WORK SHARP Knife Sharpeners
by Cory McLaughlin
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Just the Facts:
Ken Onion Benchtop Angle Set Knife Sharpener
The Work Sharp Benchtop Angle Set Knife Sharpener is a complete, versatile and adjustable knife sharpener. The 3 sided sharpening rods provide coarse and fine grit diamond plates to quickly restore a sharp edge, while the fine grit ceramic stone creates an incredibly keen edge on any knife. Rods rotate for quick indexing between grits making it fast and easy. Sharpening Angles can be set to 15°, 17.5°, 20°, 22.5° or 25°. Conveniently folds down and stows in a compact case. Designed with knife making legend Ken Onion, this sharpener is a must have for any edge enthusiast.
The Angle Set Tri-Brasive Rods were designed to rotate 360 degrees so you aren’t locked in (pun intended) to a single position of approach for sharpening. It allows for moving quickly between abrasive surfaces and creating perfectly comfortable ergonomics when sharpening. Adjust one side in a little, and the other out – make it most comfortable for you knowing it won’t affect the sharpening angle selected.
Guided Field Sharpener
The Work Sharp Guided Field Sharpener is the complete knife and tool sharpener for field applications. Equally at home in your pack, tool box, tackle box, glove box, go bag, boat, quad, or anywhere else you keep knives and cutting tools. It is the first angle guided, 5-stage sharpening solution designed for sportsmen who need a compact, complete and versatile field sharpening tool while on the go.
The Guided Field Sharpener incorporates 5 stages of sharpening and honing, each with built in angle guides for a consistent bevel across the entire blade:
- 2 Diamond Plates– 1 coarse (220 grit) for shaping and repairing, and 1 fine (600 grit) for sharpening. Plates measure 4″ x 1″.
- 2 Ceramic Rods– a 3-position ceramic rod incorporating coarse grit, fine grit and fish hook honing sides, plus a smaller diameter, fine grit serration sharpener
- 1 Leather Strop– conditioned with a micro-abrasive to finish your blades to a razor-sharp edge
The sharpening guides are purpose built for your hunting knives, pocket knives and filet knives, making easy work of sharpening flat, curved and serrated blades – as well as camp tools such as axes, hatchets and machetes.
Legendary knife maker Ken Onion said of the Guided Field Sharpener, “I am impressed with the clever details – like the magnetic plate holders, angle guides, round ceramics and strop, all in a small easy to carry package. It is by far the best manual, portable sharpener I have ever used…. I especially like the versatility of it. I have used it on flat and re-curve blades as well as fishing hooks and leather punches and it performed well. Something for everyone in this little package.”
Strong rare earth magnets secure the diamond grit plates in place and also provide a cover for the broadhead wrench and small storage compartment. Compact design and lanyard hole make it easy to pack and carry on any excursion, keeping you prepared with sharp edges when you need them most.
The Work Sharp Guided Field Sharpener is assembled and quality checked in Ashland, Oregon.
Pocket Knife Sharpener
The Work Sharp Pocket Knife Sharpener is the perfect knife sharpener for field, home or shop use. We create durable, reliable edges with the assistance of our 20° angle guide on the 320 grit diamond plate and 25° angle guide on the fine ceramic rod. Compact and precise design make the Pocket Knife Sharpener easy to pack carry so you can sharpen anytime, anywhere – with speed and ease.
All elements are self-contained and require no set up or assembly in the field.
Ken Onion Edition Knife & Toll Sharpener
Work Sharp partnered with legendary hall-of-fame knife maker Ken Onion to develop a new knife and tool sharpening platform with expanded features! The combination of Work Sharp engineering and Ken Onion’s industrial design has created a fast, easy and stylish way to sharpen all your knives and tools with precision and repeatability.
The Ken Onion Edition Knife & Tool Sharpener is designed to sharpen every knife you own. Using a fully adjustable precision sharpening guide, variable speed motor and wide, flexible abrasive belts, it sharpens pocket & hunting knives, serrated knives, kitchen knives and any other shape or type of blade you own. Professional blade makers like Ken Onion use flexible belts to put a razor sharp edge on their blades, now you can have the same technology in your home or shop. Work Sharp Engineered and Ken Onion Designed to deliver the pinnacle of knife sharpening.
The ¾” x 12″ premium, flexible engineered abrasive belts* sharpen virtually any shape or type of knife blade and uses a precision sharpening guide to ensure that you get a consistent angle every time. The sharpening guide is fully adjustable from 15° to 30° so you can sharpen any knife to the angle you desire that best meet your needs. The variable speed control (1,200 SFM to 2,800 SFM) provides you with the optimal belt speed for the task at hand.
*The 6000 grit belt measures ½” x 12″ for better contact with serrations, gut-hooks and other hard to reach edges.
My Story:
Well this is a bit of a new style review for me. I was sent quite the care package from the good folks at Work Sharp and I decided that I would just lump all the great sharpeners into a large review that really talks about some of Work Sharp’s coolest sharpening products. So, let’s jump right into this.
Ken Onion Benchtop Angle Set Knife Sharpener
The Ken Onion Benchtop Angle Set Knife Sharpener is quite the little setup. The first thing that I think you will notice and love is that the kit completely folds into itself for storage. The setup is very simple and exactly as the instructions portray it.
Each of the sides of the sharpener offer different levels of coarseness allowing you to get the perfect edge. I found this to be a great bench-top sharpener during our butchering season. It is really nice to be able to get a quick edge back on a knife when you are cutting meat.
The Angle can be adjusted to match the correct angle of the knife blade you are sharpening which is a great feature making this a very universal sharpening tool. There is even a small post that can be used to sharpen a serrated edge. This is a great feature that the pocketknife crowd should love.
My feeling about the Ken Onion Benchtop Angle Set Knife Sharpener is that it is a very quality sharpening tool at a very reasonable price point.
Guided Field Sharpener
Sadly I feel that the art of sharpening a knife has become lost due to the introduction of disposable blade knives. For those of us that still like to have a sturdy old skinner or a trusty fillet knife, it is imperative that we have a field sharpening device. The Work Sharp Guided Field Sharpener is otherworldly in its design and features.
I love the magnetic diamond sharpening surface. This is fantastic as it allows you to store the sharpening face unexposed. Diamond sharpeners will rub a hole in just about anything if left uncovered in a pack. This is a great design feature that does not add extra weight or another piece that may be misplaced.
I love the ability to choose your desired coarseness based on blade condition and specific needs. This is a great feature that will make certain you are ready for just about any blade. The included angle guides insure that you maintain the ideal angel for sharpening, which is half the battle in my opinion.
The ceramic rod offers different adjustments for sharpening things like hooks, serrated edges and just about anything else you can think up. This feature is a great addition to this sharpener.
The leather strop is a great way to finish off the edge of the knife and it has a micro abrasive imbedded into the leather to give you the best finish you can ask for in a handheld sharpener.
Overall this is the complete system and if you had to choose just one sharpener to have for the rest of your life I believe this would take care almost all of your sharpening needs from now until we invent laser knives or light sabers.
Pocket Knife Sharpener
The name pretty much says it all. This is a very basic pocket knife sharpener that will help put an edge back on your spoon. It does not have near the features of the Guided Field Sharpener but at $15 it’s a great option.
The pocket sharpener offers an angle guide to insure you maintain the ideal angle for a sharp edge. It also has a ceramic rod to put the finishing touches on after you are done with the diamond.
Overall this is a very lightweight option to throw into a pack or glovebox and one that I believe you will enjoy.
Ken Onion Edition Knife & Tool Sharpener
This is the Cadillac of in-home knife sharpening. We have a local knife maker named Bruce Bump and he makes some fantastic knives. I have been in his shop many times and at $1 a knife he used to sharpen knives for my hunting group. We would bring him 30-40 knives at a time and he would give them back to us as razors. Bruce used a belt device to bring our knives back to life and there were better than new.
When I first saw the Work Sharp Ken Onion Edition Knife & Tool Sharpener I knew I had to test one out. I instantly recognized this as a much smaller version of what Bruce had used and I was eager to try my luck with it.
This is basically a belt sander for knives. You can run through different belts that offer different levels of coarseness to really hone in a perfect edge. The attached guide allows for adjustable angles to match those of whatever knife you are sharpening. This is very helpful for the novice sharpener.
Speed is achieved through a trigger style switch that can be adjusted to fine tune you speed. There is a included guide that helps give you a starting point for the type of knife you are sharpening. This will help you choose the angle, belt and speed.
With all things comes a level of learning. To say this is something that you will pull out of the box and master right away would likely be a stretch. This device is going to take some time to learn and perfect so I would recommend starting with a knife that you done love. I am not trying to use this as a negative. I just want to make sure people know that this sharpener is a fantastic tool but it does have a bit of a learning curve.
Overall the Work Sharp products I tested were all functional and fairly priced. I would gladly send friends and family to Work Sharp for any of their sharpening needs.
Find it Here:
Ken Onion Benchtop Angle Set Knife Sharpener
https://www.worksharptools.com/product/angle-set-knife-sharpener/
Guided Field Sharpener
https://www.worksharptools.com/product/guided-field-sharpener/
Pocket Knife Sharpener
https://www.worksharptools.com/product/pocket-knife-sharpener/
Ken Onion Edition Knife & Tool Sharpener
https://www.worksharptools.com/product/ken-onion-edition-knife-tool-sharpener/
What can be done better?
With all the options from work sharp I just can’t see what you could ask for that they don’t offer. I really think you are looking at a 5 star company with products that match the overall rating. Just remember there is a learning curve to using all these sharpeners but you are going to be happy with the results.
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Functionality
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Value
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Ergonomics
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Durability
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