Work Sharp sharpner....Yuck..Not impressed. High end knives stay away!

M

mystro

Joined
Aug 26, 2010
Messages
851
I spent two days with the Work Sharpener WSKTS for $70.00. Not that impressed. First problem is if you follow their instructions, you will round out your tip of your blade. The next problem is the 20deg guide doent work with knives with thumb studs or thumb discs.:eek:
I sharpened a few cheaper knives and the results were o.k but they were not shaving sharp at all. I then free styled for a few hours without any guides and the results were better but still average to poor. There is too much of a gap between their fine purple belts and medium red belt. I guess its a good tool for lawnmower blades. Thank goodness I am good with my Lansky system to fix a SOG Flash 2 that was butchered by the Work Sharp. The very thought of using the Work Sharp on one of my Emersons or Benchmades is crazy stupid. There is no free lunch here and a good Lansky Deluxe sharpening system is a much smarter and effective way to go.


41Q-3E-JR3L._SL500_AA300_.jpg
 
Thanks for the review, I was considering one of those. You just saved me a few bucks.
 
No problem. Thank goodness for Amazon because its already gone back. The Work Sharp is not for the knife enthusiast.
 
That thing actually looks like it could work really well in making and finishing handle material (G10/Micarta style). Shame it didn't "cut" the mustard in the end though...:(
 
Despite having the same issue with larger thumbstuds and the angle guide, I really like mine. YMMV, of course, but I've yet to have a knife come out of there not shaving sharp and ready to go.

Sure, if I took the time and spent the money on the right things I could get them sharper, but shaving sharp is just fine for anything I've let get past the touch-up stage.
 
mystro said:
I sharpened a few cheaper knives and the results were o.k but they were not shaving sharp at all. I then free styled for a few hours without any guides and the results were better but still average to poor.
Click to expand...

There have been a couple of threads on this sharpener over in the maintenance section and based on those reviews I have ordered one.

Others have had VERY good results, have found it easy to use and have gotten knives sharp to the point of 'hair popping'. I am looking forward to playing with mine - I'll start with some kitchen knives and then some cheaper knives before thinking about working on my better knives. I am looking forward to convexing a few of my blades.

TBH the complaints in the OP remind me of what I have read in regards to the 1 x 30" belt sanders - some couldn't get a good edge and had problems with rounding of tips, but then other people talked of fantastic results. In fact I have read both good and bad things about: stones, strops, guided systems, belt sanders, paper wheels, ceramic rods and any other sharpening systems that are available.

Before writing the Work Sharp off after reading one person's review of it I would suggest reading another review: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=777413
If you don't want to read the whole thread then you should at least read this & this post.

Then there is this 10 page thread: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=765050
Which includes these posts:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=8585795&postcount=92
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=8628422&postcount=123
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=8703607&postcount=166

For belts there may be only 3 grits that come with the tool, but there are 1/2" x 12" micromesh belts availble at $0.52 ea
http://micro-surface.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=272_7_228_262&products_id=91
 
I have found that mine works great for standard kitchen knives. I get mine hair shaving sharp using the guides. Very simple and super quick. You do have to be careful to remove the knife before coming completely off the belt to avoid hitting the tip hard.

I wouldnt use it with the guides for high dollar knives. I would probably use it w/o the guides freehand. For the price it is a good unit!
 
Practice!!! Like anything, Sharpmaker, Lansky, Mouse Pad. I hated all!! But the more I used the better or more comfortable I got (Used my buddies Sharpmarker and Lansky...never got very good at either but did get better the more I used them). Mouse pad is merely for touch up but is very forgiving. Sharpmaker and lansky are great for folders! You just have to use them to get good. The WorkSharp is no different. It has some pretty positive reviews overall. I am yet to use mine but originally considered a 1x30 harbor freight belt sander (big and takes up a ton of space!). This looked better and will do convex...yes it will! You can reprofile and sharpen a variety of tools, scissors and knives with it. I am yet to see any other solution that can do this and with decent results. Once again Practice.
 
The funny thing is that there are a lot of people saying that they were getting good results pretty much from the first knife they tried. Obviously you would get better as you got some practice in and freehand results would be better once you got the hang of it - but the reviews I've read suggest that on the guides the results start out around 'good' and improve from there. It seems to me that the OP couldn't get the results that many others could and therefore chose to label the product as no good, I'm having doubts about that being a fair assessment.

Once I get mine I'll post my initial impressions and then update it after a week or two of use - probably in a new thread in the Maintenance section. I'm hoping to be getting good results fairly quickly - I really like the idea of re-profiling some of my blades to convex.
 
Everyone has different opinions, and all opinions are valid... for the opiner! (Is that a word?) Some folks hate things for the same reasons that others love them. Some have perfect results right out of the box and other need a long learning curve. Just think what a boring world this would be if we all liked the same thing.
Only one folder produced.
Only one fixed blade sold.
Only one sharpener.
Everyone married to the same woman.
Only one horse running in the derby.
Only one flavor ice cream.
Only one color car.
Only one planet to live on.

What a drag!


Stitchawl
 
stitchawl said:
Everyone has different opinions, and all opinions are valid
Click to expand...

No one is saying otherwise. But there is a difference between "I don't like this system, it's not the way I like to do it, it's not for me" and "this system is no good, it doesn't work properly, it's useless".
The first is an opinion, which everyone is entitled to, the second is bagging something because you don't like it.

Not everyone will like the WS Sharpener, this sharpener will not suit everyone. But the evidence is that it is capable of getting knives sharp and doing the job that it claims it can do, unless people like knifenut1013 are lying to us on these forums. When mine arrives I'll try it and either like it or not - but I won't be posting here that it is no good, only how well it works for me and whether I like it or not.
 
I ordered one last week.I have sharpened two pairs of scissors, a few folders, and a couple of kitchen knives. Here's a couple of things I noticed. The first folder I tried (Kabar Mule) didn't turn out very well. Parts of the edge were, well, sort of sharp. The tip was rounded off. It wasn't a very pretty picture. If your new to this machine (and sharpening on a belt sander like I am) start with the cheapo knives. I knew that fact going into it but excitement got the best of me.

The thing that changed everything for me was that the first time I used it, I had someone tape what I was doing (with my cellphone). I watched the video when I was done and realized that I wasn't paying attention to the angle as I drew the knife across the belt (probably explaining the random sharpness). I was dragging the tip off even though I thought was stopping and pulling the tip off. I also rushed the entire process.

Once I settled down and really focused on what I was doing, I received MUCH better results. Finishing on the highest grit belt (6000) leaves a great edge and for my purposes will do a fine job. It's not the most beautiful looking edge I have ever seen. It's definitely not a replacement for an edge pro or any other high end sharpening device. But for the price, and for someone who has had mixed results using other devices, it works out great.

Just a couple of last notes. I think the jump from the 220 to the 6000 is pretty big - I feel like the 6000 grit belt should leave a finer finish than what I get. Switching belts is a breeze. Being in an apartment, a larger belt sander isn't really an option. This unit works perfectly for me because the noise is pretty minimal. Probably not the safest idea to use indoors, but out on my deck, it works great.
 
tenordrumr said:
The thing that changed everything for me was that the first time I used it, I had someone tape what I was doing (with my cellphone). I watched the video when I was done and realized that I wasn't paying attention to the angle as I drew the knife across the belt (probably explaining the random sharpness). I was dragging the tip off even though I thought was stopping and pulling the tip off. I also rushed the entire process.
Click to expand...

Now THAT'S a really good idea - it must have sped up your learning by heaps!
 
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