WSKO-Imitation....

I didn’t time it, but I think it was less than 15minutes. Real world applications are usually less than provided specs when it comes to electronics, in my experience.

A real bummer, as this would be good competition for the workshop, if it wasn’t for the subpar battery. Maybe workshop will come out with a battery operated device at some point.
 
I sent it back to Bass Pro today.

In the end, the battery was the biggest downside for me.

Also, it requires time to “master” a system like this without ruining your nice blades. I had several “oops” spots on the blades I tried. I’m confident that with more time and practice, it would be fine. But, in the end, for the amount of knives that I have, I think my time would be better spent on perfecting my free hand technique.
 
F308gt4 said:
I sent it back to Bass Pro today.

In the end, the battery was the biggest downside for me.

Also, it requires time to “master” a system like this without ruining your nice blades. I had several “oops” spots on the blades I tried. I’m confident that with more time and practice, it would be fine. But, in the end, for the amount of knives that I have, I think my time would be better spent on perfecting my free hand technique.
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Bummer... but makes sense. I wonder if there's a compromise to keep the cost down... as the reason it can't run while charging?

You should have disassembled it first haha. :rolleyes:
 
Update:

I got the money back from Bass Pro finally, and went ahead and ordered a Worksharp Ken Onion! Also ordered a pack of the high grit belts as I feel those will likely get the most use, based on my experience from the Smiths (their 600 grit belt took a lot of metal off quickly).

I've been practicing with freehanding, and while I can get a decent edge, it takes me a long time to do it. One thing I liked about the Smiths was how fast it was to sharpen a knife.

I don't think it will get that much use, as I usually can touch up with my sharpmaker or even free hand now (I feel confident enough to do a decent touch up via free hand). But, those few times when I want to profile, or have lots of knives to touch up, I think it will be a worthwhile time saver. Maybe I'll start sharpening knives for relatives/friends, etc.
 
F308gt4 said:
Update:

I got the money back from Bass Pro finally, and went ahead and ordered a Worksharp Ken Onion! Also ordered a pack of the high grit belts as I feel those will likely get the most use, based on my experience from the Smiths (their 600 grit belt took a lot of metal off quickly).

I've been practicing with freehanding, and while I can get a decent edge, it takes me a long time to do it. One thing I liked about the Smiths was how fast it was to sharpen a knife.

I don't think it will get that much use, as I usually can touch up with my sharpmaker or even free hand now (I feel confident enough to do a decent touch up via free hand). But, those few times when I want to profile, or have lots of knives to touch up, I think it will be a worthwhile time saver. Maybe I'll start sharpening knives for relatives/friends, etc.
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Congrats... it’s a good machine.

I really think the strength of the Ken Onion version though, is in the Blade Grinding Attachment... especially if you’re considering sharpening for others.

At least no battery issues..... ;)
 
cbwx34 said:
Congrats... it’s a good machine.

I really think the strength of the Ken Onion version though, is in the Blade Grinding Attachment... especially if you’re considering sharpening for others.

At least no battery issues..... ;)
Click to expand...

Yeah, I’ve read about it. Will definitely be an option for the future...
 
So I got the WSKO the other day, and have played with it a bit since then. A few observations of what you get for the extra money ($79 for the Smiths vs $129 for the WSKO):

Adjustable speed with the WSKO. Very useful to prevent taking off too much metal from your blade.

The WSKO guide is better than the Smiths- you can get pretty close to the edge even on some knives with thumb studs. Also, the little bar guide can rotate out of the way on the WSKO. But, I suggest forgoing the guides and going freehand regardless of which sharpener you use.

Ability to lock the trigger on with the WSKO- very useful if you want to try freehanding on the belts.

More belts/higher gits: The highest that came with the Smiths was 600 grit, which can take off too much too fast. You can use aftermarket belts which would fix this. But, I imagine the typical user will just buy the machine and start using on their knives. If they are not super consistent, could lead to different wear/recurve formation on the knives.

Thicker belts on the WSKO (3/4" x 12" vs 1/2" x 12").

The Smiths does have the ability to be used with a battery, but, its not without its issues, as I've posted above in this thread.

Hope this helps.
 
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