Work Sharp Knife Sharpener

In addition to the three included belts, I have them in P400 from WS, and 80MX, 240MX, 360MX, and 4000AO from Micro-Mesh. There are many variations and opinions on this, but I imagine that getting even just a couple in grits between the P220 and 6000 will be a big help.

Andrew
 
Thanks Andrew. I figured that for a reasonably sharp knife that had been worked on with the 220 previously, something finer than 220 would be a better starting point. I will probably order some intermediate grits and see how it does. Regards, Bradley
 
Bradley, I think you'll enjoy the "tweener" belts. Hope you'll post what you get and how they work out for you.

Andrew
 
I ordered a couple of the 400, 600, 1800 from WS (called and they will send usps, saves on delivery cost). Not sure that they are needed, but what the heck. Normally grits will become fine with use, so after the belts wear, should have a good variety. However, it will be difficult to improve on the 220, 6000 combo, imho. Quite an impressive, time saving device. Takes you from dull to very sharp quickly. No doubt, someone gifted in free hand and stones may not like this sort of machine. Regards, Bradley
 
I got mine yesterday. I am very impressed. No issue with rounding the tip. Very straightforward with excellent results.
 
As a hand sharpener, I had avoided getting a D2 knife based on D2's reputation for being a bear to sharpen. But now, with a Work Sharp residing in my little home office, I decided to give one a try. I got a Queen Country Cousin, and in addition to it being D2, Queen is known to ship their knives "butter knife dull". Well, my CC was no exception, and so I figured it would be a good test for the WS.

I initially used the WS freehand and got it decently sharp, and in a lot less time than I could've managed otherwise. But, the edge still had some rough spots and I wasn't happy. So, I whipped out one of the guides---I actually liked the way this knife went through the kitchen guide and so used that one---and I went through another complete grit progression. The Queen is now quite sharp, much smoother and more even, and I am a happy camper.

So, as I said in my earlier long-winded post, sometimes I have better luck with a guide and sometimes without. For that reason, I am glad to have them.

On another point regarding the guides, likewise from my earlier post, I was wrong that the guides don't give you enough room to kick the butt out a tad at the point (in order to keep the angle consistent). They do in fact give you enough wiggle room to do that. Sorry I got that wrong.

Andrew
 
Last edited:
I've had the worksharp sharpener for about a year and love it! I have to believe anyone who does not like them does not own one one or never used one! I'm not an expert nor a proffesional like some of these folks but i have sharpend all of my 50+ knives and can shave the hair off my arm with any of them! These knives range form a 1&1/2 inch case i carry on my key chain to the knives i skin coon mink,fox and muskrats with to a14 inch bowie that i made! fast to and easy to use,have also used it to do hedge clipper, scissors,garden tools! belts last fairly well i think!
 
Yep, this weekend I'm going to give mine a try on some tools---mainly a machete and a manual "weed whacker" type tool. Neither of these has ever had a decent edge, so I'm looking forward to seeing if the WS can change that.

Andrew
 
Look forward to your report back on this. Am really interested in this sharpener since I can't sharpen worth a darn. :)
 
Liveitloud said:
Look forward to your report back on this. Am really interested in this sharpener since I can't sharpen worth a darn. :)
Click to expand...

A couple of weeks ago I went to a gun show, and lo and behold, there was a guy selling these machines. I am happy with my setup for sharpening and can get most of my knives as sharp as I need them. Beyond easily slicing a loosely held piece of notebook paper doesn't interest me.

I had to watch the demo, and he made an offer to everyone. Bring me your knife, and I will put an edge on it. I know he has experience with the machine, and blah blah blah.

BUT.... he sharpened (and in some cases reprofiled the blades as well!) about 10 knives in about 15 minutes, including sales pitch time! ALL would slice notebook paper without a snag and had beautifully polished edges. It was effortless for him, and the machine had been used so much it was filthy. Obviously it had been used hard over many shows.

He changed belts for the reprofiles and they went off and on with no problems. I don't know how many sharpenings he got per belt, but at the speed he sharpened I don't think the belts wore much. He probably got a ton. I did overhear him say that belts broke more often than not from operator error.

It was tempting....

He was selling them like hotcakes. I may wind up with one of those yet. I am thinking after reading the overwhelmingly positive reviews on Amazon I may have to put this on my Christmas list.

Robert
 
midnight flyer said:
BUT.... he sharpened (and in some cases reprofiled the blades as well!) about 10 knives in about 15 minutes, including sales pitch time! ALL would slice notebook paper without a snag and had beautifully polished edges. It was effortless for him, and the machine had been used so much it was filthy. Obviously it had been used hard over many shows.

He changed belts for the reprofiles and they went off and on with no problems. I don't know how many sharpenings he got per belt, but at the speed he sharpened I don't think the belts wore much. He probably got a ton.
Click to expand...

It sounds about right from my experience with mine. I kinda think that a good quality 1 x 42 belt sander would be a better tool for sharpening a lot of knives - but where would I set one of those up? The Work Sharp is small enough to sit on my lap and sharpen a couple of knives. It is a great tool for putting a convex edge on a knife and getting it nice and sharp - the WS plus a loaded strop would be easily enough sharpening equipment for pretty much any knife sharpening needs.
 
It is worth it. Although I have not been able to sharpen every single knife exactly how I want to, it does what I wanted it to do-
KITCHEN KNIVES!!!
In less than 1 hour I re-profiled EVERY kitchen knife (I have quite a few), they are ALL sharp and some are quite large and long Chef's knives.
I hit them on a "V" hone every now and then to keep the edge straight. I got this for Christmas and have not had to resharpen. Keep the steel straight, yes as some cut bones, etc. But after the 1st "sharpening", I have not had a belt back to a single knife, Just a small pull through ceramic "V" and 9 or 10 months later, they are still sharp with very minimal maintenance. Pocket knives I can do on a Lansky, Gatco, CRKT, KME or any one of a dozen other sharpeners, natural stones, man-made stones and diamond stone kits, including a Sharpmaker, DMT, Lansky "V", and the small hand held "V" I keep the edge straight on and if all it would sharpen is kitchen knives (the reason I wanted it), as they can be a LOT of work by hand, even with a sharpener kit. It would have taken a week or most likely 2 in order to sharpen just the kitchen knives, which only took about an hour, that included setting up, reading directions, etc.
Get one if you have a lot of knives. (not the best for thick knives, look at the specs before buying, it will tell you what they max thickness blade is.
 
Whew...took two days to get through this thread. About 2/3 of the way through I went ahead and pulled the trigger on one last night. Won't come soon enough!! Looking forward to finally being able to put a good (and heres where I fail) CONSISTENT edge on my knives, and even a semi polished edge will be nice. The space needed for this is a big factor for me as well. Look forward to the possibilty of melting some handles, rolling some spines...maybe even cuttin in a couple swedges here and there.

Very interested in getting some micro-mesh belts as well. If another "group" (even if its only two of us) buy comes up, count me IN.
 
screag01 said:
Very interested in getting some micro-mesh belts as well. If another "group" (even if its only two of us) buy comes up, count me IN.
Click to expand...

Count me in as well, very interested also. I think a group buy is in time again:)

Congrats on your new purchase!!
 
I too am among the sharpening challenged so I bought one today. I do like my edge pro and my wicked edge precision knife sharpener. But I need new stones for my weps. And those aren't cheap. With the work sharp I can get belts for less than a buck. No brainer for me.
 
I got mines today. I absolutely love this thing! so far it's only done kitchen knives, but I've got a few 1/4 fixed blades that need some love. I've got confidence in this product.

Between this and the sharpmaker, I've had a lot more sucess with the WS and I've only had it a few hours! However the sharpmaker is still a keeper. Between these two items and a strop that's on the way- my knife sharpening needs have been very well covered.

Thanks Work Sharp!
 
I have owned my Worksharp for almost a year now and have had mixed results. Yes you can sharpen knifes very quickly but you can also ruin or at least greatly modify a knife very quickly as well. The think will change your drop point blade into a recurve in no time with the 220 belt. I did purchase and 800 and 400 grit belt but still won't use the Worksharp for my good blades. It is great on kitchen knives and tools but i have found it to be dangerous for smaller folding knives.
 
Mob, could you tell me about your experience with the Sharpmaker? I've tried some of the guide type sharpeners like Lansky and Gatco and have found they don't work well for larger knives like my Ka Bar. I was hoping the Sharpmaker could do the trick.
 
samurai0200 said:
I have owned my Worksharp for almost a year now and have had mixed results. Yes you can sharpen knifes very quickly but you can also ruin or at least greatly modify a knife very quickly as well. The think will change your drop point blade into a recurve in no time with the 220 belt. I did purchase and 800 and 400 grit belt but still won't use the Worksharp for my good blades. It is great on kitchen knives and tools but i have found it to be dangerous for smaller folding knives.
Click to expand...
The P220 belt is too aggressive for anything short of reprofiling or removing chips from the blade IMO. I bought a full range of aftermarket belts and won't hesitate to take a $700 folding knife to the thing. That being said, I might be given some pause if someone asked me to sharpen their $200 knife on it, but I would be hesitant no matter what system I use, mostly because I don't own the knife.

I believe I've got about 10 knives worth over $400, all of which was sharpened on the Worksharp.
 
OH MAN...its here, its here!! My very own WSKS has arrived, now if I can get time away from work to even open the box...

So, anyone interested in defraying the shipping costs on a micron-mesh belt order pm or email me. I'll give it to mid-next week and then put in an order.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top