Review An experienced newbie buys a Work Sharp Ken Onion

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hfrog355

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I figured I'd start a new thread since I was already semi-threadjacking this one and I'm now moving on from the Sharpmaker.

Wife and kids left town yesterday for a few nights to visit grandparents, so I went ahead and picked up a Work Sharp Ken Onion. Wowza. It's early yet, but this seems to be exactly what I wanted, thank you, Smaug Smaug .

Did a couple of trial runs with a nearly irreplaceable Cuisinart C77SS-8CB. I know, I know, very risky for a virgin run with something so exotic as this $8 purchase we made a few years back when the Shuns were in the shop. It has "Stainless Steel" construction and everything, so obviously very high end. Anyway, I ran through the process with that a couple of times and it became noticeably sharper. Possibly as sharp as generic SS gets, who knows? Time to up the ante.

Moved to a 8Cr13MoV Kershaw (an Injection 3.0) which lives on my workbench for menial tasks and abuse. Struggled a little with this since the thumb-studs get in the way of the guides and I'm not really wanting to move forward without the guards at this point and couldn't figure out how to get the studs off. At any rate, it took a very decent edge compared to my expectations.

I then took the plunge and moved to a C81GPGR2 204P PM2. I'm not particularly concerned about screwing this knife up because 1) the WSKO is wildly confidence inspiring, 2) 204P is incredibly resilient and without being a total jackass, I don't think I can ruin it beyond repair, and 3) it's a production knife (albeit an exclusive), so if it dies, it's not the end of the world. All that being said, I really like this knife and it's the only one I kept when I sold off what was at the time (2015) a complete collection of PM2s. Anyway, I worked it through all of the included grits and produced an extremely sharp (though I think I can still do better) blade with a bright (but not quite mirror) finish that's easily shaving sharp. I'm very pleased with these results.

Reading the instructions, setting up, and all of this took about an hour and a half or so from the time I opened the box. I have spent that long on a single blade on the Sharpmaker and Edge Pro before it with nowhere near this level of production. I'm not going to say the WSKO is idiot-proof because I can easily see how you could screw it up, but for someone more interested in having a sharp knife than learning the craft of sharpening, this is perfect for what I want. Obviously I've only had it for a tiny amount of time and I'll continue to get better, but, man, I'm impressed. I think the things that need the most work in the technique department are the speed/rate of pull for a pass and managing my pressure/angle once the tip clears the support on the backside. Overall though, I'm very pleased with the purchase.
 
There are a lot of great videos on YouTube that can help you and give you good tips.

Do yourself a BIG favor and get the Blade Grinding Attachment!

Plus, when using the guides, tape your blades. Otherwise, you will scratch the hell out of the sides of the blades. No matter how well you clean the guides, there will always be residue on the sides of the guide.

Always remove the tip in the middle of the belt when you finish a stroke.
 
Another plus 1 for the blade grinding attachment. Its more $ which is probably not what you want to hear just after making the purchase but you get thicker belts, more angles, you get rid of the guides, and it is easier to work around things like thumb studs or handles that dont play well with the guides.

I find the angle sets on the Blade Griner Attachment aren't very accurate though and would first recommend with every knife that you paint the edge bevel with sharpie or some other marker. It's easy to think "Well im just going to throw this on 20 degrees and be good with it" only to realize how thick behind the edge your knife really is and wind up really marring up the blade face.
 
I rarely use my Work Sharp Ken Onion to sharpen knives. I use my Wicked Edge WE130 for all reprofiling/sharpening of knives. I use my WSKO for fitting firing pins, and making and fixing/polishing small steel parts. But when I do use it I use the BGA (Blade Grinding Attachment).
 
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000Robert said:
I rarely use my Work Sharp Ken Onion to sharpen knives. I use my Wicked Edge WE130 for all reprofiling/sharpening of knives. I use my WSKO for fitting firing pins, and making and fixing/polishing small steel parts. But when I do use it I use the BGA (Blade Grinding Adapter).
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^ Completely irrelevant to this thread.
 
I'm glad my advice helped.

Daniel's concise tips are right-on. (though I never tried the blade grinding attachment myself)
 
000Robert said:
What is so irrelevant about it?
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OP posted his review on the WSKO. (keeping in mind that we're in a knife forum)
He posted his experience using it on several knives.

You started talking about your Wicked Edge sharpener, which you prefer for knives. It has nothing to do with WSKO.

Then, you said you use your WSKO as a grinder for gun related stuff. (nothing to do with a knives)

A lot of people try to read a thread, then will go to any length to make it about themselves, rather than the subject at hand. That's what you've done here.
 
Smaug said:
OP posted his review on the WSKO. (keeping in mind that we're in a knife forum)
He posted his experience using it on several knives.

You started talking about your Wicked Edge sharpener, which you prefer for knives. It has nothing to do with WSKO.

Then, you said you use your WSKO as a grinder for gun related stuff. (nothing to do with a knives)

A lot of people try to read a thread, then will go to any length to make it about themselves, rather than the subject at hand. That's what you've done here.
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My first sentence was about sharpening knives. Plus, I supported the use of the BGA. I wanted to say much more but I refrained myself. Maybe the OP doesn't realize how much steel a belt system can remove, and how quickly. Are you the thread policeman?
 
I have used a WSKO for years, upgrading from the original WorkSharp. Bought the Blade Grinding Attachment as well. I have been very happy with it. Use it to sharpen kitchen knives and most pocket knives as well, including touch ups when edges get dull. The grinding attachment adds versatility for other knives. It does put a slight convex grind on the edges, which I prefer. Lots of different belt grits and even strops available from aftermarket sources. It's versatile and dependable, and the more you use it the better you will get with it. Agree with other comments about protecting the blades as well. I have seen one of the company reps at gun shows in Reno for years, and he has sharpened thousands of knives there, and people are pretty much amazed at what the machine does. As long as I've had mine, and the many, many times I have used it, it's still going strong: good value, IMHO. If you aren't an edge snob, you're going to be pleased with this one.
 
I think everyone knows that I like the WSKO. My old video on it is the most popular video on my youtube channel by leaps and bounds. I still feel like I'm rather slow with the WSKO. It was a really fantastic introduction to belt sharpening for me though. I learned a lot using it. Now that I have a real belt grinder (Kalamazoo 1SM) I don't use the WSKO anymore.

But wow did the WSKO prepare me well for the bigger grinder. I was able to jump right in and start getting nice edges right away. The WSKO *is* a real grinder. It's just smaller and removes less metal (and is a LOT louder) than it's bigger cousins. It's also great for mobile sharpening.

Brian.
 
I guess I don’t see the need for the blade grinding attachment. I LOVE my Ken Onion edition Worksharp just as it is. I do one side, counting the number of strokes, until I have a burr. I then switch to the other side using the same number of strokes using the red course belt. Then I switch to the fine belt for a few passes on each side and viola, I have a very sharp knife. Certainly sharp enough for my needs. I guess I don’t see any advantage with the blade grinding attachment.
 
Easyrider said:
I guess I don’t see the need for the blade grinding attachment. I LOVE my Ken Onion edition Worksharp just as it is. I do one side, counting the number of strokes, until I have a burr. I then switch to the other side using the same number of strokes using the red course belt. Then I switch to the fine belt for a few passes on each side and viola, I have a very sharp knife. Certainly sharp enough for my needs. I guess I don’t see any advantage with the blade grinding attachment.
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If you can get around the shortfalls of the standard system thats great. Dont buy what you dont need. However, I noticed that the standard guides prevented me from getting all the way to the heel of the blade. Some of the scales that I had were close enough to the last half inch or so of the blade that the guides were preventing me from getting that bit of the edge in contact with the belt.

Additionally, I found that the guides obscured my vision making it difficult to know where to stop the tip of the knife. This was resulting in quite a few blades having slightly rounded tips after coming off the belt.

Finally, the Blade Grinder attachment has been worth the price of admission for me for other uses not only with knives. Having the open belt running allows the worksharp to be easily used on things like axes, hatches, scissors, and even as a general powered abrasive for knocking down sharp corners on things or grinding down screws and bolts to usable lengths saving me a trip to the hardwear store.
 
c7m2p3 said:
If you can get around the shortfalls of the standard system thats great. Dont buy what you dont need. However, I noticed that the standard guides prevented me from getting all the way to the heel of the blade. Some of the scales that I had were close enough to the last half inch or so of the blade that the guides were preventing me from getting that bit of the edge in contact with the belt.

Additionally, I found that the guides obscured my vision making it difficult to know where to stop the tip of the knife. This was resulting in quite a few blades having slightly rounded tips after coming off the belt.

Finally, the Blade Grinder attachment has been worth the price of admission for me for other uses not only with knives. Having the open belt running allows the worksharp to be easily used on things like axes, hatches, scissors, and even as a general powered abrasive for knocking down sharp corners on things or grinding down screws and bolts to usable lengths saving me a trip to the hardwear store.
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Yep. I also use my BGA for fitting/polishing firing pins and small steel parts. It's easier than using my Dremel. Also the guides of the standard attachment will scratch blades. But he can tape them to keep from scratching them.
 
I can see how the attachment would make the WorkSharp a very versatile tool. I will have to consider purchasing the attachment.
 
Easyrider said:
I can see how the attachment would make the WorkSharp a very versatile tool. I will have to consider purchasing the attachment.
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I do find it pretty useful. If all you are using it on is knives than maybe you can get by with what you have now but if you find yourself getting tired of pulling out sandpaper to work something over by hand, or just like to tinker, having a powered abrasive is very useful to have around
 
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