Work Sharp Knife Sharpener

greenheadcaller

Beginner
Jul 8, 2014
119
0
Link http://www.amazon.com/Work-Sharp-Knife- ... +sharpener

A relative of mine turned me on to this knife sharpener. An upgraded model of this sharpener is out (called the Work Sharp Ken Onion edition), but I went with the original model because it is cheaper, as are the replacement belts, and its what my relative had, and because I only plan to use it for hunting and kitchen knives.

The work sharp sharpener is easy to use and really works great.

The unit comes with a disk where you can watch a video of how to use the product, and also written directions. Between those two (actually the video is enough) sets of directions I felt comfortable operating the unit.

The unit comes with a pair of belts in 3 different grits.

For all of the kitchen and outdoor/hunting knives I had, I followed the directions and used the medium to get them back into shape (some were really dull) and then the honing to finish.

If I stay on top of them going forward, the honing belt will be the only one I need.
I would estimate the life of the (medium and honing) belts at 25-50 sharpens....depending on the condition of the blade when starting.

They also offer a number of different compound(s) belts for other uses like for harder or softer material ..... but I would say if you are looking at doing mower blades and larger sheers and large garden tools I would consider the Ken Onion model as it appears to have a wider belt. The original is more than plenty (and I actually like the belts that aren't as wide so as to not take too much off) for knives.

Considering belt life ..I ordered a set of 6 medium belts ($10) and a set of 6 honing belts ($10) while I was thinking of it ....and threw them in the box for future use. They should last me a long time.

I sharpened my hunting/outdoor blades with one attachment and all the kitchen knives with the other (same belts). The different attachments simply make the blade contact the belt at different angles and insure they are consistent ....pretty darn idiot proof...which I appreciate. More aggressive angle for kitchen knives, slightly less for hunting knives or scissors, and slightly less again for sheers, mower blades, etc. Switching attachments is easy and requires no tools, they slip on and off. Deciding on what attachment is easier than reading this review. Follow the directions (which are also printed on the attachment in the event you misplace the directions)...easy peesey.

The best part, and really the most important part of the review in my opinion....the directions are easy to follow, and the knives come out really really sharp.

If you are paying someone to sharpen knives, this will pay for itself in a hurry in savings.

If you are like me and sharpen your own knives with a stone or steel ... but don't seem to keep the knives in the kitchen sharp enough or sharp timely enough to suit other users.....this thing is the ticket. A few strokes on the honing belt and they are back to shave sharp.

The original work sharp is a great sharpener.

If you happen to get one, come back and share your thoughts.
 
Looks fascinating. I'm always on the lookout for tools to sharpen knives.
 
I've been using one for several years now. There is no easier way to get your knives scary sharp in a hurry. I use the 40 degree kitchen angle for filet, boning, and carving knives and the 25 degree guide fm for hunting/camp knives.

I use mostly havalon scalpel knives for dressing and skinning game combined with a bone saw for use in the field but standard boning knives for meat cutting.

I did notice that the worksharp does tend to round off the points if your not really careful.
 
I am looking at one myself. It would be real nice at the butchering table.
 
I use the Lansky sharpening system and it work real well, I just have to take my time with it.
I always concerned that with the belt type I will take the edge off & then will be up the creek when in the field.
Thank you for the write up on the Work Shop system.

Blessings,
Dan
 
Dan I too would be afraid of the belt type of sharpener and getting the blade too hot, or taking too much off, or rounding tips off. I am using the Lansky system also and that is what I used on Palouser's knives he sent me. I sure wish I would have purchased this system years ago!! :( Man it works great. Like you said it can take some time to get the edges cleaned up so they match perfectly, but once you do get them sharp it's really simple & quick to touch them up. Some of the blades I have sharpened have taken me an hour to get the years of improper sharpening corrected and put a really good edge on them. It's amazing even with factory edges how far off they can be from side to side. One side might have a 17 degree bevel on it and the other side closer to 25. One of the blades I recently did took me 2 1/2 hours of honing to get it perfect side to side and shaving sharp. That's the exception, but it is not a quick system, but an accurate one. I really like the Lansky. I don't have anything but razor sharp in my house now!! Kitchen, pocket, and hunting knives are all scary sharp. Dan I don't know if you have purchased this or not depending on how long you have had your Lansky, but you must get the Super-C clamp to go with it. It makes it so much simpler, safer, and less tiring using this clamp. Well worth the few extra bucks in my opinion.

One more system I found that I may have purchased instead of the Lansky if I had found this one first, and may still get because it looks like it is a super system, is the KME. It is in many ways very similar to the Lansky but maybe gives you a bit more precise angle degree on the bevels, and has a few things I really like about it. You might check this system out.

http://www.kmesharp.com/kmeknshsy.html

David
 
I wouldn't worry about a belt heating up the blades too much with just a little care. We have used belt sharpening systems on our Lie Nielsen blades and other very high quality blades. Used properly they work very well. We used a Veritas circular sharpening system quite alot as well.

The Lansky system does work real well though. It just depends on where your at. I think the belt sharpener system would be real slick on the cutting bench, touching up butchering knives as you go. It is nice to keep that sharp edge on the butchering knives and not have to worry about cleaning your hands or getting oil out for the blades.
 
Scotty I'm not knocking them I just know what works for me. I can ruin an edge with the best of them! With the Lansky and it being kept the same every time, I can get some serious edges on knives. Once you have them sharp it only takes just moments to get them back to that sharpness. I know it's something else to have, but I picked up one of their little blocks with the preset 20 and 25 degree holes and the two sets of ceramic rods just for that purpose. Only takes a few light strokes to touch them up again. This way I don't have to use the sharpening system just for touch-ups. Works pretty slick.

Greenheadcaller mentioned that you can round the tips if you aren't careful, and I have a feeling that is exactly what I would end up doing! See above admission to be previously sharpening impaired!! :lol:
 
I think I stumbled into the Lansky knife sharpener in the early 80s while walking through a gun show in New Port Oregon. Over the years I've used up several sets of stones, the system really works well. I did buy a work sharp for up at the lodge however. Simply don't have the time to keep everyone's fillet knife scary sharp with the Lansky. On a busy day we'll fillet 75 salmon, the record is 105. No time for dull knifes.
 
Man that's a lot of fish! I bet you are good at running that Work Sharp, and at taking care of salmon! Out of curiosity and completely off track of knife sharpener's, but how big do some of the salmon run??
 
I like the work sharp,.fast and easy. Once the knifes had all been tuned all it takes is three or four passes to recover the edge.
How big?
Kings; we never had the genetics they had on the Kenai, no 80 pounders, lots of 30lbs, a few 40lbs a rare 50.
Chums; lots of 20 pounders.
Silvers; 9 to 15lbs, I've only seen a few over 15 and we didn't land many of those.
Sockeye; I think the best chance at breaking the sixteen pound record is on the Naknek. We have a group that comes up from Idaho every year, six guys, all they do is high grade for double digit sockeye. We've weighed two 14 pounders for them.
RAINBOWS most knowledgeable people say the Naknek and Alaknak are the top trophy rainbow rivers in Alaska. We don't fillet them, all catch and release.
 
My Dad bought me one last year and I love it. Sharpens all our knives no matter how dull or what type of steel. The only draw back is not having it in the field.
 
If they made a light weight battery powered one to throw in a backpack that would be the ticket.
 
A good day dip netting can put you filleting 100+ fish. You get pretty good after a few of these days.

Sadly we don't get too catch the big kings anymore. It was easier to cut up a big King in several pieces, similar to how you fillet a halibut.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I've used mine a lot, keeping the fillet knifes sharp at the lodge. We might do a hundred fish in a day. In any event, having a good steel handy will you know the knifes up quickly. I only need to run them over the belts once every couple of days. Touch up on the belts only takes a couple of seconds.
 
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