Worksharp Ken Onion Impressions and Discussion

moe1942 said:
I bought that asst. It's on the way..I'm hoping it has a stiff backing. Should be here tomorrow along with the KO. I think the cost of these and the micromesh are a wash given the high shipping at the latter. I like the way the Ebay listing specifies for the KO.
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Did you get the belts from ebay? How do they compare to the stock ones in terms of stiffness and quality?
 
jedininja said:
Did you get the belts from ebay? How do they compare to the stock ones in terms of stiffness and quality?
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Yes I got them on Ebay. They are pretty stiff but don't have the OEM yet for comparison. KO is due between the 28-30th. I also have some MX coming. I'll compare the three and post my opinion.
 
Bgentry,
You mentioned you did a bunch of dead knives. How are the belts holding up? I've heard they can wear down pretty quick when you remove a lot of steel.

I read some reviews on Amazon, and a few guys mentioned that Econaway abrasives has the 3/4 x 12 belts needed for the KO version. I think they only went up to 2K on the grits, though.
 
I need to try to do a video for the person a few posts back that wants to see it in action. It's on my list, I just haven't gotten to it.

To answer the question above: I've done a total of about 25 knives, give or take 3 or 4. At least 1/3, if not 1/2 of these were in poor, to extremely poor condition. I spent nearly 45 minutes on one that hadn't been sharpened since the owner was born! (He's in his early 20s and it's been in the knife block since he was a little kid and never worked on). That one had a broken tip too that took me quite a bit of extra time to reform properly.

I found that the P120 belt works fairly quickly, but does load up with grey metal. Not really badly, but I'm pretty sure the cutting speed went down noticeably. Maybe by 30% or so? More? So I went to Harbor Freight and bought a belt cleaning stick. Looks like a giant eraser; the kind that's very, very light tan. It was $7 and will probably last forever if I only use it on the worksharp. It took all the grey off in no time and it seemed to cut at normal speed again. I've used the cleaner a total of maybe 4 times on the P120 and it looks basically new. I used it on the other belts and it cleans them well, but doesn't get the white belts (like the X65, X22, X4) totally clean. It's worth it for the P120 belt alone I think.

I need to get some new belts, if for no other reason to have replacements if I manage to break the seam on one, or fray it really badly or something. I'm trying to decide on micromesh, factory replacements, or the econaway belts. Econaway makes the assortment that Moe1942 ordered. They sell belts individually for $2.95, but shipping is like micromesh: They charge a little over $10 for seemingly any quantity, which makes it hard to justify for me.

Thanks,

Brian.
 
Brian,

About a week ago I traded e-mails with a nice guy at Econaway named Jim Schultz, who told me he could ship a small belt order for $5.15 flat rate box. He said just to call and ask for him. I haven't ordered any yet but maybe this will help someone who's ready to do so.

I ask that anyone who does get some WS belts from Econaway to please post their impressions.

Andrew
 
The econoway belts are much stiffer than either the WS or MX. I'm thinking a stiffer belt will result in less convex shape. I will try to review them this coming week. Still trying to get the hang of the sharpener.. Also for those that haven't registered their sharpener on line, if you do there is a free set of belts in it. Just on line as I read it.
 
bgentry said:
I need to try to do a video for the person a few posts back that wants to see it in action. It's on my list, I just haven't gotten to it.

To answer the question above: I've done a total of about 25 knives, give or take 3 or 4. At least 1/3, if not 1/2 of these were in poor, to extremely poor condition. I spent nearly 45 minutes on one that hadn't been sharpened since the owner was born! (He's in his early 20s and it's been in the knife block since he was a little kid and never worked on). That one had a broken tip too that took me quite a bit of extra time to reform properly.

I found that the P120 belt works fairly quickly, but does load up with grey metal. Not really badly, but I'm pretty sure the cutting speed went down noticeably. Maybe by 30% or so? More? So I went to Harbor Freight and bought a belt cleaning stick. Looks like a giant eraser; the kind that's very, very light tan. It was $7 and will probably last forever if I only use it on the worksharp. It took all the grey off in no time and it seemed to cut at normal speed again. I've used the cleaner a total of maybe 4 times on the P120 and it looks basically new. I used it on the other belts and it cleans them well, but doesn't get the white belts (like the X65, X22, X4) totally clean. It's worth it for the P120 belt alone I think.

I need to get some new belts, if for no other reason to have replacements if I manage to break the seam on one, or fray it really badly or something. I'm trying to decide on micromesh, factory replacements, or the econaway belts. Econaway makes the assortment that Moe1942 ordered. They sell belts individually for $2.95, but shipping is like micromesh: They charge a little over $10 for seemingly any quantity, which makes it hard to justify for me.

Thanks,

Brian.
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I have used that type cleaner for years...it works and is necessary for extended belt life.. Mine is over twenty years old and still kickin..
 
moe, that's great. Look forward to your impressions of the Econaway belts.

Andrew
 
I also have a Work Sharp Ken Onion. I love it. While in the learning stages I rounded the tip off and put in an unintended recurve in one knife. The machine works so fast! It helps to be vigilant when using the coarser belts.

It didn't take long before I felt confident enough to it for all my knives and expect near-perfect results. I keep my knives sharp so I use the X4 belts and the 6000 grit belt loaded with chromium oxide. The knives come off the machine sharp enough to whittle hair.

Yesterday I decided that the scandi grind on a Mora Companion was too acute and was chipping out too easily. A few passes at 20 degrees with the red belt was all it took to reshape the bevel and make the edge a lot stronger. I think it's a more useful knife now and food doesn't stick to the bevels so readily.
 
moe1942 said:
The econoway belts are much stiffer than either the WS or MX. I'm thinking a stiffer belt will result in less convex shape. I will try to review them this coming week. Still trying to get the hang of the sharpener.. Also for those that haven't registered their sharpener on line, if you do there is a free set of belts in it. Just on line as I read it.
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I registered mine about 2 weeks ago. Any clue how long the turnaround time is to get them back?
 
Salt said:
I registered mine about 2 weeks ago. Any clue how long the turnaround time is to get them back?
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Note on the registration page says "Due to high demand, please allow 3-4 weeks for delivery of your free belt kit."
 
I just ordered a set of belts from Econaway. I had emailed them because their set of 25 belts was $39 on ebay, making it $1.56 a belt including shipping. But I don't need the coarsest belt, so Jim Schultz had me call in and let me customize the assortment for the same price. Great guy to work with.
 
Tag for the video. I'm getting one for Christmas so I'd like to get as much info before I start. I have a bunch of practice knives to work on.
 
jedininja said:
I just ordered a set of belts from Econaway. I had emailed them because their set of 25 belts was $39 on ebay, making it $1.56 a belt including shipping. But I don't need the coarsest belt, so Jim Schultz had me call in and let me customize the assortment for the same price. Great guy to work with.
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Have you gotten yours yet?

I did this the other day as well.
Went with 400, 800, 1200, and 2000 grit belts.
 
Yes, he sent it out USPS Priority and I got it within 3 days. Great customer service. The coarser grits are on a very stiff backing. The finer grits are on some type of cloth. So far so good.
 
I've done a video showing how I freehand sharpen with the WSKO. There have been some hurdles along the way and I *think* I'm over the last of them now. It's uploading to youtube now, but it's going to be a few hours as I shot it in 1080P and my upload speed is slow-ish.

Brian.
 
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