Work Sharp Ken Onion Edition Knife Sharpener Opinions

Being a metal worker and a power tool fanatic (as well as a handtool high end cabinet maker fanatic) . . . I have to laugh out loud when someone suggests a belt sander to sharpen a little pocket knife.

For making the knife to start with sure, for machetes sure.

For touching up an already properly beveled knife one stroke per side back and forth alternating on one or two stones can be all the knife needs. Two strokes on one side and only one stroke on the other side alternating can be enough to screw up the edge so that it isn't optimally sharp. What is a power grinder going to do to that subtle situation ? ? ! !

A belt sander ?
Nah dude, nah.:(

A sharpening jig driven by hand power ?
Yes
an Edge Pro etc.
 
Belt sander and paper wheels work great. Do you touch up your.knife with a 140 stone? No. So same applies here. Freehanding works great as well. And is ultra convenient as you can touch up a knife wherever you are. The nice thing about power tools is you can re profile a knife very quickly. You can also alter the steel temper so you have to be careful. I do both. I haven't used my power tools lately but I'm glad I have them.
 
It really depends on what you want out of a sharpener and somewhat on your skill.

WSKO is pretty fast to fix neglected edges. It's incredibly fast compared to hand sharpening. The stock belts give you a decent range of grits including a super duper polishing belt if you want to show off. I like some of the other available belts better, but it's not a huge consideration.

Because it's a fast power tool, you can do damage pretty quickly too. It's very common for people to put a notch into the heel of their blade because there's a tendency to let it sit on that spot for a moment at the beginning of each stroke. This can be bad, so you definitely have to pay attention to what you are doing. I suggest starting with knives that you don't care about at all. You might hurt some of them while learning.

To be fair, I don't use the included angle guide, so my perspective is a little odd on this. I use it more like a little tiny belt sander. The guide can make some of these effects more pronounced based on the videos I've seen and what I've read others say. I've never used it.

Deburring properly on a WSKO is very difficult. In fact I would say it's nearly impossible. You really need a final deburring step of some sort to augment your setup. Maybe a strop, or a fine stone. I've had great luck with the sharpmaker as a deburring step after the WSKO.

Brian.
 
I own one and use it and like it. Here is what I think you should know:
It is great for changing the angle on a knife.
The best thing I have found for restoring a knife that has seen heavy use or has been poorly maintained.
It can save hours worth of hand work.
If you get one read the instructions and watch videos before you use it.
Start with an old knife that you are ok messing up. If you watch the videos you probably will not mess it up but better safe than sorry.
As with all methods of sharpening you have to develop a feel for it.
Your kitchen knives will be sharp and easy to maintain after a session with the WSKO.
I spent $100 on mine and I feel it was money well spent.
 
I like mine a lot for dull knives and minor repairs. The blade grinder attachment is a must. I did about 20 knives last night, including grinding new tips and taking out some big chips. I can’t imagine doing that on stones without dedicating at least an entire night
 
Well that was my thinking. I just spent the morning re-profiling a couple of badly worn/abused knives and sharpening the wives kitchen knives. I'm thinking if I had one of these to bang out the cheaper knives it would save me a lot of time.
 
Well that was my thinking. I just spent the morning re-profiling a couple of badly worn/abused knives and sharpening the wives kitchen knives. I'm thinking if I had one of these to bang out the cheaper knives it would save me a lot of time.
Hi,
what coarse stone were you using ?
 
Atoma 140 but it is pretty tired. Kitchen knives were really bad, but the steel is soft and sharpens easily. Hit them with 220 & 500 water stones. Had some 52100 & S30V which took a little longer. One was a PM2 with a broken tip which I re-profiled to bring the tip back.
 
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