WorkSharp on Emersons?

J

Jamesh Bond

Joined
Jan 14, 2007
Messages
1,760
Thinking of getting one. Anyone used them on their EKI knives? Which one? How did it work? Tips?

Im planning to reprofile my Mini Comm in the future, FWIW.

Thx.
 
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I've done the Endeavor above on my KOWS. One side only... remove the burr on the other side by hand with strops. I don't run the tip off the belt. I make sure I stop before the tip goes off and I also use light pressure, slow belt speed, and a slow draw near the tip. Mine has the same tip it came with. The angle of the blade in the pix doesn't give an accurate impression of the tip.
 
Had the Work Sharp. Hated it. Followed the instruction and was very careful yet still ruined a SOG. Wouldn't ever consider using it on a good knife. Pretty sure Emerson warns you not to use them.. Garden tools would be o.k but can't beat a proper sharpening system for good knives.
 
Thx. Dale, Is the edge fairly flat, or highly convex ?

It is my understanding thats all you can achieve with a WorkSharp. Slightly convex is ok, as in a hand sharpened edge, but im not after a pronounced convex if that makes sense.
 
I know that you are asking about the WS, but have you given thought to the Spyderco Sharpmaker ?

That is all I use to sharpen my Emersons... it does a hell of a job, quick an easy.
 
Already use Spyderco Profile rods. Love em. But here I'm interested in reprofiling. Not super doable with the grit those abrasives come in.

Thx.
 
Jamesh Bond said:
Already use Spyderco Profile rods. Love em. But here I'm interested in reprofiling. Not super doable with the grit those abrasives come in.

Thx.
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I agree that the rods that come with the SM are not the greatest for a profile job, even the diamond rods are lacking in that department.

Quite a few members wrap " wet/dry " sandpaper around the rods for aggressive steel removal... just a thought.

Not trying to push the SM on you, just throwing some options out there.

Good luck with the WS :thumbup:
 
Thx. Thought about the sandpaper idea too. The WS just got my attention because it would be hella fast and accurate. Im quite impatient!

PS. What grit would you recommend to reprofile? Id like to go straight from reprofile to the gray, then white rods.
 
Jamesh Bond said:
Thx. Thought about the sandpaper idea too. The WS just got my attention because it would be hella fast and accurate. Im quite impatient!

PS. What grit would you recommend to reprofile? Id like to go straight from reprofile to the gray, then white rods.
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If it was me I would start out at the 400 grit to set your bevels and get the edge profile that you are wanting. After that I would work my way up through the grits... 600, 800, 1000, 1500, 2000, making sure to remove the scratch pattern from the previous grit before moving up to a finer grit, use the 600 or 800 to clean up the 400 grit pattern, 1000 to clean up the 600 or 800 grit pattern, etc.

I know this will be time consuming but I think you will be pleased with the end result, plus I might add if you mess something up along the way it will be know big deal to drop back down a grit and fix the problem. If you mess something up with the WS that might be a bigger problem to fix.

I would not worry about using the SM rods at all, I would do everything with the sandpaper till it was finished.

Despite my above advice I'm far from being a " professional sharpener " :D

My recommendation would be to contact " Jason B " here on the forums, he is a " professional sharpener ". He would be able to tell you exactly what you needed to do and how to proceed. I have used him on several occasions and I could not begin to recommend him highly enough.
 
Jamesh Bond said:
Thx. Dale, Is the edge fairly flat, or highly convex ?

It is my understanding thats all you can achieve with a WorkSharp. Slightly convex is ok, as in a hand sharpened edge, but im not after a pronounced convex if that makes sense.
Click to expand...

The Endeavor has a minimal convex shape on the edge. It's more polished than it is convexed, but there's a slight curve to the bevel. The amount of convexing depends on the pressure you use. The belts are not rigidly tight, so more pressure is going to result in a deeper curve to the belt and more of a convexed edge. I use a slow speed, a slow draw, and light pressure... almost just the weight of the blade.

The biggest advantage of doing the bevel on the KOWS? I dropped the bevel down to about 20 - 22 degrees so it touches up easily on my SM. The knife only has to be angled off-center a slight amount. I spent probably 45 - 60 minutes with the knife and my KOWS getting the bevel set. Then I finished it by hand with loaded strops and a few final passes on bare leather.
 
If I were you persoanly I would send it out have it set to the angle I wanted and keep it up on th sm. of course that is unless you had many knives needing sharpening in which case you would be better off with a ws or we.
 
I put a WSKO full convex on the chisel side of my CQC-10 BTS as I use that blade hard and love the ability to nearly instantly refresh the edge on the WSKO. It is one of my best cutting knives, and the edge is hell-for tough. I actually like the way the edge looks running up to the serrations. Speaking of the serrations, the WSKO does an excellent job of making them nasty sharp by very lightly dressing the back side.

 
mystro said:
Had the Work Sharp. Hated it. Followed the instruction and was very careful yet still ruined a SOG. Wouldn't ever consider using it on a good knife. Pretty sure Emerson warns you not to use them.. Garden tools would be o.k but can't beat a proper sharpening system for good knives.
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Pretty much my experience also. Hard on points and you can end up with a recurve that you didnt want. I can do a better job free hand, just takes a little longer. Anybody want to buy one cheap?:D Just joking mods.----KV
 
I've never actually used a Worksharp but I have experimented with the Sharpmaker. Even though I have a Wicked Edge and an Edge Pro, nothing beats the Sharpmaker for quick touch ups! I found that clipping some diamond hones to the Sharpmaker's ceramic stones will give you plenty of cutting power. Much more than their diamond rods. Cuts thru most hardened steel like buttah!

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DC,

Ive already got good stones for reprofiling. My specific conundrum here is finding something narrow enough to fit the recurve on my Mini Comm, yet aggresive enough to reprofile it.

BTW, are those diamond stones in your pic the ones from Habor Freight? If so, how do you like them? Ive been thinking of picking up a set, but noticed some burrs on the ones i handled, and read several times that they dont lay flat. Thoughts?

Thx.
 
Ahh I see your situation. The we has worked very well on all my commanders. I've reprofiled 5 or so and maintained them well with stock stones. I imagine the recurve stones make it a breeze
 
Jamesh Bond said:
DC,

Ive already got good stones for reprofiling. My specific conundrum here is finding something narrow enough to fit the recurve on my Mini Comm, yet aggresive enough to reprofile it.

BTW, are those diamond stones in your pic the ones from Habor Freight? If so, how do you like them? Ive been thinking of picking up a set, but noticed some burrs on the ones i handled, and read several times that they dont lay flat. Thoughts?

Thx.
Click to expand...

I have been able to reprofile just about every recurved blade with my edge pro, the stones are not too wide so they can easily handle a recurve. They are also aggressive enough to cut thru just about anything easily.

Yes! The diamond hones are from Harbor Freight, I've got some flat ones but I suppose you can find ones that don't lay flat. I'm sure you can bend them if need be if that's the case but i've never come across any that didn't lay flat. I'm sure you could eyeball them in the store if need be. As far as the burrs go, mine didn't have any but you can always rub hone on hone to erase any burrs. Just a light rub should do the trick.

If you have a few recurves, I would recommend a guided system like the Edge Pro or the Lansky sharpener. I like my EP better than my Lansky but the stones on the Lansky are narrower
-Cheers
 
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