Thoughts on Work Sharp Ken Onion Sharpener

Welcome to the site. You might use the search button on the top right of the window and do a search in just this forum. That is a handy feature of this site. That sharpener has been discussed before. You should be able to find some information on it.
 
I have one, and used it a few time.

It's not for me. Removes too much too fast and I just prefer stones for more control.

Some folks have pretty good luck with it though.
 
Probably the bigger mistake made.is grinding off the tip a WEE bit......

I have the original and love it.......No guides for me !!!!!!! Free hand for a long while now

Practice on crap \ scrap knives or metal...... Only way to get good at.it, as.in anything, is to do it and make YOUR mistakes so YOU learn from them and can apply it going forward...
 
I don't care for the basic KO, but I really like it with the blade grinder attachment. I guess they call it the KO Elite if you buy them together.

For the basic one, I found that the guides often got in the way of bolsters and scales, making it difficult to reach the heel of the blade. I also don't like that it makes it difficult to see what you're doing.

Add the blade grinder attachment, though, and you've essentially got a variable speed 1x18" grinder. These days I use it primarily for stropping with leather belts, but I also use to sharpen very small or large blades.
 
I have one and I tend to use it on larger knives. Typically I use either my ceramic whetstones or my very old Spyderco Sharpmaker. It has taken me some time to get comfortable with the benchstones. I feel that I can get a good edge now with them so that is my prefered sharpening method.
 
I only use mine freehand for axes,hatchets and machetes.
Takes off too much too fast and hard to get the heel of the blade.
I'm old school free hand with stones.
 
I have one with the blade grinder attachment. It has made it possible for me to sharpen knives with bad edges that would have taken forever to do using any kind of stones. The convex edges are great. This grinder has opened up a new world to me.

I have used edge pro apex, free hand stones Lansky, Spyderco triangle rods and angle sharpener. These all with the exception of the edge pro which can handle mild re-profiles, work well only if you have an established edge with little damage. They take forever if you need to do any serious re-bevel work.

The work sharp with blade grinder attachment tops them all. I don't expect the tiny motor to last nearly as long as that of a full fledged high quality belt grinder/sharpener in fact it's quite common to read about work sharp motors burning out when frequently used at low speed (less fan cooling airflow) but it's cheap, should last long enough, and will do in a pinch.

It's better to get the whole kit to save money. The work sharp without the blade grinder attachment is too limited for my uses. The blade grinder attachment in my opinion is a must if you want unhindered sharpening.

I take my time on it, I don't press hard, and keep my contact time with each pass on the belt brief. You really have to watch out for overdoing the tip if you are new to this otherwise this is a great tool to start out with before maybe moving to a full fledged pro belt grinder.

If anyone thinks the work sharp takes off metal too fast I can imagine they will go insane when they experience how fast a full fledged pro belt grinder removes metal.

I find the work sharp with blade grinder attachment to be a nice little ideal belt grinder/sharpener for the average small work volume novice sharpener to start out with. Your sharpening will be much more doable for a broader range of situations, easier, and pleasant once you learn how to use it.
 
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