# Work Sharp Ken Onion Edition Knife Sharpener



## Easy E

http://www.worksharptools.com/sharp...n-onion-edition-knife-and-tool-sharpener.html 

Thoughts?


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## sharpeblades

I would not put my knife on it


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## Jeff Raines

I have a work sharp,but not the Onion Edition.

Fastest and sharpest I've ever gotten my knives


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## Easy E

sharpeblades said:


> I would not put my knife on it



Why not? Please explain.


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## T-N-T

Could get it too hot?  Never seen one in action though


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## Buck111

I'd get with someone that knows how not to mess up the knife, then decide on the worksharp.


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## rjcruiser

Jeff Raines said:


> I have a work sharp,but not the Onion Edition.
> 
> Fastest and sharpest I've ever gotten my knives



I've got one too and it works great.  Use it on scissors and other things as well.  

But...definitely practice on old useless blades first....I can see you messing things up if you're not careful.


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## QuakerBoy

Jeff Raines said:


> I have a work sharp,but not the Onion Edition.
> 
> Fastest and sharpest I've ever gotten my knives



I have one also.  Works great


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## Flaustin1

they do work good but tend to round blade tips.


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## kedo

I have one also and it WORKS GREAT!!!!


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## Razor Blade

I have one , and its great to keep all the parents and inlaws kitchen knives sharp and crisp. With a 600 or 800 grit belt it will not remove too much metal at all. Works great.


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## Anvil Head

I've got one that I modified with a skate board wheel for a contact wheel to make a mini-square wheel grinder. Use it mostly for profiling and finishing my miniatures. It's small enough to fit in a kitty litter bucket for storage and travel - great for working mini's on the road or vacation. 
Only used it a couple of times to actually sharpen knives. Too much trouble when I have a KMG sitting right there that makes short work of any sharpening task.
It's built well and very adaptable and probably just the thing for those that let their blades get dull before tuning them up. 

Usually, if you are not abusing, a couple of passes on a good stone and a leather strop bring the edge right back - no need for electricity. My leather working knives rarely see the grinder, maybe twice a year, and I cut a lot of leather in the course of a year.

Second pic - PS - is just a hair under 2" oal for reference.
Gringing these are just a bit too interesting on a 10x2 KMG contact wheel


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## whitetaildoe85

I've used the original work sharp and the ken onion. The ken onion is way easier to use and produces a better edge IMO. But it does take some practice to keep from rounding tips. I use the trigger lock to keep the sharpener on as I pull the blade through stopping just as the tip passes onto the belt. I use higher rpm settings as I get into the higher grit belts. Good customer service also. I had an issue with belts coming off because of a worn out pully and they took care of it even though it was out of warranty.


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## Dr. Strangelove

I don't know that this adds anything to the discussion, but a friend I shared an apartment with years ago could sharpen a knife like nobody's business.

He had a couple of stones, I'd hand him a knife and we'd watch TV. He'd hand it back to me after 30mins or so scary sharp, with no scratches anywhere. 

Some people have it, some don't. (I can't do that)


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## Hoss78

Flaustin1 said:


> they do work good but tend to round blade tips.



This^^^


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## Jeff Raines

There are several instructional videos on youtube that show the proper technique so you won't round off the point.
You must pay attention to what you are doing


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## Dr. Strangelove

Just ordered the Ken Onion Worksharp, I'll tell y'all all about it when it gets here on Thursday.


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## Gobbler Down

*Ken Onion Work Sharp*

Even though I own a KMG, I have a KO Edition Work Sharp that I absolutely love.  

Follow the easy directions on the fold out card and you can address the proper angle needed for your knife.

Regardless if it’s a tactical folder or 8 inch kitchen knife...it will, with patience, come off the unit razor sharp.  I purchased mine partly because when I vacation or travel for a short visit, I take the KOWS with me and sharpen all of my family’s and friend’s knives!!!!

Let’s face it, a large portion of homes have 100 percent butter knives disguised as chef and steak knives!!!

I say get it and have fun!


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## Anvil Head

Dull knives are just bad screw drivers with awkward handles!


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## NCHillbilly

I like a whetrock and a piece of leather myself. It's all I've ever needed to sharpen a knife.


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## Gobbler Down

Anvil Head said:


> Dull knives are just bad screw drivers with awkward handles!


Happy New Year Carl! My best wishes for prosperity and good health to you and your family.


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## Anvil Head

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)


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## Dr. Strangelove

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.


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## StriperrHunterr

Dr. Strangelove said:


> 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 have the Lansky multi stone setup and stropping it after the fact I can get some scary sharpness out of it.


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## Gaswamp

tag


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## forsyth793

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.


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## CamoDawg85

StripeRR HunteRR said:


> I have the Lansky multi stone setup and stropping it after the fact I can get some scary sharpness out of it.



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


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## StriperrHunterr

CamoDawg85 said:


> 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



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.


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## CamoDawg85

Cool, thanks Striper. I'm going to go learn more about stropping on the interwebs now.


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## Anvil Head

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.


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## StriperrHunterr

Anvil Head said:


> 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.



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.


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## Dr. Strangelove

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.


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## Dr. Strangelove

StripeRR HunteRR said:


> I have the Lansky multi stone setup and stropping it after the fact I can get some scary sharpness out of it.



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.


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## StriperrHunterr

Dr. Strangelove said:


> 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.



Yeah that is one of the drawbacks of that system.


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## Anvil Head

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.


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## ryanh487

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.


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## Dr. Strangelove

ryanh487 said:


> 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.



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.


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## ryanh487

Dr. Strangelove said:


> 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.



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.


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## Gaswamp

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


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## ryanh487

Gaswamp said:


> 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



I did an old pair of 5" scissors that couldn't cut wrapping paper well anymore and they're good as new.


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## Gaswamp

What are the main differences in the standard and deluxe model other than price?


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## Dr. Strangelove

ryanh487 said:


> I did an old pair of 5" scissors that couldn't cut wrapping paper well anymore and they're good as new.



I've sharpened all the scissors in the house as well, as well as tin snips and garden loppers. 

My 20 year Henckel kitchen shears are like new after sharpening and the household scissors and garden tools are cutting like never before. 

Two months in, I really like the Ken Onion Edition Worksharp, I couldn't be happier. I get that people with custom or really high end knives may suspicious and I'm certainly no knife expert, but I've been more than happy with my results on the knives and edged tools I have around the house.

The device has a guide to hold scissors at the correct angle for sharpening. For garden type tools, you do sometimes have to remove the guides and do it freehand, but I've gotten pretty decent at that as well. 

I used a one-time Amazon discounts and some gift cards so I got mine for what I consider a pretty good deal, but I would pay full price and still be happy. I'd been looking at replacing my worn-out 25 year old Lansky system for some time now.


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