AFAustin
Gold Member
- Joined
- Jun 8, 2004
- Messages
- 2,488
I was one of the lucky guys who were given a chance to field test a prototype of the new Work Sharp Knife and Tool Sharpener Ken Onion Edition a few months ago. We were asked to provide our comments to the Work Sharp folks but to not share them on the forums till the design was finalized and ready for distribution. That time has come, with several retailers now taking pre-orders for delivery in early October (think: large river in S. America), and we now have the green light to discuss the WSKTS KO Edition.
Let me start by saying this: I consider myself a novice sharpener. I have come a long way from where I started but am nowhere close to the gents who are truly expert and who generously share their knowledge on this forum. But that may be part of the plan in that I believe Darex (the co. that makes the WSKTS KO) made this tool to appeal to a broad market---not just knife fanatics like us---but also sportsmen, outdoorsmen, fishermen, chefs, and anyone who likes their knives to be sharp and is looking for a relatively easy and affordable way to accomplish that.
Work Sharp recently has put up on their website a couple of pretty good short videos which describe the WSKTS KO and some of its features. I recommend taking a look at them.
I bought the original WSKTS a couple of years ago and it literally took my sharpening to the next level. I bought a bunch of Micro Mesh aftermarket belts, as well as a couple of optional belts from Work Sharp, and put together a pretty good grit progression. I also had the good fortune to receive a couple of versions of a prototype leather belt for it, to which I applied DMT 1 micron diamond paste and which have worked well as polishing belts (my understanding is that Work Sharp was never completely happy with the leather protos and so hasn’t offered them, but I believe they are still working on this).
(WSKTS: Original & KO Edition)
(New Belts vs. Original Belts)
The WSKTS KO has improved on the original model in several ways. First of all, it is a larger, beefier tool with a more powerful motor. And the motor is variable speed (1200 SFM to 2800 SFM). I’m not sure what the motor speed on the original model is but I read once on BF that it is 3600 SFM. I believe the much praised Kalamazoo 1SM 1x42 belt grinder runs at 1800 SFM. So, this is a very nice feature, and the position of the speed knob is such that you can dial it with your left hand without interrupting your sharpening session at all---nice. Since removing too much metal too fast is a big concern with any belt grinder, this should help a lot in that regard, especially when re-profiling with the more aggressive belts.
I do have a couple of questions/concerns about the variable speed feature, at least in my prototype (don’t know if the final version addressed these). First, I found there were actually 3 different ways to adjust the speed: twisting the knob; increasing or decreasing the pressure on the trigger (which the knob is mounted on); and pressing the trigger either at the front or back. It’s a bit confusing.
Secondly, from the sound of the motor, it is hard to tell if there are really 12 distinct speed settings. When you go from slow to medium, the difference is obvious. But when you go from medium to fast, I can’t hear much, if any, difference. That doesn’t mean it isn’t there, but my old ears just can’t hear it.
The next big change with the KO Edition is probably even more significant---wider, stiffer belts. The original model uses 1/2” x 12” belts, which are fairly flexible. The KO mainly uses ¾” x 12” Norax belts, and this is a huge difference. The extra width and stiffness of the belts really helps with what has likely been the most common complaint with the original WSKTS---the ease with which it will round tips, at least till you get the hang of it. The extra width gives you more room to sharpen the tip while still stopping it 40-50% of the way through the belt, which is necessary to prevent tip rounding. And the stiffer belts also have much less tendency than the flimsier ones to fold over on the tip.
A concern with the new belts, though, is that it looks to me that aftermarket belts in the ¾” x 12” size are hard to come by. Maybe someone offers these, but I wasn’t able to find any when I looked around a while back. Even Micro Mesh doesn’t offer them. But Work Sharp does include a pretty good selection with the KO [P120, x65 (Norax), x22 (Norax), x4 (Norax), and a 6000], and hopefully they will offer more grits in this size in the future. I haven’t contacted Micro-Surface (the manufacturer of Micro-Mesh) to see if they might start offering these, but it would be great if they did. Finally, the original ½” x 12” belts will also work on the KO, and in fact the 6000 that ships with it is in that size. Still, I’m hoping for a bigger selection of the ¾” x 12” in the future, including a leather or linen stropping belt or at least a super-fine grit finishing belt.
A quick aside: next to rounded tips, the second biggest issue I’ve seen with the WSKTS is the tendency to do an unintended “recurve” on the heel portion of your knife---caused by “lingering” a bit when you first power on and before you start moving the blade down the belt. Though the KO does a great job of helping with the tips, you still have to be careful with the "recurves" ----don’t hesitate in the “start” position! But even with this issue, the KO really improves on the original in that simply lowering the speed makes those recurves less likely.
Another new feature is the new Sharpening Guide, with adjustable angles from 15 to 30 degrees. The original model had a 20 degree guide and a 25 degree guide, so having one that goes down to 15, along with the fact that it is adjustable in 1 degree increments, is a big improvement. I prefer to freehand most all the time, but those who like the guide should be very happy with this.
(Sharpening Guide)
(Sharpening Guide Installed)
A completely new feature is the Edge Guide, which is a small cylindrical bar that is used to support the blade as it’s being pulled through the sharpener. Where I use this, along with the Sharpening Guide as well sometimes, is with long kitchen knives. The support helps to keep a smooth and steady pull on a long blade (and the Sharpening Guide can help maintain a more consistent angle than freehanding can manage on a long blade). On smaller knives, I found that the Edge Guide just gets in the way, but that’s no problem because it can easily be kept out of the way in its “parked” position.
(Edge Guide in "Use" position)
Let me mention a couple of “accessories” I’ve found very helpful in using the WSKTS KO. The first has to do with belt changing. This is a small thing, but I liked the way you could lay the original WSKTS on its flat round motor housing and change belts. The KO’s motor housing isn’t flat and won’t sit steady for you to do this. Truth is, it’s not hard to change belts the way the instructions say---with the tool upright, but I like the “old method”. So, I came up with my solution. A 1 ½” section cut from the top portion of a plastic jar of Emerald Nuts (!) fits the round motor housing of the KO perfectly, and holds it steady while I change belts.
Next is dealing with metal dust. I really like my Giottos Rocket Air Blaster (large size) for this---a quick blast or two keeps my work surface clean, and better yet, it can reach the crevices of the WSKTS itself to keep it cleaned out. I heard about this nifty and inexpensive gadget from the guys in the Traditionals forum, who recommended it for blowing gunk out of folders. I use it for that, too, but it lives on my Work Sharp table.
(Emerald Nuts plastic jar) (My Emerald Nuts holder & Giottos Rocket Air Blaster)
Let me mention here something that makes the WSKTS more versatile than most sharpening systems---its ability to do various types of tweaks and mods to knives, as well as sharpen other tools. I have used it for reshaping the uncomfortable blocky wood handles on some of my kitchen knives to smooth and rounded things of joy. I’ve used it to modify blade shapes more to my liking, to soften sharp spines, round sharp tangs, sand down bone scales, etc.---the list goes on and on. And the fact that it is portable and you can change the cassette position and use it to sharpen large tools gives it an advantage over even a full size belt grinder. I’ve used it to sharpen lawn mower blades, shovels, machetes, etc.
Finally, I want to say something about the WSKTS, convexing, and touch-ups. No question about it, this is a great sharpener for convex blades---the original was excellent and the KO is even better. One of my first loves in knives was Bark River fixed blades, each and every one with a convex edge and most with a full convex grind. The WSKTS has given me the best edges ever on my Barkies.
I think some knife guys who own mainly v-edge bevel knives might be hesitant to “convert” them to convex edges by using the WSKTS. Most of my knives are v-edge and it simply hasn’t been an issue. For one thing, the WSKTS establishes a convex edge that is pretty shallow in my experience, and you can ensure that by using the more taut area of the belt close to the wheel. Moreover, for touch ups, you can still use your favorite v-edge method and it will work just fine with your WSKTS sharpened knife. I mainly use my Sharpmaker, especially the UF stones, for touch ups, and it works great. In fact, the engineer at Darex who designed the WSKTS told me he uses a small ceramic for touch ups himself.
I’ll say a word about the people at Darex. I have communicated with them since I bought my original WSKTS two years ago. To a man and woman, they have been helpful and friendly. They truly believe in their products, they love knives, and they will help you with your questions and concerns. I really enjoy dealing with them. They also pop in from time to time here on BF, and I hope they’ll do so again to correct anything I’ve misstated, to update us on the final version of the KO model, and to answer any questions I may’ve raised.
I’m going to wrap this up. I guess you can tell I like the WSKTS Ken Onion Edition. In my opinion, it takes a great tool and brings it to the next level. The improvements from the original model are substantial, especially the wider stiffer belts and the variable speed motor. It allows someone like me, who loves a sharp knife but is no expert at getting one, to do just that, and pretty quickly. The learning curve is short, and the results are impressive.
Thanks for reading.
Andrew
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