Work Sharp, To get or not to get?

Steel130

Steel130

Joined
Sep 17, 2010
Messages
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So I heard a ton of people liking this The tool here http://www.worksharptools.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=90 , many of the people on here have been sharpening for years though. I haven't been collecting or sharpening for long, about 10 months now. But I do have some expensive knives, Bussekins ect. I am not great at sharpening either I use a Sharpmaker and I am satisfied with the results. So what would the learning curve be on one of these free hand? Are the Guides a bad Idea to use? I ordered one today then cancelled it as I would like some feedback that is more recent than what the other thread I was reading was ( 2010 ). Help me out guys if this is amazing I will buy it, I just dont want to mangle up a good knife.
 
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It won't mangle.. It's tiny, portable, and makes convex edges pretty easy.. I bought one early this year and enjoy it. For how inexpensive it is, and easy to use, even if you had a real belt sander, this would be useful for quickies :) The trick is to understand the soft touch is how you finish a scary sharp edge.. too much pressure and you will continue to grind and roll grind and roll and never get sharp.. that wire edge removal is key :) oh the only issue I find is that the tiny belts wear fairly fast and aren't as cheap as they should be in my little mind :) later
 
There will be a learning curve, but it is like anything else and will take some practice. I was looking at the other thread too. I think it is a cool little tool, but I am already happy with the edges I get with my current stuff. You definitely will want to practice with it, and it can develop into a great skill. I think you will find that you will want to do your knives freehand, and you will need practice to be consistent. If I didn't already have a good way to sharpen, I would pick one up.
 
I bought one 3 months ago, about the time I found BF. I have used it on every knife in the house and it works great. I can achieve shaving sharpness on most blades and that is without stropping. I bought one as I have spent countless $ on every "easy" pull through, set of sticks, lansky type sharpener and I could never get a knife sharp. My uncle saw it as I sharpened his pocket knive in less than 10 mintues and order one when he got home. The belts are not available at Depot, Lowes or Ace and I will likely have to order them. This is the only down side I see for this product. Worth the $ and now my hunting buddies ask me to sharpen their knives or want me to buy one for the ranch. If it helps, I turned my Regulator and Kershaw Blur in s30v as knives to be feared they are so sharp. Still have not tired it on my CABS or War Dog yet.
 
So is it bad to use the left part of the guide since that makes the belt turn into the edge?
 
sloth357 said:
It won't mangle.. It's tiny, portable, and makes convex edges pretty easy.. I bought one early this year and enjoy it. For how inexpensive it is, and easy to use, even if you had a real belt sander, this would be useful for quickies :) The trick is to understand the soft touch is how you finish a scary sharp edge.. too much pressure and you will continue to grind and roll grind and roll and never get sharp.. that wire edge removal is key :) oh the only issue I find is that the tiny belts wear fairly fast and aren't as cheap as they should be in my little mind :) later
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Sorry, but if you go back to earlier threads you will see that plenty of people jacked up their tips on these. Yes, it's "gentler" than most power tools, but it can still screw things up in a big hurry. Remeber, the reason it works so fast is that it removes metal fast- it's up to you to make sure it's removing the right metal. Practice on cheap knives first!

I saw one in person at a knife show and was not impressed (I like my Wicked Edge). I think it would be great for someone who just needed a quick, light duty sharpener and wasn't that picky about their edges. I'm not saying it won't get a knife plenty sharp, but for me as a hobbyist/collector I spend enough on my knives that I don't mind spending the time and money to have more control and put on a "prettier" edge.

Just my $.02 and YMMV
 
You will not be sorry with the purchase, but you will want to practice on cheap knives. You might also want to get extra belts from micro mesh belts.

I love my wicked edge sharpener, and my Spyderco Sharpmaker. If I need a great edge quick on multiple knives, I'm likely to turn to the worksharp.

Good bang for the buck, and portable.
 
Steel130 said:
So is it bad to use the left part of the guide since that makes the belt turn into the edge?
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The guys selling them tell me that it shouldn't be a problem, though I'd prefer to be on the safe side. You can get around the issue by turning the knife around and running it through the same side(which is essentially what I do when free-handing).

Aftermarket Micro-Mesh belts are a necessity because the stock ceramic belts will eat up the blade in a hurry. The price can rise up to $130-$150 depending on how many belts you buy.

Since this is a power tool, there's always the risk of screwing something up. Though personally, I feel any sharpening system(except perhaps the Sharpmaker) can run the risk of grinding something other than the edge. And yes, that includes the Edge Pro. The difference is in the learning curve, and I found the Work Sharp to have less of a curve than the Paper Wheels.

I found I like to spend more time dulling my knives than sharpening them to perfection, so I chose the Work Sharp. If you want absolutely perfect edges no matter the time invested, I'd suggest a guided system like the Edge Pro or Wicked Edge. Though no matter what you choose, you can't get around the practice required.
 
MVF said:
Sorry, but if you go back to earlier threads you will see that plenty of people jacked up their tips on these. Yes, it's "gentler" than most power tools, but it can still screw things up in a big hurry. Remeber, the reason it works so fast is that it removes metal fast- it's up to you to make sure it's removing the right metal. Practice on cheap knives first!

I saw one in person at a knife show and was not impressed (I like my Wicked Edge). I think it would be great for someone who just needed a quick, light duty sharpener and wasn't that picky about their edges. I'm not saying it won't get a knife plenty sharp, but for me as a hobbyist/collector I spend enough on my knives that I don't mind spending the time and money to have more control and put on a "prettier" edge.

Just my $.02 and YMMV
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Yes agreed. I put my swamp rats through it and give them the sharp edge I wish they got from the factory.. however it seems the RMDs were sharpened, and the RSs not so much.. Back on track, for my collectible knives.. I haven't had to put an edge on because they don't get used.. If I had to.. I'd send them back to maker to get his/her edge back--though some makers send off some dull stuff.. so I am looking for a way to "fix" those one day.. I'll look into the Wicked Edge for those..

For users.. WorkSharp does the trick.. but I'm no hack. I don't just mash the tip through the belt, very careful there.. also I only use one side of the device (belt grind from spine to edge side.).

It is what it is :D I still recommend one. I'll get around to taking a photo of the RS edge I put on with one.. I think it looks even and I know it performs WAY better then new from SR. BTW, I love the RS and use it as an example because I have worked with it the most recently :D
 
Does the Work Sharp offer a way to adjust the sharpening angle? For example my Moras have sharpening angles of 10 degrees or 12.5 degrees. I like to sharpen my sheepsfoot at @ 15 degrees.
 
Thanks guys. I will probably buy one after I am finished with all my blade purchases haha.
 
I have a Work Sharp Knife and Tool Sharpener, and I love the thing. Small learning curve, practice with cheap knives, should not take to long to get the hang of it. I purchased mine back in January 2011, and back then they gave a free set of belts if you registered it, either online or by mail. I'm not sure if they are still offering that, but couldn't hurt register it and see.
 
My Dad and I each bought one at the Blade show Saturday. I like mine. I practiced on a kitchen knife and then touched up a couple.
I did stand by and watch them sharpen quite a few at the show including 3 of my own before purchasing.
 
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. highly reccomend the worksharp. 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. get one!
 
As with any sharpener, the key to keep from jacking up a tip is to NOT DRAG THE TIP OFF OF THE ABRASIVE. Stop the pulling the blade completely off of the belt and it won't round off your tip. It's the same technique when using bench stones or an angled clamp system.
 
I just wonder if ALL your edges has to be set @ a 50 degree angle... I like smaller angles on some of my blades (for slicing purposes)... will this thing regrind all my blades at that 50 angle?
 
are these readily availble? last time i checked they were sold out everywhere cuz they were so popular.
 
cramsey3006 said:
As with any sharpener, the key to keep from jacking up a tip is to NOT DRAG THE TIP OFF OF THE ABRASIVE. Stop the pulling the blade completely off of the belt and it won't round off your tip. It's the same technique when using bench stones or an angled clamp system.
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I don't believe it's 100% the same, as even going near the end of the belt without dragging it off will round the tip. It's a similar technique, as going completely off the stone are guided system can take off the tip. But not entirely the same, as the belt flexes while the other two are perfectly flat. As a rule of thumb, I drag the very tip to a little less than half the width of the belt before taking it off, thus I don't flex the belt. I also try to ease up on the pressure near the tip because it's thinner than the rest of the edge.

Another important thing is to keep the edge parallel to the belt as much as possible, and it becomes more important near the tip.

This is the "correct" position:
IMG_0118.jpg


This will round your tip despite not dragging it off the belt:
IMG_0119.jpg


This will seriously screw up the grind:
IMG_0120.jpg


Not sure if you can tell, but I screwed up the grind on my American Lawman by running the knife through like in picture #3:
IMG_0057.jpg


skippzesty said:
I just wonder if ALL your edges has to be set @ a 50 degree angle... I like smaller angles on some of my blades (for slicing purposes)... will this thing regrind all my blades at that 50 angle?
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It comes with a 40 degree guide as well. However, I strongly recommend practicing with freehand. I'm not picky about the exact angle. I figure so long as it doesn't look ugly, it'll work fine.

eccvets said:
are these readily availble? last time i checked they were sold out everywhere cuz they were so popular.
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sharpeningsupplies.com should have one.
 
Noctis3880 said:
I don't believe it's 100% the same, as even going near the end of the belt without dragging it off will round the tip. It's a similar technique, as going completely off the stone are guided system can take off the tip. But not entirely the same, as the belt flexes while the other two are perfectly flat. As a rule of thumb, I drag the very tip to a little less than half the width of the belt before taking it off, thus I don't flex the belt. I also try to ease up on the pressure near the tip because it's thinner than the rest of the edge.

Another important thing is to keep the edge parallel to the belt as much as possible, and it becomes more important near the tip.
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great pics. i agree here, as this is how i rounded my tips. i didnt run them off the belt, just a little too far on the belt like in pic #2. the other points you give are equally as important, as i then started doing what you show in pic #3 and ended up with a huge bevel near the tip, which is worse, since it cant really be fixed without removing alot of metal.

the freehand method definitely gives better results, but does take alot of practice to get it right. i think the hardest part is being precise with the edge/belt alignment without holding the blade on the belt too long.

also the worksharp website now has a larger belt selection. now they have a 400, 600, 1800, and a couple diamond belts, but they are pretty expensive.
 
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