Thanks bud!

Also watch the work sharp videos, they are pretty good.

Thanks for the feedback!

Appreciate the feedback! Yeah, you can instantly round out a tip using this incorrectly.

Nice! Enjoy it. I’ve gotten to the point where whenever I go to a friends place I’ll casually inspect the state of their kitchen knives and then offer sharpening services as necessary. 😂

@@AGuThing lol. Just did the same thing tonight. Went to a friend's and brought it with me. Did their pocket knives and a few kitchen knives.

Dustin D Ha! Sometimes it blows my mind how dull some people’s daily use knives are. How do you live like this?!

Thank you for the feed back. It is truly appreciated!

@@jamesgu4417 great job, I was wondering why you only used 1 side of the leather strop?

@@RazorsEdgeDIY Thanks! You can only use the leather strop on the edge trailing side. Using the other side, the blade would cut into the leather.

@@AGuThing Oh, I see. Thank you for the great info on the Work Sharp electric products! I have the newest guided Elite system that I'll be reviewing soon along with alot of other products. I'm just starting my channel so there is no content YET 😉 its called Bright Lights EDC! Coming soon to a theater near you, lol!😂🤣

@@RazorsEdgeDIY Good luck to you! Subscribed!

What does that even mean, research? Does it work or not? Surely you can tell from the first knife you try?

Nice! Definitely worth it if you don’t feel like whipping out the stones every time you need to sharpen something.

Sonora108 Awesome for edc folding knife. I go through all the grits the first time around to reprofile, after that literally 8 total passes, alternating sides, on the fine belt once a week keeps it razor sharp.

Great tip! Thanks for sharing

Yes, definitely do this! I was shocked at how badly the plastic guides were able to scratch the steel blade face.

What exactly do you mean? Like put a tape along the part right above the sharp end? Looking to get one of these and I do have nicer knives.

@@james6454 Yes, basically cover the length of the blade just leaving about a cm above the edge clear.

@@tweakrr99 Yeah, it's grit from the belt being rubbed between the blade and the guides. If it's a quick little job a wipe of the guides every couple of passes helps as well.

Amazing easy tip. I’d never had thought of that. Thank you 👍

Nice! I’ve been thinking about getting the grinding attachment too. Thanks for sharing your results.

@@AGuThing You definitely should get it it’s a great investment to an already amazing system. Ah you’re welcome you’ve got a nice chefs knife by the way ☺️

Nice! Every blade in your home will be razor sharp and you’ll still be looking for something else to sharpen. 😂

My pleasure!

mark mills Yeah... for kitchen knives I’ve just been hand stropping on a leather strop mounted on a wood block. For pocket knives it’s a lot more manageable and I still use the leather belt on the work sharp. Couple of quick passes on just the leather really extends the time between full sharpenings on my EDC.

It's much better with salt

Thank you!

Ron Hall Good luck! Follow the directions and you should have razor sharp edges in no time. Don’t rush it, but don’t go too slow either, you don’t want to overheat the edge - a mistake I’ve made. Still gets hair shaving sharp but the edge gets dull very quickly if overheated.

Haha. Thanks. Also easier on the ego for me to own it and say it than have 100 comments pointing out my error and calling me an idiot. 😂

Agreed! 2 things I would tell people to watch out for are scratches along the side (blue painters tape fixes that issue) and making sure your motion is smooth and consistent to prevent overheating the edge or creating an uneven spot. Watch is a Seiko SUN025, sportura kinetic travelers GMT.

@@AGuThing 👍

I haven’t had any issues with hairline scratches on chefs knives or full flat ground pocket knives. I have however gotten some scratches on saber ground knives due to the thicker spine. The convex edge for me was actually a pro and a selling point. I prefer a convex micro bevel. I tend to get some convexing hand sharpening on a stone too. But yeah, if you do not want a convex edge, this is not for you. No way to avoid it with the work sharp.

@@AGuThing ok. Good to know. Maybe I'll consider one.

Do you strop after sharpening? That is often times the difference between being able to push cut and not. If you don’t have a leather strop and polishing compound you can actually get a pretty good result using a newspaper or magazine.

Really appreciate your feedback and support! My para 3 lightweight and benchmade bugout are the 2 that make it into my EDC rotation the most often. Here’s a link to the strop in the video. amzn.to/2SAX7L3 You may need to stretch it slightly to get it on the first time. To be honest though, I don’t really use it anymore. While it takes a little longer I’ve found it’s easier to use a wood mounted leather strop and the results are just as good.

@@AGuThing Thank you so much for your swift response. The link is a big help, and for the price I think I will at least give it a try. Re-watching the above video convinces me that this is the proper tool for my needs. I have a local kitchen store that has "a guy" who sharpens knives, but it means I go without my knives for a week or 10 days. I also enjoyed the time lapse sunrise video, and you've now got me thinking about a coffee and chili rubbed New York strip as well. Stay well. Until next time, Cheers!

@@scuffmacgillicutty7509 Nice! It really does a great job. One thing to be careful of though, make sure you don’t move to slowly and overheat the edge, it can ruin the temper of the steel at the edge and make it prone to chipping. Better off making additional passes rather than moving slower on each pass. Good luck and feel free to reach out with any additional questions. If you end up trying the coffee rub, I’d love to hear what you think!

It really depends on the knife steel and how often it’s used. The Wusthof in the video get sharpened probably every 6 weeks. It’s used almost daily for chopping vegetables, meat, deboning chickens etc. My Miyabi SG2 santoku that is only used for vegetables and boneless meat only needs sharpening every 6 months or so. Here is the strop: amzn.to/3rMm3ff

Depending on how dull I may even start with coarse, check for the burr every swipe or 2, move to the other side as soon as you feel any burr then move to the medium belt as soon as you feel any burr on the 2nd side.

J. P. Yup. Definitely creates a convex edge. That was actually one of the selling points for me.

heavy1metal That sucks! How much does it rub? Would stretching it out a bit help? Mine actually doesn’t rub on the plastic. Just barely clears it. The black stripe is from the polishing paste removing metal.

Texas Mann You can pull through on the same side but in the opposite direction. However for me at least, it felt cumbersome and I wasn’t getting consistent strokes and so didn’t get as good a result. Could probably get better at it with practice but after examining the edges under magnification I couldn’t tell a difference between the up side and the down side so am just sticking with using it the way shown in the video.

I have same question. It seems counter intuitive to let the belt run up against the edge, will the edge not bite into the belt and risk cutting the belt? I have used a rotating disc sharpening method in the past and rotation against the edge of the knife would ruin de disc. I always had to sharpen away from the edge

I purchased it from eBay. However I will say that after using it for a while, I now prefer using a traditional wood block mounted leather strip over the leather belt on the work sharp. It offers more control and consistency.

Work Sharp no longer makes a genuine leather belt. They’ve gone over to a pair of fabric material belts with two different grits (red and green) for fine and finer polishing.

Brian Conley It wouldn’t quickly mess up the knife but over time, inconsistent pressure or draw speed would lead to an uneven or wavy edge. I’d recommend using just enough pressure to keep the blade against the guide and letting the weight of the knife do the work. Careful to not pull the tip past the belt while it’s still moving.

zleggitt1989 Is the 6000 grit belt you got the full width one or the skinnier one? I got the skinnier one and just can’t seem to get a good result with it. Either way, regardless of how high a grit you go, I always recommend finishing with a strop. Go with a regular wood block leather strop if you’re more comfortable with that than the belt on the work sharp. Stropping serves a different purpose and will still improve an edge on a blade that I put a mirror finish on with a 10k water stone.

Thanks bud! Here ya go: amzn.to/3FnxyQx

Thanks Bud. Here’s the strop. amzn.to/3pJ5SjB

🤣 if you need any help with it feel free to drop a question here. Have fun!

Fully flush but just resting against it and not pushing too hard against it.

Are they doing that? I paid for mine! Lol. They last quite a while. I haven’t kept track exactly but I’ve definitely sharpened over 2 dozen knives on the original set and they still look good.

I’ve used it quite a bit over the last year. I’ve never had issues with scratches on chefs knives and thinner pocket knives. I do get scratches on thicker spined pocket knives and hunting knives. What I noticed is it if you don’t keep the guides clean, loose grit builds up on the guides and that will badly scratch up the knife.

@@AGuThing Good point about build up on the guides. Not mentioned in other videos. Might consider one for my German kitchen knives.

Anderson C I would recommend this product. I’ve been very happy with it. One other thing to be careful of though is pulling too slowly and letting the edge heat up to much. It can ruin the heat treat and the very edge becomes brittle and prone to chipping.

Nestta5252 There’s not enough clearance on the other side with a chefs knife. At that angle the handle of the work sharp is in the way. I’ll admit it looks precarious in the video but I felt in full control while doing it. I’d recommend moving the work sharp around and finding what’s most comfortable for you.

😂😂

farva37 Good eye! Snake knot.

Purchased separately here: www.amazon.com/dp/B07Z9MKTDS/ref=cm_sw_r_as_gl_api_glt_fabc_93395WWMQ79P9RW5830E?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&linkCode=ml1&tag=jamesgu208-20

That concerned me at first too but haven’t had any issues. I’ve also looked at both sides of the edge under a microscope and you can’t tell the difference. If you think about it, even sharpening on a stone, some techniques call for edge trailing strokes, and others call for edge leading.

I appreciate it thanks@@AGuThing

Thanks bro. Appreciate the feedback!

@@AGuThing I just bought that machine. But I find that the guides move a little when leaning knife on it and that makes it difficult to maintain a tru edge

@@Paultricounty I had the same issue at first but try using less pressure. Instead of pushing the knife against the guide just let it rest gently against it. That worked for me and has been giving me consistent, good results.

Here ya go! amzn.to/35BGSUQ

Either would be totally fine. I’ve used, white, green, blue and even a few diamond pastes going as low as .25 microns. You cut a little bit ore of a mirror finish on the very edge with the diamond pastes but to be honest, I couldn’t tell a difference in cutting performance and edge retention.

@@AGuThing thanks for the info.

@@brandonnoyb3191 my pleasure

Modern Wusthofs are around 14 degrees. This one is close to 30 years old. Back then they were sharpened to 20 degrees. It wasn’t until Japanese chefs knifes became tremendously popular that western manufacturers started using harder steels and steeper angles. The steel on this knife is not hard enough to sustain anything more acute than 18 on each side and for the work this knife is generally used for, longevity of the edge is more important to me than a few degrees of extra sharpness.

@@AGuThing gotcha. Thanks

Brian Conley Yup, pretty much

Should I spend my money on this one or go with a similar style for a hundred dollars less??? For performance and quality I would pay the extra money because I have a leather strap for my carving knife but can’t get an edge to even cut soft butter!!!!! And I stroped it like twenty times per side and my results are terrible and I followed the instructions word for word..... I would be the best person to try this and I would give a great review if it worked and I am that person that reads front to back of manual!!! Being on disability and getting 672$ a month to live on I would pay for a razor sharp edge!!!! But if I didn’t get good results I would say so and why....but I know I would never be sent a free one but watching this video is changing my mind and I don’t buy this equipment for just personal use and I would use it to help the elderly people in my building for free!!!! I guess I can dream!!!!! I want to try this model because all your videos have me blown away from what I see...... God bless you all and keep safe!!!

Which other ones are you considering? Between the Ken Onion and the regular worksharp I would say the Ken Onion is well worth the extra money, for me at least. I have many different knives that I sharpen to different angles. If you just have a few knives you’re ok with them all being sharpened to the same angle (I forgot what angle the WS is) than that’s probably fine for you. Stropping alone won’t do much of the edge is already dull. If you’re on a budget, you could look into getting a cheaper water stone like a King double sided and learning how to sharpen with a stone. Once you get the hang of it, you can actually get a better edge than with any machine.

Ah that blows... sorry, I have no experience with this. Hopefully another viewer will chime in.

Call work sharp

Bacon makes everything better!

There’s definitely a learning curve. If you post a video of what you are doing I’d be happy to take a look and see if I can identify what adjustments you may need to make.

@@jamesgu4417 Nah. I'll just continue and learn by my mistakes. I have Japanese water stones just in case. I also ordered some leather stroping bands. Those should help

Erich Diehl sounds good. Good luck!

A lot! Still using the original belts after using them dozens of times. Haven’t kept track but I’d say at least 30 sharpenings. Maybe not as aggressive as the beginning but still very much adequate.

Lol. Enjoy - all you and your friends knives will be hair shaving sharp in no time!

Thanks! It’s the Sportura Kinetic GMT. Reference SUN025.

Lol. Not dumb at all. I was a little concerned about this at first too but haven’t had any issues. Even under magnification, you don’t see any difference.

The first time using any knife on the worksharp, even if using the same angle it was originally sharpened to, will take more than 5 strokes on each side. The reason being you are going from a V edge to a convex edge. Don’t alternate sides. Sharpen one side until you feel the burr form along the opposite side (will probably take 8-12 passes the first time), switch to the other side for the same number of passes. At this point you should now feel a distinct burr on the first side. Switch to a finer belt and then alternate sides for 8-12 passes (4-6 each side), and it should be pretty damned sharp.

@@AGuThing Thanks! I'll try that. But I think I'll try it on a cheaper knife first anyway ;)

@@rjvanloon4769 Definitely a good idea to practice on cheaper knives first! However I’d recommend a cheap carbon steel knife like this one amzn.to/3t31YD6 over a cheap stainless steel knife. Even the cheap carbon steel knives will readily take a razor sharp edge where some of the cheap stainless steel knives will never get to that point no matter how much you sharpen them.

Definitely. Great tool!

Thanks! Stock Seiko SUN025 actually; Sportura Kinetic GMT.

J Herberger For shorter blades you leave it vertical. For longer blades you flip it horizontal to help support.

@@AGuThing OK, got it, thanks!

Nope. I purchased it separately on eBay. After using it for a while, I’d actually recommend a wood block mounted leather strop over this.

No

Richard Colman From what I understand the only difference is the ability to adjust the angle on the Ken onion. I don’t remember what angle it’s set at but if that’s the angle you want all your knives sharpened at it should be just as good.

@@AGuThing Thank you. Even though I live on a tight budget, I ordered one. Who needs to eat every day??? Have seen others test it and rate it excellent. Is stopping the belt at the knife tip in the instructions or something you learned. Have not seen others do this, but one admitted he did not read the instructions, but still said it was the best. Thanks again

Richard Colman You may be hungry but you won’t regret it! Stopping the with the tip on the belt is in the instructions. I had tried pulling all the way through when I was practicing with an old cheapo folding knife before using it on my nicer knives, it very quickly rounds off the tip.

The original only sharpens at 40 or 50 degrees. I can't see any reasons why you would ever want to sharpen your kitchen knives with that, but if you are doing tools then it shouldn't be a big deal.

Nonsense. The guides with the WS allow 8 angles and works very well indeed

kope ducati You should only sharpen with an edge trailing stroke on water stones as the edge can cut into the softer medium but outside of that most techniques sharpen edge leading. Think spyderco sharpmaker, diamond stones etc.

It would in that it can handle the higher hardness (I’ve sharpened S30V pocket knives with it) and the keener angle. However I wouldn’t recommend it for any high end Japanese knives until you’ve got some good practice in with cheaper knives. Japanese knives tend to have much thinner edges and tend to be more likely to chip. On an electric grinding belt, there’s a chance you can overheat the thin edge and ruin the temper of the steel making it even more likely to chip. Personally I only use this for my western kitchen knives and pocket knives and hand sharpen Japanese knives on water stones.

Hayama Yama It’s too thick and won’t fit with the guide. Also, when stropping I generally go with a slightly lower angle than the sharpening angle.

@@AGuThing due to your video, I actually bought a KO rather than the smaller model. Still exploring my way around it, but was pleased when I tested it with a CN200L will try it with a maximit next time.

Hayama Yama Good luck! Let me know if you have any other questions on it’s usage.

I saw several comments mention overheating. How can you look out for this?

Good call out!

brandi wynter The side I was using, the belt is going down, towards the table, so they are edge trailing strokes, no risk of cutting the leather. When you strop it’s at a more acute angle than when sharpening. When you use polishing compound as I was doing here, in addition to polishing, it does remove metal. The goal here is to remove any remaining burr or wire edge.

@@AGuThing Thanks, I watched again. Dunno why I thought it was going the other way. Have you tried this sharpener with different steels? I'm curious if it works as well with "tougher" steels such as CPM S30v as it does with the more common steels such as AUS8.

brandi wynter I’ve sharpened a Benchmade Bugout in S30v. Easily brings it to a hair shaving edge but doesn’t retain the edge nearly as long as is typical with s30v. May have something to do with carbide tear out or overheating the very edge and affecting the heat treat. 2nd time around I only went up to a medium belt and left a slightly toothier edge, also dipped in ice water between each pass. then stropped by hand on a wood backed leather strop with .5 micron diamond paste. Not quite shaving sharp but could scrape the hair off my leg pretty smoothly. Edge lasted much much longer.

@@AGuThing Thanks, great information. Much appreciated!

brandi wynter 1st time I watched it looked like the knife was running into the leather also. After I watched the second time I did see it running away from blade. Lol.

That’s correct. That’s the only way to use this machine, scratched my head at that a little too when I first got it but haven’t noticed any differences or detriment from it.

@@AGuThing i see

Anderson C My wife is Chinese... but that’s my mom that’s in the background. Lol. With any belt grinder you’ll always end up with a convex edge as there will always be a little slack in the belt. This was actually a selling point for me when considering the Work Sharp. I prefer a convex edge. Not only does it slice better, it maintain a workable edge for longer too. In terms of which set to get, I’m sure you’ve heard it before, but it truly does come down to how it feels in your hand. As long as it’s good quality steel with a good heat treat and Rockwell hardness appropriate for your intended use, how it feels will make a bigger difference than the brand or the line. For example, I end up grabbing my $45 Nexus nakiri way more often then my $300 Miyabi in SG2 because it’s more comfortable for the way I hold and cut. If possible I’d strongly recommend finding a store where you can at least hold them before buying or at the very least finding an online retailer that offered free returns.

@@AGuThing I agree. And great service. You DO have to decide if you're only with changing the bevel. Are not. Being a home chef it shouldn't matter.

The family is about to set down and eat. You get your knife out and start to cut the roast up. The knife is to doll to cut. Do you really want to go through all this? You go out to the garage to sharpen the knife. I can see the wife coming at me with an ax. And I don't think it is that she wants me to sharpen it also. The Trizon XV will do very near as good and save an argument with the old lady and maybe a divorce.

Here ya go! amzn.to/2LKGObu

Amazon

Michael Hooks Nope. When you strop it should be at a slightly steeper angle. The guide also wouldn’t allow you to edge trail on both sides, if you tried to strop with with the edge leading it would cut the leather.

@@AGuThing cool beans...obvious noobe here, considering this product...thanks, and love the vid....!

Michael Hooks I do recommend it! Follow the directions, take your time, and all your blades will be razor sharp before you know it! Good luck!

The One Yup, depends on the knifes steel and intended application. For example, VG10 Japanese chefs knife I’ll sharpen at 15 degrees per side where as I’d do a camp machete at 22 degrees.

@@AGuThing How do I know what angle to sharpen the knife at? Any general rule?

The One there are some general guidelines but no fixed rules. If you told me what kind of knife it is and what will you be using it for I may be able to give a more specific recommendation. General guidelines I used would be: German steel kitchen knives typically 18-20, Japanese kitchen knives ~15, pocket knives ~20, knives or tools for chopping ~22-24.

@@AGuThing Kitchen knifes for everyday use

The One Would you know what kind of steel they are made from or what brand they are? For example for an 8” chefs knife if it was a cheaper Cuisinart knife made from 440 steel I’d sharpen at 20 degrees but a Shun made from VG10 I’d sharpen at 15. The cheaper steel isn’t hard enough to maintain that keen of an edge.

There isn’t one. Side will be edge leading and the other side is edge trailing. I was concerned at first too but after using it and studying the edge under magnification, there was no discernible difference visually or in use.

Smokey Tokey It should. Works great on my 20” machete. Probably no need to go beyond the coarse or medium belts.

Yes it does work. Learning curve as in in takes a little practice to get consistent razor sharp results. I’d recommend practicing on a cheaper knife first so you don’t accidentally round the tip or remove to much material on your favorite knife

Lol yeah, I was like hmmm, this is taking longer than I expected to feel anything… oh… duh…

Work Sharp or Amazon

Lol. Totally unintentional! I love Morgan Freeman.

@@AGuThing I'm just razzing you. Great video

@@troy3456789 😂

@@AGuThing I just watched another movie with Morgan Freeman in it: "Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard". He delivers a convincing portrayal in every movie he takes.

@@troy3456789 cool. I’ll check it out. Haven’t seen that one yet.

Thanks! I’m actually not, the belt is moving downwards on that side so the strop is edge trailing, moving away from the blade. That’s also why I’m flipping the blade to strop the other side rather than using the other side of the machine like with the grinding belts.