Ken Onion Worksharp

rsterman

morning all,

since moving from Ocean City, MD to Jupiter, Florida we have been insanely busy.   Now that we are settled in I have a question I hope someone here can help me with.  I have a decent number of Shun knives I use regularly plus a nice group of other knives accumulated over the years.  I love a sharp knife.  I just need to know if the Worksharp will do a good job helping me maintain my knives?  Sharpening perfection is not an issue for me.  Just periodic sharpening to keep a workmanlike edge.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

thanks!

Wolfpack

http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1160521/work-sharp-ken-onion-edition-knife-sharpener-review/p1

Here you go!

rsterman

Thanks

RajunCajun

Both are nice knives.  Looked at the Ken Onions and ended up buying Shun.  How do you sharpen your Shuns?  @rsterman

Thatgrimguy

It’s not a traditional sharpener as it sharpens one side up and the other side down. Never bothered me, I love mine. But some people see this as a deal breaker

rsterman

I have a Shun 8” chef’s knife, 7.5” gyuto, 6” slicer, 4” paring, and 4” onasuki.  All Premier model.  Wonderful tools.  I’m just hoping the worksharp will allow me to maintain them @ a high level.  I have some ancient Old Hickory knives to practice on, so I should be able to lower the learning curve pretty quickly.  

rsterman

I have been using a stone then a sharpening steel finished off with a leather strop with aluminum oxide to smooth the edges.  I’m actually a retired lazy perfectionist who’s tired of the work to keep so many edges in good shape.  I feel the Worksharp will Steve my needs for a long time.  Hoping anyway!

HeavyG

The Worksharp folks have a new model meant for kitchen knives. I don't know much about it in real world use but might be worth considering:

https://smile.amazon.com/Work-Sharp-Culinary-E5-Sharpener/dp/B074JJ594L/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1512842181&sr=8-14&keywords=work+sharp

DoubleEgger

Shun has lifetime free sharpening. Send them in and let Shun maintain that 16 degree angle. 

https://shun.kaiusaltd.com/warranty

The Cen-Tex Smoker

I have shun knives and still use the Work Sharp Ken Onion exclusively. Still love it. As stated, it’s not the traditional flat edge you would get from a stone but it will turn your knives into scalpels if that’s what you want. I broke the tip off my shun 8” chef knife and actually ground it down and fixed it with the work sharp. There are many ways to sharpen knives and this is just one of them. I love it but there are also great options for people who want the more traditional process and flat angle edge that comes from using stones.  

Long story short-it works as advertised. If that’s what you are looking for, buy with confidence. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

DoubleEgger said:

Shun has lifetime free sharpening. Send them in and let Shun maintain that 16 degree angle. 

https://shun.kaiusaltd.com/warranty

They do but I don’t want to be without my knives for 2 weeks just to sharpen them. You can get that angle with a stone (although I could never figure it out) or the WSKO. You can set the angle between 15-30. I go 17.5 for my Shun and 20 for everything else. 

td66snrf

@rsterman I have the KO sharpener and it works well for me. One thing that's imperative if you get one, make sure you put blue masking tape on the blade of your fine knives or it will scratch them. The grinding dust accumulates on the guides and when you  drag the blade against the guide it will scratch.  That would make me cry on those Damascus blade beauties. Cheers 

littlerascal56

Several of the guys at work have the Ken Onion edition, and use for their hunting knives.  Does a nice job.  I didn't like the cost of the sanding belts, so I built this one from parts purchaed on e-bay.  2"x72" belts are only around $2 each (in a 6 pack), and last forever. Belts and edge stay cool, and the 400 grit leaves a razor edge.  My wife's friends bring their knives over to our place to have them sharpened 2-3 times a year.

rsterman

for the reply- you have hit my nail right on the head.  I bought my Shuns because I liked their beauty as well as their functionality. I actually want to be able to sharpen on my schedule,  don’t want to be knifeless.  I’m going to be pulling the trigger.  Thanks to all for their input,

HeavyG

littlerascal56 said:

Several of the guys at work have the Ken Onion edition, and use for their hunting knives.  Does a nice job.  I didn't like the cost of the sanding belts, so I built this one from parts purchaed on e-bay.  2"x72" belts are only around $2 each (in a 6 pack), and last forever. Belts and edge stay cool, and the 400 grit leaves a razor edge.  My wife's friends bring their knives over to our place to have them sharpened 2-3 times a year.

With a grinder like that be sure to get some of these belts. Makes thinning a knife blade pretty quick and easy:)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nG0NazxCqM

rsterman

Good morning td66snrf,

i was wondering if you used the canned compressed air you could eliminate the blade scratch problem without having to mask the portion the work sharp scratches?

blasting

littlerascal56 said:

Several of the guys at work have the Ken Onion edition, and use for their hunting knives.  Does a nice job.  I didn't like the cost of the sanding belts, so I built this one from parts purchaed on e-bay.  2"x72" belts are only around $2 each (in a 6 pack), and last forever. Belts and edge stay cool, and the 400 grit leaves a razor edge.  My wife's friends bring their knives over to our place to have them sharpened 2-3 times a year.

@littlerascal56. I'm impressed!  Is there a thread somewhere detailing your project?

littlerascal56

I have never taken the time to detail it. You can do a search for "Knife grinder" and get ton's of pictures of various ones that have been built. There is a guy on e-bay selling the machined wheels & CNC head units (Oregon Blade Maker) very reasonable.  I used an old motor and some scrap metal laying around my shop to build this one, and have under $200 in it including the casters. It's overkill for sharpening knives, but I also use it for my planer blades, chisels, and woodworking tools.  And I do quite a bit of metal & wood edge sanding with it. It runs whisper quiet.