Work Sharp WSKTS Knife and Tool Sharpener - Opinions?

jimh0220

jimh0220

Joined
Apr 15, 2008
Messages
3,010
Just bought one of these after using it at a local dealer on a knife that I fought forever to get a decent edge on. One run trough this aby, and amazing results!

Anyone use this, and what do you think of it?
 
Have it.
It works. Nothing spectacular, nothing bad. It just works. Its quick and easy for those who don't want to deal with stones and such. Or if you have extremely dull knifes.

After sharpening a couple of knives, mostly kitchen knives, I have found that most of my problems come from the black plastic guide.

The black plastic guide gets in the way, you sometimes can't sharpen all of the knife edge. Thumb studs, knives that have an unground part at the heel.
Solution: Take it off and freehand it.

The belt is standard size: 1/2" x 12"
You can get the belts either from stores with the WorkSharp or other places like McMaster-Carr. I have looked around McMaster website, the website says to ask them if you want other grits from what is listed on the website.

Haven't used on axes, machettes, scissors, or anything else with an edge yet. I'll come back after I sharpen them up.
 
I have had mine for a while now.

I haven't used it on any of my good stuff yet, but I have used it on my cheap kitchen cutlery, which I wasn't having too much success getting a really sharp edge on previously, and now they can actually pass for a sharp knife.

When you get it , spend the few minutes to watch the demo's on the cd which is included.

I didn't watch it before using and still managed to get the first knife sharp.

I finally watched the video and did exactly what they said to do and now it is really sharp and it didn't take very long either!
 
All right. After fooling around with this thing for about an hour I can report from my experience there is definately a learning curve involved. Luckily I heeded advice and started with a cheap little knife I'm not worried about damaging. Will report back later.
 
I am in a house that has an attached garage, but no workshop or workbench or work area of any sort - I wanted to convex my knife edges and I didn't have the room anywhere to set up a belt sander of the 1" x 30" or 1" x 42" type. So I bought a Work Sharp Knife & Tool Sharpener and now I can convex any blades with a handy little power tool.

Overall I'd agree that it is nothing spectacular - just a mini belt sander. But there are a whole bunch of belts available for it (I got a selection of micro-mesh belts) and it does a decent job of convexing the edge of a knife. It is fairly easy to use and works on thin kitchen knives and also on thicker blades like my BK-2.

My main sharpening tool is still my home made paddle strop, but when I get a new knife and want to change the edge profile to convex then the WSKTS is the easiest tool I own for doing the job.
 
Its quick & easy. Much better results achieved with my Wicked Edge, but it does take a little longer.
 
I'm a complete stone sharpening nazi so naturally I don't trust this thing. My store just got a demo model to play with and I was unimpressed on the edge it put on a few of my co-workers' knives, including a SOG Flash II and a Ka-Bar TDI (midsized). The fact that it's basically a belt sander is keeping me from putting my Spyderco through it. I'm yet to sharpen my Spydie but it will be on a nice diamond stone when I do.
 
This is a great little system for everyday knives , a definite step in the right direction for a modern day very versatile monkey proof sharpening system . It will sharpen everything from a scalpel to a lawn mower blade with relative ease. I would not recommend this system for your custom or high end knives but it works great for everything else . If you have knives that are very dull this is a great way to get a good edge on it quickly and if you prefer you can use your stones to refine the edge to your liking. It is a very simple to use and clever system and I personally think it is a refreshing approach to an age old problem for the every day knife user .
 
My son and I have a WSKTS and we love it. We use it for all our knives, we practiced with our kitchen knives then graduated to our good knives. I like all my heavy used outdoor knives to be 50 degree inclusive so I use the 25 degree angle guide for each side of the blade. After I get the angle I want I do all my touch ups on my Sharpmaker and if I somehow damage a knife I go back to my WSKTS and it fixes it in a few minutes and I'm back in business. Great sharpener. Oh and if you register it with the Manufacture they will send you a free set of belts, the same ones that came with it when you bought it. Now that's great service.
 
I've got a WSKTS and I think its great. I can put a shaving edge on a knife in a few minutes.It would take me over an hour on a Lansky or stones. Its great for quick reprofiling and touchups. I've done about a dozen different folders and have'nt scratched any of them. Its pretty much fool proof. I also picked up other micro mesh belts.
Every week someone posts, they have trouble sharpening. The WSKTS is the answer for them.
If Ken Onion likes it then thats one hell of an endorsement!! :thumbup:
 
Well, happy to report that mine works well. DEFINITELY a learning curve (careful where the cord lies, I burned right through mine w the belt - fixed it though), but getting great results now. Definitely worth the $.
 
I both have Edge-pro and WSKTS. And even though WSKTS does not give the edge my Edge-pro gives me, it does the job real well. Knives done on WSKTS will still push cut vegetables and dress meat properly. I probably won't let it near my good knives, but it's pretty good for your outdoor knife especially for fillet knives. If I were to choose for one between the two, I would probably choose Edge-pro first as you can customize your edge with it. But it takes a long time to sharpen a knife on this thing though.

WSKTS is my upgrade as it can sharpen fast, good results for a fraction of the time.
 
Love mine. Practiced with cheap knives and was rounding the tips off. Contacted a member here that works for them. He emailed me extra instructions and gave great advice to a rookie knife sharpener. Thank you so much forgetting his name right now but an awesome guy. Any newbies like me want the PDF file he sent message me and I will forward it to you.
 
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