Anybody runnin' one of these babies?
http://www.amazon.com/Work-Sharp-WSK...ef=pd_sim_hi_5
Seems to get universally good reviews.
Anybody runnin' one of these babies?
http://www.amazon.com/Work-Sharp-WSK...ef=pd_sim_hi_5
Seems to get universally good reviews.
In a sort of ghastly simplicity we remove the organ and demand the function. We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honour and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and bid the geldings be fruitful.” ― C.S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man
It works great! Very easy to use and quick to set up. I also have the Wicked Edge, but I find my myself going to the Work Sharp more often because it's fast and works for 90% of what I need a sharpener for. The Ken Onion version is worth the extra money over the base model. Watch the You-Tube video reviews to see if it fits your particular needs. I think twangnbang has one of the better reviews: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8Yl_Z-oRkU
I am going to have a review up on Modern Service Weapons, but in short...awesome! For those of is who are sharpening challenged they are a godsend. Definitely go with the Onion version.
Just a Hairy Special Snowflake supply clerk with no field experience, shooting an Asymetric carbine as a Try Hard. Snarky and easily butt hurt. Favorite animal is the Cape Buffalo....likely indicative of a personality disorder.
"If I had a grandpa, he would look like Delbert Belton".
How does it compare to a Spyderco Sharpmaker?
Sharpmaker is good for touch-ups, but time-consuming if you need to take a lot of material off or reshape the edge. I only tried the Worksharp briefly, but I took more material off than I intended with it and haven't tried one since. It was about what I expected from using a belt grinder to sharpen, or at least from *me* trying to sharpen with a belt grinder.
The only complaint I have about the Sharpmaker is that it's clunky to set up and take down. If I picked a spot and left it set up, I probably wouldn't use anything else at home. Mine's in the kitchen drawer, and lately I've just been using one of the white rods to clean up edges on kitchen knives most of the time . . . which I could have done with any steel or ceramic rod without buying a Sharpmaker.
"Your hands than mine are quicker for a fray.
My legs are longer though, to run away."
--Helena of Athens
Originally Posted by Don Gwinn
Have you tried using the diamond hones with the Sharpmaker? They are a coarser grit, and will remove material quicker.
I am a wee bit leery of a motorized sharpener system. How fast does it run? Would the heat and speed of the belt do any damage to the temper? I honestly do not know how much heat could build up, and am asking.
I'm completely confident that Ken Onion knows more about steel and heat treats than I do. Just wondering if this system could be an issue in unskilled hands.
My personal favorites are a combination of the Spyderco Sharpmaker, some Japanese waterstones, and a 100-year-old German steel hone. It's sort of a complicated system, but it works pretty well when I use it.
I've used the previous generation worksharp to maintain my outdoor hard-use knives and tools and have had nothing but great success with it. This new one looks good as its nice to be able to adjust the angle of the belt to the knife.
You can take off alot of material if youre not careful and youre using low grit belt. I ran the 220 to set the convex for the edges, and then touch up using the finer belts (600+) after I get home from a trip / rescue. Its one speed, but you just drag the knife through at a steady pace.
I reprofiled the edge on a cold steel tomahawk for outdoor use, and despite heavy grinding to get it convex, I didn't ruin the temper.
I also have a spyderco sharpmaker, and I use that to keep my kitchen and EDC knives razor sharp. Its really a touch-up system for my low use knives for me.
Different sharpeners for different tasks.
"I want to see someone running down the street with a sims-gun shrieking 'I am the first revelation' " - SouthNarc
SamuelBLong - do you think it would be good for something like a dull cleaver? I have a really old family heirloom one that I have been wanting to tackle, but honestly dread the labor involved.
Thanks for your thoughts and observations.
Sure. It will make bringing that back to life pretty easy. A convex edge works wonderfully for heavy use.
"I want to see someone running down the street with a sims-gun shrieking 'I am the first revelation' " - SouthNarc
I have a Worksharp (not the Ken Onion) and it's awesome. I was a bit worried about overheating the blade and rounding off the tip. I have 2 Esse knives that I did not want to ruin so I practiced using the Worksharp on a couple of knives I wasn't worried about. If you follow the shape of the knife as opposed to pulling it straight thru the guide it works great. If you pull thru the guide without following the angle of the blade you will round off the point and become extremely vexed.
I reprofiled both of my Esse knives using sandpaper(grits from 320 to 2500) and a mousepad. It took a LONG time lol. IMHO, the worksharp does the same thing a lot faster but practice on some less important knives first.
Reply With Quote