 
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boseventy said:
thanks for the reply.....
i have googled a number of times and casstrom was one of the sites i looked on which like most sites tended to just have the assorted multi pack of 5,
i was looking for the 5 packs of either coarse or medium grits etc or whatever else is available by work sharp,
but choice seemed limited over here from my searching.
i was just generally wondering about alternative belts as well, this might not have been the case if my searching threw up i wider choice of original belts....
if you say casstrom will order in specific items this is good to know and i will be looking into this.
i`m not having any luck finding the "rainforest" site you mention at the moment.
the belts i`m looking for are for the ken onion edition, not sure if you were finding belts for the standard (first) version?.....which do seem more popular.
either way thank you again for the reply and info.

(i have just looked on knivesandtools site as well which do have more belts available, i did look on there a few weeks ago and didn`t see this many available as i recall, either i overlooked or they`ve restocked i guess)
Click to expand...

I'm not allowed to post links here, but as suggested by another member, if you ask your question in one of the UK forums you'll get more info as they don't have those restrictions.
 
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