Work Sharp Ken Onion edition is FREAKIN' AWESOME! Long Post

That is great work on the conversion guys. You just saved me serious time and probably a few mistakes.
 
I am looking at this unit for sharpening larger kitchen knives and my fillet knives....things that are a general PITA with my sharpmaker. Has anyone done a fillet knife on this unit or the previous version? Also how does this unit work with the double thumb studs on the Benchmade Griptilian? I have 3 mini-grips I use regularly and would like to be able to sharpen faster during hunting season.
 
Thumb studs haven't been a problem for me. I have done kitchen knives, but not fillet knives. I done see why it would present any problems.
 
Ok, I drove an hour and a 1/2 today to Cabelas just for the sole purpose of purchasing one of these. I have it and love the look and feel of it. I have not used it yet! Everyone always says "practice on your junk knives." Unless I get a butter knife out of the silverware drawer, I don't have any of those. I don't have a large collection of knives, but what I have are nice and quite valuable to me. I have a couple Busse knives which are the biggest reason I bought this sharpener. As far as pocketknives go, I usually only have the one that I carry. When I get tired of a EDC knife I usually buy a new one and give my old one to a friend or family member. Second hand knives doesn't sound like much but, usually it is a big upgrade to the person that receives it!

I have been watching internet videos all evening and probably will wait until tomorrow to try her out. Does anyone have some good tips or tricks to keep me from messing up, or just help out? The first knife I am going to try is my old standby Spyderco Black Pacific Salt. If that goes good, I want to put a killer edge on a Busse muddy active duty that I have only made duller in all my previous attempts at sharpening!

Thanks to everyone!

Randy
:)
 
Can you borrow a junker from a buddy?

My only advice then would set to the slowest speed and take it slow. If you mess up, you can always set a new edge on the same knife.
 
Slow speed, place the knife on the belt at the choil with the belt off. Squeeze trigger and pull the knife slowly until the tip just gets to the belt. Don't want to pull the tip past half way across to avoid rounding it. Here you can either release the trigger and start over, or you can do like I do and just push knife back across like you're sawing from choil to tip and back. Use a marker on your edge and check it every couple passes. Don't go to the other side until you form a burr along the entire length of the blade.
 
wvriverats said:
Ok, I drove an hour and a 1/2 today to Cabelas just for the sole purpose of purchasing one of these. I have it and love the look and feel of it. I have not used it yet! Everyone always says "practice on your junk knives." Unless I get a butter knife out of the silverware drawer, I don't have any of those. I don't have a large collection of knives, but what I have are nice and quite valuable to me. I have a couple Busse knives which are the biggest reason I bought this sharpener. As far as pocketknives go, I usually only have the one that I carry. When I get tired of a EDC knife I usually buy a new one and give my old one to a friend or family member. Second hand knives doesn't sound like much but, usually it is a big upgrade to the person that receives it!

I have been watching internet videos all evening and probably will wait until tomorrow to try her out. Does anyone have some good tips or tricks to keep me from messing up, or just help out? The first knife I am going to try is my old standby Spyderco Black Pacific Salt. If that goes good, I want to put a killer edge on a Busse muddy active duty that I have only made duller in all my previous attempts at sharpening!

Thanks to everyone!

Randy
:)
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If you are within 1.5 hours of a Cabela's I'd bet you are close to a thrift store of some kind. Stop in to one in the morning and grab a knife from the kitchen area. I'm sure you'll find something worth sharpening there. Use that one as the sacrificial lamb. ;) Let us know how it goes.

When I got my Kalamazoo 1 x 42 belt machine I got a decent knife from Goodwill for practice for about $2. I use it as a garden knife now. :cool:
 
Just go for it. If anything gets screwed up, the WS is capable of repairing it as your skills improve.
 
cschol said:
Just go for it. If anything gets screwed up, the WS is capable of repairing it as your skills improve.
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I went with your advice! Just could not resist.

Let me say that this is one of the best purchases I have ever made. But, let me get to the specifics:

I found a old Green River blade that I paracord wrapped the handle and gave to my lady to use as a hunting knife. I figured that since I had good luck sharpening this with the sharpmaker it would be the best thing to learn on. I went thru the grits on low speed and although it would not shave, it did improve.

Since I did not butcher the Green River, I pulled out my Pacific Salt. I did the same thing with it, all on low speed. I wasn't very impressed, as I felt that I got about the same results with the sharpmaker.

Then I move on to my Nemesis, the Busse active duty. I love this knife! Unfortunately, it has spent the last 3 years in a Mikey Moto pin-lok sheath, on top of my microwave. I have tried, and tried to sharpen this thing, sometimes just making it worse. I went thru all the grits same as the others with no improvement and was starting to get discouraged, until I got it under a bright light and saw that the edge from the belly forward still had scratches on it. I decided to get serious at this point. I put the extra coarse belt on the machine and worked one side until I felt a burr (a first for me, also) it took about 28 strokes with the machine turned up to medium speed.I repeated this on the other side. I then left it on medium speed and progressed thru all of the grits. When I finished I hit it on a strop a few times. The edge is beautiful and I was hoping that I had done well as I pressed it to my arm and the hair leaped into the floor to escape the wicked sharpness of this thing!

I am more than happy with my purchase! I still need a little practice. I will work on my other knives a little more, since I think I never finished reprofiling them enough to reach the edge. I did accomplish what I wanted to with this tool though, making that one bastard knife that I have shave was pure pleasure. Thanks work sharp and Ken Onion!
 
Yeah, I got the hang of it now! I was not being quite aggressive enough to develop the convex edge on my flat ground knives. Throw on the 120 belt and develop a burr on one side, then go thru the grits at 10 strokes per side, awesome results!
 
I'm lefty too. I've watched a few videos.

From the guys that own one, is there any reason you can't just turn the machine around and use it left handed?

It looks like you could in the videos I've watched. But maybe I'm missing something.

Anyone want to give it a try?
 
I don't know that I would turn it around and use it. You could not use the edge guide that way. But I don't see why you could not use it left handed and reach around behind it to use the trigger with your right. Or even face the handle away from you at 90 degrees and use it that way. I'm sure that that you could find a way. It is worth it!
 
'Couple of things I've noticed since getting used to it. I can get almost all my blades to shave but not quite ready for stropping. After I mess around with every grit I have, the blade still needs a few strokes on a fine steel or ceramic before stropping. I don't know if it's just my technique or the limits of the belts. I'm not complaining about buying it though, it's worth every. penny.
The other thing is that when I set it to 20 degrees, it actually measures a little moe than 23, then if you apply enough pressure to detent the belt, the "final" edge will be one or two degrees steeper yet.
 
aquaman67 said:
I'm lefty too. I've watched a few videos.

From the guys that own one, is there any reason you can't just turn the machine around and use it left handed?

It looks like you could in the videos I've watched. But maybe I'm missing something.

Anyone want to give it a try?
Click to expand...

Yon can turn it around, but it will limit your ability to use the edge guide. Solution would be to reverse your grip on the knife so the blade is facing you, or just remove the edge guide and free hand it. I've done both. In fact, I do both at the same time. I don't use the edge guide, but rather just hold my knife like you would with a Sharpmaker. And instead of using the left side belt with the movement going into the edge, I reverse my grip and use the outer belt so the belt is always trailing the edge.
 
bedrock said:
'Couple of things I've noticed since getting used to it. I can get almost all my blades to shave but not quite ready for stropping. After I mess around with every grit I have, the blade still needs a few strokes on a fine steel or ceramic before stropping. I don't know if it's just my technique or the limits of the belts. I'm not complaining about buying it though, it's worth every. penny.
The other thing is that when I set it to 20 degrees, it actually measures a little moe than 23, then if you apply enough pressure to detent the belt, the "final" edge will be one or two degrees steeper yet.
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Not sure swiping the edge on a ceramic is helping your edge get ready for stropping, because I don't know do a ceramic that is as fine as the last two belts that come with the machine, which are 3000 and 6000 grit. Running on the ceramic would be going backwards, unless you have one that is actually finer than that.

As for the angles, I've thought the same thing, and it's the reason I don't use the guide. To me, it only seems logical that the angle of the edge will vary with different amounts of pressure on the belt, with more pressure giving more blunt edge angles. I imagine this would be one advantage to using the edge guide, as it prevents you from putting more pressure on the belt versus free hand where one stroke could press in lightly while the next presses in harder, causing more bend and thus a more rounded edge.
 
I picked up a Work Sharp Ken Onion Edition this weekend and tried it out on a set of inexpensive kitchen knives. Honestly, I wasn't totally impressed with the results. While the knives were sharp enough to easily slice through phone book paper, they weren't hair-shaving sharp. While that is good enough for basic kitchen knives, I wanted something more for my folding knives. I used only the recommended belts (X65, X22, and X4) and a 20 degree angle setting on the angle guide. I experimented with different amounts of pressure, different stoke speeds, increased number of strokes, and freehand, but I couldn't get any better results. I was expecting the same or better results than what I am able to achieve with a Spyderco Sharpmaker (with coarse, medium, and fine triangle rods) and was disappointed.

As for the angle guide, I definitely recommend applying some masking tape to protect blade finishes. I found that abrasive material built up quickly on the surface of the angle guide and the blade and caused a decent amount of scratches along the sides of the blade where the blade made contact with the angle guide during the stroking motions. I'd definitely be wary of using the angle guide with my more expensive knives without first applying some masking tape. I think the masking tape suggestion is mentioned in the user's manual, I simply chose to ignore it for my testing.

I also want to mention that I had some slight difficulty in maintaining a precise even grind when comparing grind height from one side to the other. The amount of deflection allowed on the belt is greater (and easier to deflect) on the trailing side than it is on the leading side. Though the grind was consistent along each side of the edge, I found that I had a tendency to put a slightly wider grind on the left side of the blade versus the right.

What I was impressed with was the ease and speed in which I could get a knife to the level of sharpness that I accomplished. On average, it literally took no more than recommended number of strokes per belt, at the lowest speed setting.

In the end, I'm still more comfortable with the Sharpmaker than the Work Sharp. I'm currently trying to decide if I should continue trying to find a technique for a sharper edge on the Work Sharp or just return it (with a fresh set of belts, of course).
 
Follow-up to my post #37, the order I placed with Micro-Surface included quantity 3 for several grits, quantity 6 for others in 12"X3/4 belts. The order arrived today, filled with some grits in less than quantity 8. It appears that 12X3/4 is now a standard size which is good news for owners of the WSKTS KO edition. Also got 3/4" belts from Worksharp today.

OT
 
reddragon29a said:
I picked up a Work Sharp Ken Onion Edition this weekend and tried it out on a set of inexpensive kitchen knives. Honestly, I wasn't totally impressed with the results. While the knives were sharp enough to easily slice through phone book paper, they weren't hair-shaving sharp. While that is good enough for basic kitchen knives, I wanted something more for my folding knives. I used only the recommended belts (X65, X22, and X4) and a 20 degree angle setting on the angle guide. I experimented with different amounts of pressure, different stoke speeds, increased number of strokes, and freehand, but I couldn't get any better results. I was expecting the same or better results than what I am able to achieve with a Spyderco Sharpmaker (with coarse, medium, and fine triangle rods) and was disappointed.

As for the angle guide, I definitely recommend applying some masking tape to protect blade finishes. I found that abrasive material built up quickly on the surface of the angle guide and the blade and caused a decent amount of scratches along the sides of the blade where the blade made contact with the angle guide during the stroking motions. I'd definitely be wary of using the angle guide with my more expensive knives without first applying some masking tape. I think the masking tape suggestion is mentioned in the user's manual, I simply chose to ignore it for my testing.

I also want to mention that I had some slight difficulty in maintaining a precise even grind when comparing grind height from one side to the other. The amount of deflection allowed on the belt is greater (and easier to deflect) on the trailing side than it is on the leading side. Though the grind was consistent along each side of the edge, I found that I had a tendency to put a slightly wider grind on the left side of the blade versus the right.

What I was impressed with was the ease and speed in which I could get a knife to the level of sharpness that I accomplished. On average, it literally took no more than recommended number of strokes per belt, at the lowest speed setting.

In the end, I'm still more comfortable with the Sharpmaker than the Work Sharp. I'm currently trying to decide if I should continue trying to find a technique for a sharper edge on the Work Sharp or just return it (with a fresh set of belts, of course).
Click to expand...

Your results are surprising. I can't help but wonder if you're inadvertently putting a more obtuse angle on your knife. I have owned and used a Sharpmaker for many years. It was actually my first "real" sharpening system, so I have enough experience to get consistent results. I will say my worksharp edges are by far sharper than my Sharpmaker. The edges you describe are about all I can manage on my Sharpmaker. They will cut telephone book paper, and will shave some hair with pressure, but never have I achieved a hair popping or hair whittling edge on it. I can whittle hair with the edge I get on my worksharp.

I notice you said you tried different methods, including freehand. I would suggest trying again with the freehand. You seem to have plenty of experience with the Sharpmaker, so freehand should be completely natural. I will say if you just used the number of strokes the instructions recommended per belt, that is likely your problem, especially when you want more for your edges. It's no different than Spyderco saying 20 strokes per side is all you need. I have never just used 20 strokes each side. For your initial profile, you must stay on one side until you have formed a burr down the entire length of the edge. Only then should you switch sides, and then you stay on that side until you have formed another burr down the entire other side. Swap belts and repeat. No burr? You're not ready to swap sides. The only time I do a back and forth honing is when finishing my edge. Another mistake you are making is by not using the 6000 grit purple tape. I know it doesn't recommend using it for any of the hardened steel utility knife blades, but it is key to a scary sharp edge, IMHO, just like a few passes on a leather strop. Also doesn't hurt to pull the finished edge across some hard felt or cork to remove any stubborn burr/wire edge prior to stropping.

Give that a try and see if you've been shorting yourself.
 
I have to say I'm getting the same results as dragon. It's worth it to me because it gets it "almost sharp enough" so fast, requiring less than 30 seconds to touch up after.
Medic, you obviously have a way better knack for it than me so I'll try everything in your last paragraph again. But like I say, if I never get those perfect edges, it'll still be money well spent.
 
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