APOD Firearms

Work Sharp Knife Sharpener Ken Onion Edition issues

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  • cajunautoxer

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    So yesterday I borrowed a buddy of mine's Work Sharp. He had never used it. I read the instructions and watched several Youtube videos. All my pocket knives are 8-10 yrs old and never sharpened before. I tried the Work Sharp on a cheap old pocket knife first. For some reason with the first belt I can not get a bur to develop on the blade? I made 15-20 passes on one side. Can anyone give me tips on what I'm doing wrong. I did go through the entire process and while the knife is sharper. I can not get shave the hair off my arm sharp.
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    boomgoesthedynamite

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    My first thought is you haven't established the bevel yet. It took me a bunch of passes with the coarsest until I got it to a point where it was just a quick pass with the finer belts.

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    oldag

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    So yesterday I borrowed a buddy of mine's Work Sharp. He had never used it. I read the instructions and watched several Youtube videos. All my pocket knives are 8-10 yrs old and never sharpened before. I tried the Work Sharp on a cheap old pocket knife first. For some reason with the first belt I can not get a bur to develop on the blade? I made 15-20 passes on one side. Can anyone give me tips on what I'm doing wrong. I did go through the entire process and while the knife is sharper. I can not get shave the hair off my arm sharp.
    Too much pressure?

    Inconsistency in the blade angle (even with the guides, you can still get off)?

    Are you progressing through the three belts (coarse, medium, fine)?
     

    cajunautoxer

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    I even used the really course belt. just 2 passes like the manual said for really dull blades. I do use all the belts but have not been able to get that bur on the edge. I'm running out of cheap knives to practice with. I have noticed that when I push along the angle guide at times the belt will barely or miss the blade. Do I need to quit using the block to keep the blade from going too far down the angle guide?
     

    Younggun

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    Some knives with thick blades can have that issue. Might have to hold it a little higher on the guard.

    I have only used the coarse belt for tools. I’d have to have a pretty fucked up knife to go that far.

    Typically on a really dull knife it’s 10 passes each side with medium to get a burr. I’ve had to do more but it’s pretty unusual. A reasonably maintained knife only takes a few and I usually will just hit it with the finest belt to bring the edge back only going to the medium if I have to.

    Might check the blades too. Lots of cheap knives have a heavier bevel due to the lower quality steel as well as knives intended for rough use. If the bevel doesn’t match up well with the guard try a different one or adjust as needed.


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    popo22

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    That would be my suggestion, you may have to re-configure the angle on the blade if it is too much of an angle as is. I had to re-configure a couple of "hard use" knives (such as big "survival and chopper" type blades that need more angle to perform).
     

    cajunautoxer

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    thanks guys never thought I would be going too far down the guard. I was actually thinking I'm not going far enough down. I'm going to try sharpening my Henkel and Wusthof kitchen knifes today that never have been sharpened. I got them in 04 "for the biggest mistake in my life". Yesterday I free handed one of my axes and easily got a bur on the blade.
     

    Axxe55

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    Sort of a related question. I looked at one the Work Sharp tools the other day at Lowes. Are they worth the money? Are the easy to use? Are they any down sides to using them?

    I'd like to know all the good points and bad points so I can make a decision to buy or not.
     

    cvgunman

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    Sort of a related question. I looked at one the Work Sharp tools the other day at Lowes. Are they worth the money? Are the easy to use? Are they any down sides to using them?

    I'd like to know all the good points and bad points so I can make a decision to buy or not.
    A friend of mine who is a taxidermist uses one of these. I bought one for quick touch up on kitchen kinves. Works great.
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    Younggun

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    I cut meat for 36 years. Grinder knife sharpener are made to eat blades. Learn the skill of using wet stones.

    That’s why you don’t want to run the medium and coarse belts unless you have too.

    Pros: Quick, makes a good edge, pretty easy to learn, works on garden and outdoor tools

    Cons: Can easily round off the point of a blade, can overheat a blade if careless, can take off a lot more metal than needed if careless.

    Definitely recommend using a cheap knife to get the hang of it. Save the worn out medium belts for touching up a dull blade, and only use the Worksharp when the blade is truly dull.

    I will use the worksharp, and then just give the blade a quick stropping each day. If it gets a little more use then a few swipes on a wet stone. If too dull for that I will give a couple passes on a worn out medium belt or a lot of times just use a worn out fine belt that I’ve put some jewelers rouge on, or even valve honing paste or similar. The old belts can be made very useful again.

    I don’t recommend daily or even weekly use of fresh medium belts. They don’t tear through a blade like a bench grinder, but they do take more metal off than you want to on a regular basis.


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    baboon

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    Back in my late teens I was a cabinet maker. The Buck 110 was the knife that everyone carried. I used fine sand paper on a librating sander to give my 110 a razors edge. My guess finer wet dry paper would would even better. Those old vibrating hand sanders are way cheaper then most "knife sharpeners"!
     
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