Gobbler Down
Senior Member
Happy New Year Carl! My best wishes for prosperity and good health to you and your family.
Welcome Guest!
Work Sharp Ken Onion Edition Knife Sharpener
- Thread starter Easy E
- Start date
Anvil Head
Senior Member
Thank You Brother! Will always wish the same for you and yours. Put another log on the fire......support global warming.....Melt that ice!
(even the dog isn't too interested in checking his "newspaper route" this morning - very quick out and in for him)
(even the dog isn't too interested in checking his "newspaper route" this morning - very quick out and in for him)
Dr. Strangelove
Senior Member
Whoo-Hoo! My Ken Onion Edition Worksharp arrived about 11:00 this morning and I've been playing with it for the last couple of hours in between putting out fires at work.
I'm off to work right now, but so far I'm very happy with the unit. It's made short work of several kitchen knives and a couple of pocket knives. Oddly, the larger knives are easier to sharpen, as they sit on the guides very well. I kinda had to pick a stopping point with my kitchen knives, as I don't need/want a razor edge on them, but it will definitely go there if you want too.
I can't wait to try the leather belt on some of the knives I do want scary sharp.
I'm off to work right now, but so far I'm very happy with the unit. It's made short work of several kitchen knives and a couple of pocket knives. Oddly, the larger knives are easier to sharpen, as they sit on the guides very well. I kinda had to pick a stopping point with my kitchen knives, as I don't need/want a razor edge on them, but it will definitely go there if you want too.
I can't wait to try the leather belt on some of the knives I do want scary sharp.
StriperrHunterr
Senior Member
I have the Lansky multi stone setup and stropping it after the fact I can get some scary sharpness out of it.
Gaswamp
Senior Member
tag
forsyth793
Member
Benchmade has a knife sharpening service that puts a perfect edge on the knifes I have sent them. They must use some kind of a sander. Anybody have any idea what they use? I realize that tons of experience is also a big plus but the angle and the point is perfection.
CamoDawg85
Senior Member
Stripper hunter
I was eyeing the lansky 5 stone system recently. Are you saying that even after using the lansky, you have to strop the blades to get it to the preferred sharpness? Or does the lansky get it razor blade sharp but you just prefer to take it to another level? Full disclosure, I've never used a strop so apologies if this seems like a juvenile question.Feedback from anyone is appreciated.....I have a 2-sided wet stone with 1,000 and 6,000 but can't seem to get the hang of it even after hrs of trying multiple angles etc. I want to stay away from a machine if possible to avoid shaving off too much metal. Just looking for other options is all.
Thanks in advance
StriperrHunterr
Senior Member
Stripper hunter
Feedback from anyone is appreciated.....I have a 2-sided wet stone with 1,000 and 6,000 but can't seem to get the hang of it even after hrs of trying multiple angles etc. I want to stay away from a machine if possible to avoid shaving off too much metal. Just looking for other options is all.
Thanks in advance
I strop it after the lansky to completely remove any wire edge that is left and to buff the edge as much as possible. Just using the lansky I can get an edge that will cleanly cut paper for the most part, but the strop really puts it over the top and so far all I've been doing is using old belts of mine that I've applied oil lightly to.
CamoDawg85
Senior Member
Cool, thanks Striper. I'm going to go learn more about stropping on the interwebs now.
Anvil Head
Senior Member
One of my favorite strops (have several in and around the shop), is an old 2" wide smooth buck tanned leather belt I picked up at a thrift store. Took the buckle off and sewed in a spring clip so I can hang it just about anywhere on a drawer handle or door knob. Instead of oil, I use a stick of jeweler's rouge and work it into the leather (it's wax based). Works exceptionally well to knock that final burr off the edge and burnish the bevels. Puts that last little bit of "scary" into sharp. Very handy to have hanging around. I also have a sharpen/hone block on my leather bench - just a block of wood with an arkansas washita stone glued to one side of a long square block, two other sides have leather strops glued down. One with J. rouge and the other with 10,000 grit diamond paste rubbed in. If you do much leather work you will understand how important that final stropping is before you start cutting leather.
One thing that is very important and often overlooked - having the correct initial bevel set properly. A poorly set bevel will not benefit much from any type of final sharpening and stropping. I think that is where the sharpeners above actually shine in that they set the bevel well, better than the average person can do by hand. If you learn the tool well it will serve you well.
One thing that is very important and often overlooked - having the correct initial bevel set properly. A poorly set bevel will not benefit much from any type of final sharpening and stropping. I think that is where the sharpeners above actually shine in that they set the bevel well, better than the average person can do by hand. If you learn the tool well it will serve you well.
StriperrHunterr
Senior Member
I don't know if I'm using the right rouge because it's a middle green compound and doesn't feel so much waxy as like a firm clay that's a tad dry. It could be that the grain of the leather, again using an old belt instead of an actual strop, was too tight to take the rouge but it takes the lansky oil very well and gets it scary sharp.
Dr. Strangelove
Senior Member
Well, I think I may have made a mistake buying the WorkSharp Ken Onion Edition. 
Last night I went to chop an onion for a pizza I was making and it took me waaaay too long to decide which knife I wanted to use, because they are all so sharp. I finally settled on an 8" Henckel chef knife for one side of the onion and a 4" paring knife from the same set for the other side.
I have no more hair on either arm and have started on both legs, and the floor in the dining room is littered with paper shavings. I think I'm addicted, I'm seriously considering going to the neighbor's house and asking if they have any knives I can sharpen, because I have sharpened everything in the house that I can stick in the thing, to include scissors.
Last night I went to chop an onion for a pizza I was making and it took me waaaay too long to decide which knife I wanted to use, because they are all so sharp. I finally settled on an 8" Henckel chef knife for one side of the onion and a 4" paring knife from the same set for the other side.
I have no more hair on either arm and have started on both legs, and the floor in the dining room is littered with paper shavings. I think I'm addicted, I'm seriously considering going to the neighbor's house and asking if they have any knives I can sharpen, because I have sharpened everything in the house that I can stick in the thing, to include scissors.
Last edited:
Dr. Strangelove
Senior Member
I've got the 5-stone (not the diamond one) system and I like it very much. It's just worn out after 20+ years and rather than replace it, I used some Christmas money to buy the WorkSharp.
The only thing I never liked about the Lansky is that the clamping system makes it difficult to sharpen smallish knives, like a penknife sized pocketknife. Other than that, I was always able to get a wicked edge on knives if I worked down through all the various grit stones.
StriperrHunterr
Senior Member
Yeah that is one of the drawbacks of that system.
Anvil Head
Senior Member
The green compound is more for stainless I think, but should work ok. Doubt it will hurt having a little oil applied over it. It really doesn't take all that much (doesn't have to show like a complete coating) just rub the compound on a little. You could try scuffing the belt first, but I never found that necessary. One thing I've seen several folks do is over strop. If the bevel is set properly and the final sharpening grind is right it should only take 3 - 4 alternating strokes to remove the burr and burnish the final edge.
ryanh487
Senior Member
I've wanted one of these for a while now and this thread pushed me into pulling the trigger. Got mine delivered Saturday and didn't get to play with it much over the weekend, but I did use it on a kitchen knife that I had bought for deer processing and haven't been able to get an edge back on once it lost the one it came with. A few minutes on the work sharp and then some stropping (I bought their leather stropping belt as well, figured it would be easier to keep everything together) and it went from faililng the paper test to shaving sharp. I'm excited, I've got dozens and dozens of knives around the house that I intend to get equally sharp, from kitchen knives to working knives to junk knives I bought from tourist traps as a kid.
Dr. Strangelove
Senior Member
That's exactly what I did. I bought the stropping belt as well as another set of normal belts. I've sharpened everything in the house and have started on garden tools.
I've found that wiping off the angle guide every now and then stops the grit that build up from the belts and blades from scratching the sides of larger knives.
Larger knives I can get scary sharp, still having a little trouble with penknife sized blades.
ryanh487
Senior Member
I don't have many pen-knife sized blades but I'll keep that in mind for the ones I do have.
I'm going to sharpen up my EDC and the rest of my kitchen knives tonight. I can't stand food prep with a dull or barely sharp knife.
Then it's the hunting knives.
Then i'll likely do the junk knives just because i can.
Gaswamp
Senior Member
used one at fireman32 house yesterday, it was the basic work sharp machine. I had a cheap China stainless pocket knife and it did get its sharp fairly quick...lot faster than I could manually. Wouldn't put my nice customs on it, course all they ever need is touching up. However, for kitchen knives and lower quality knives it is great. Curious about it for scissors though
ryanh487
Senior Member
I did an old pair of 5" scissors that couldn't cut wrapping paper well anymore and they're good as new.
