Work sharp

ARMYOf1

ARMYOf1

Joined
Sep 27, 2008
Messages
1,127
Does any one have the Ken Onion work sharp sharpener? Will this belt grinding sharpener void my Busse Warrenty or wreck the heat treat on the edge? I was looking at one at bass pro shop as I am in the market for a new sharpener. I finally wore down my sharp maker rods. Opinions ??
 
I really love mine, "BUT" (there's always a but) I find Busses generally have thick edges and if you want to maintain Busse factory edges...the WorkSharp is great. Even minor thinning is easy, just time consuming. "Lesser" steels it eats right through at heavier grit and high RPMs. But INFI puts up some resistance. Like I said, you can do it.... Just get some 100 grit belts and sit for a while.
 
tinfoil hat timmy said:
Learn to sharpen on a diamond plate or stone.
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I never was able to get hair popping sharp on stones, great working edges on all types of knives, but never impressive. Now I look like I have some disease with missing patches of hair all over from testing blades. Shaving sharp after the first couple minutes of using the Worksharp.
 
All I had to do was learn to find the burr, and some geometry.

Divide the thickness by the width and multiply by 60 to get the included angle. This is an estimate of the trigonometry.

For example 0.01" / 0.02" * 60 = 30 degrees included. The exact answer is 28.1 degrees, which is obtained by arctan (0.01 / 0.02 / 2)*2 .

Thanks Cliff. Valuable info there.
 
tinfoil hat timmy said:
All I had to do was learn to find the burr, and some geometry.

Divide the thickness by the width and multiply by 60 to get the included angle. This is an estimate of the trigonometry.

For example 0.01" / 0.02" * 60 = 30 degrees included. The exact answer is 28.1 degrees, which is obtained by arctan (0.01 / 0.02 / 2)*2 .

Thanks Cliff. Valuable info there.
Click to expand...

You make me wish I paid attention in high school. I did well in math until I started dating.
 
I wore the diamond off my spyderco sharp maker. I can use a stone but am looking for a EZer way to get super sharp edge. the work sharp is a slack belt sharpener and looks like it can really hone an edge.
 
I wouldn't worry about the heat treat, it's been discussed here before and you have to get up to 900F plus and at that high I think it glows red, but you might want to wait for a more educated person to tell you.

How does the sharpmaker do for convexed edges? I think I read somewhere it can do them :confused:
 
I've said this before -- unfortunately no one has posted a video to show us otherwise --- the Work Sharp Ken Onion addition has angle guides that are NOT fixed --- they move when you apply lateral pressure against it --- this makes the KO sharpener more of a portable belt grinder than a precision tool. Busse recommends 20 degrees or 40 degrees inclusive on their edges for all around work --- I find it challenging to maintain a 20 degree edge with any knife thicker than .22 on the Work Sharp KO edition --- it's a lot more like free hand sharpening -- which is fine -- if that's what you're into. As always -- I hope someone can finally post a video showing us their technique and how to effectively maintain a consistent 20 degree edge with a knife that's .22 or more on the Work Sharp KO edition.
 
I have one and have recently been using it on my desert Dogfather.
It's a great way to quickly and easily sharpen larger fixed blades, and it convexes the edge, which is nice too. The Ken Onion edition has variable speed controls, so it's really unlikely you're going to heat the blade up so much that it ruins the heat treat. You're in control of the belt speed.

I will say that the Dogfather is a lot thicker behind the edge up near the tip than it is along the straight of the blade, and as a result, I can get the straight part razor sharp, but I'm still working on the tip (TWSS?)

One potential bad thing is the WorkSharp KE does tend to remove a lot of the coating up near the tip, so you can generally tell when a thick blade has been sharpened with one....
Doesn't bother me, as my Dogfather is a user anyway, but it does give it a unique look that not everyone might enjoy.


At around $100, I think it's worth trying. If you don't like it, try to return it, or sell it for $60 and buy some stones I guess
 
DanR217 said:
I wouldn't worry about the heat treat, it's been discussed here before and you have to get up to 900F plus and at that high I think it glows red, but you might want to wait for a more educated person to tell you.

How does the sharpmaker do for convexed edges? I think I read somewhere it can do them :confused:
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ask and ye shall receive:

As for INFI and temperature extremes, it is amazing. INFI is tempered at nearly 950 degrees. It does not begin to lose any significant hardness until it is held above 1050 degrees for a considerable amount of time. I have to believe that it would need to be extremely mishandled in order to do any noticeable damage.

Most of the simpler high carbon steels (of which INFI is NOT a member) can be drawn down in temper in a matter of seconds if the temperature hits above 500 - 800 degrees. Along the thin edge of a knife, a buffer or dremel can produce this level of heat and can cause serious damage if not executed by a professional. Always check the grade of steel and heat-treat specs. before assassinating it with the dremel tool Uncle Leo gave you for Christmas. Always keep the steel cool to the touch and you should be fine.

As far as INFI is concerned, care for and feed it like a friend. If the blade does get warm pour beer over it to cool it down. Stories out of Africa indicate that “Beer Tempering” only increases the performance of the steel. Is this true? I question nothing I hear from our friends in Africa.

Jerry Busse
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Love mine, it's the original worksharp. Works like a charm on my busses and hinderers
 
I have both the original works sharp and the Ken Onion. I used the Ken Onion to sharpen a TGLB I recently got off the exchange. It took a lot more time to get it to the sharpness that I wanted it but it finally got there. I've never sharpened infi I'm wondering if that was why it took so long to get sharp.
 
tinfoil hat timmy said:
Harbor freight 1x30 belt grinder works wonders thinning out edges.....
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+1 this...

lay it down on it's back with edge trailing and you've got infinite freedom to grind at any angle you desire...plus 1 x 30 belts are readily available in any grit & abrasive you'd ever want...you can even purchase a leather belt that's 1 x 30, add some white compound-- polished edge??? DONE ( if you're into that sort of thing ) ...

keep the platen on if you want V-grind...my little Harbor Fright grinder in my basement is handier than a roll of duct tape ...very versatile for the $$$

on the down side, I tend to get more chatter marks due to the low tolerances inherent in the cheap construction of the tool, but it's not a deal killer
 
The ken onion work sharp is great I use it on my rodent solution and tglb. Get the hang of using it with some cheaper knives first then sharpen your good knives with it. It does take a while to knock the shoulders off of some models, but then things are great. I've been slowly moving fromn the original 55° towards 40° on my rodent solution. I just take a little more each time.
 
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