Work Sharp Knife Sharpener

There is an article on the Work Sharp in the latest edition of Tactical Knives. The author ,"Len McDougall" ,seems to like it.
 
Just got my WSKTS the other day. Wondering if the jury is in on which additional grits between 220 - 6000 would be most appropriate to get (ie: the micro-mesh alternative). I haven't quite been able to get a knife as sharp with the WSKTS as I can with my KME. I am still working at it. About to experiment without the guides. Is it me or in the supplied DVD video they switched the guide when using the 6000 belt? Although still a sharpening newbie, I love the "Zen" of trying to get a perfect edge ... I am certainly not there yet? This is a great forum.
 
A few of us did a group buy on the micro-mesh belts some months back. I tried them all. If you want a mirror edge, progression through each grit (a few strokes on each of them) will get it for you. To be perfectly honest, I've found that the "factory" belts last much longer than the alternative belts do. That's why WorkSharp doesn't offer the other belts, in their testing, they felt that the belt life wasn't good enough. I do all of the main sharpening with the factory belts, and use the other belts for touch ups. When I finish my supply, I think that the only ones I'm going to re-order (if any) are either the 600 or the 800 micro-mesh belts.

I get an incredibly sharp edge just using the factory belts. Popping hair or push cutting newspaper isn't an issue.

If I desired perfect, mirror, show quality edges, I wouldn't use the WorkSharp.

I'd rather spend time dulling a knife than sharpening one, and that's the niche for the WorkSharp.
 
Anyone have feedback on how the Work Sharp works on knives with big bellies?
 
So does that 12,000 grit belt really do much of anything? Significantly better polish than the 6000 grit, and if so, does it completely eliminate the "bite" of the edge? This might not be such a good thing.
 
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I have 2 DMT diamond stones 2" X 6" that seem to work OK on my smaller blades, but when sharpening larger blades like this Jack O'Neill custom seax with a 6-1/2" blade of ATS-34, I really suck! The "before" pictures will bear this out.
So I bought a Work Sharp and an additional belt assortment from Micro Mesh and this afternoon sat down with the seax and Work Sharp with the 20 degree guide in place and made 2 passes each through the 220, 600, and 2400 belt. Another thing that sucks is my picture taking ability but I think you can check out the "after" pictures and see that I am a satisfied Work Sharp customer.
Jack
 
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I've read through this entire thread and could someone elaborate on why you're not satisfied with the guides? I am interested in these and part of the appeal to me is to be able to have the guides to not screw anything up. The thought of doing freehand sort of scares me. Trying to decide between this and a Wicked Edge. Was pretty sold on the Wicked Edge till I saw this thread and then just read the most recent posts from Gritter over in that thread. I've got alot of small folders 4" or less and just looking for something to keep their edges sharp/maintain.
 
Rest assured, you can still screw up the edge even with the guides. The tricky part is following the curve all the way up to the tip properly so you don't fall short of the tip, or go too far and blunt it. I think the main reason why I don't use the guides is because I use less than 20 degrees per side, plus I prefer to be sitting in front of the sharpener rather than to the side(which you might need to do in order to make sure you run it through the guide properly). Definitely not something I'd want to use for a picture perfect edge, but it gets the job done.
 
mann0mann said:
see, that spooks me. I don't want to mess anything up! :)
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Either the WorkSharp isn't right for you, or you should consider investing a few hours(and hours and hours) of practice on your kitchen knives, and your neighbor's knife, and your coworkers', your friends', your in-laws', etc.
 
If you read my post directly above yours mannomann, you'll see that I did use the guides to obtain the results pictured.
 
Ive been considering this as well. Sorry for necroing the thread. I just dont want to mess up my knives with the thing. And if a blade with alot of belly or with a kukri styled blade will the guides not allow this?
 
Steel130 said:
Ive been considering this as well. Sorry for necroing the thread. I just dont want to mess up my knives with the thing. And if a blade with alot of belly or with a kukri styled blade will the guides not allow this?
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You just take the guides off and do it freehand. If you set it up so that the guide slot is vertical, then you pop off the guide and just hold the blade vertical and you'll be at 20 degrees or so. The nice thing about a 1/2" belt is it will follow the curve of belly or recurve.
 
My Work Sharp came in today. I've got pretty good results just using the guides, but I'm still hesitant to use it on my nicer knives. Do I need to manipulate the knife in any way as I'm coming towards the tip? The video shows him just pushing the knife into the guide, and pulling it straight out. I've seen other users on regular sanders kind of manipulate the knife handle so the edge of blade is always pointing straight down. Any tips/suggestions?
 
its a great tool. ive only been using it about a week or so, but as you can guess ive already put alot of blades through it. it does have a learning curve. when i first got it i started off using the guides as directed and it worked well, but i wanted better. so, i tossed aside the guides and went freehand. im good with stones but have never used a belt grinder. ive seen several videos and such so i knew the technique, but believe me, it takes practice. right off the bat i de-tipped my voyager and a rat model 1. so i went back to the guides until i got a better feel for it. after practicing for a couple nights on some cheap folders i got the freehand technique down pretty good and moved on to my better knives. i fixed the ones i messed up pretty easily and went to town on my collection. now my knives are at a new level of sharp, polished and beautiful edges. i reprofiled my new rajah III that had a very uneven bevel from the factory and man is it a chainsaw now. oh, and get some extra micro mesh belts, i'll definitely be gettin some soon, as going from the 220 down to 6000 is a big jump and is difficult removing the wire edge. ive been hittin it on the sharpmaker after the 220 for just a couple strokes to get rid of it before i go to the 6000. so i'd reccomend at least some 800 or 600 belts to bridge that gap.
 
ElectrikHellfire said:
Good thread. I read through almost every post before deciding. .. Mine will arrive tomorrow. :D
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Good luck getting the hang of the Work Sharp - you should be able to convex the bevel & sharpen pretty much any blade with a little practise. I still know of no other belt sharpener that I can use on my lap while sitting at my computer! I wouldn't know where I would set-up a full sized belt sander, but the Work Sharp can be used wherever.
 
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