Question about Work Sharp knife sharpener

[Shane]

I bought one a few weeks ago, and I love it. The only issue that I am having is that it is very easy to round off the pointed tip of a knife with the Work Sharp. I'd prefer to leave all the tips very pointy and sharp. I'm running the blades through the guide, and that causes the belt to be pushed down while the blade is passing through the guide. As the tip of the knife passes across the belt, the belt kind of forms around the tip of the blade as it rises back up to its resting position (when there is nothing pressing down on the blade). That, I think, is what is causing the rounded over tips.

Am I doing something wrong? What can I do to make sure that the tips of my blades stay pointy?

[Mayhem]

i rounded the tip off a knife also, made me mad. i just be as careful as possible.

[Brett C]

Doo the tips with out the guide. But be careful not to let it get to hot.

[rvd]

I did the same thing to a pretty nice knife. Have since began to slightly "lift" the blade as I near the point. Not sure if its the lifting or taking the pressure off of the belt that makes the difference but it seems to be working

[Ron]

I just speed up when I get toward the tip. I pull the knife though the grooves and when I get 3/4 of way through, I speed up. No problems on my knives.

[Smart]

A buddy of mine did the same on my Buck Vanguard I've had since 1994...it was slight, but I was so happy to get a great edge on it that it didn't matter. I've got one coming myself so I'm glad Ron found a way to stop it on future knives and sharpenings...

[jjake]

The Blade Forum guys suggest using the momentary on/off switch and stopping the belt when the point is only about half way across. So far that has worked for me.

The other comment they had was there was too much of a spread between the 220 grit and 6000 grit. They suggested keeping an old used 220 belt as a grit between the 220 and 6000. Seemed like a reasonable work around.

All I need to do now is find some more knives to sharpen.

[bboswell]

I did it on 1 of my knives. I think it has to do with raising the handle too high at the end of the stroke.

I have since avoided this on other knives.

[Shane]

All good ideas. Thanks. I wish the machine had a solid support under the belt in the areas where the guide slots are. Maybe that would keep the belt from getting pushed in and then coming back up.

[Blood Trail]

I got the work sharp and absolutle love it. Instead of rounding your wrist down, just pull straight back when you get to the tip. But tell me this, that thing is great huh?!

[Shane]

It's awesome! I sharpened a pile of knives in less than 15 minutes, and they all shave now.

[GR5]

Don't have that problem with mine. Cheif's Choice. I read a lot of reviews and decided to not go the work sharp route

[Biscuit]

thinking very seiously of getting one of these. are they as easy to use as they look????

sorry to hijack Shane

[Diamond C]

Hey Guys,



The people over at Work Sharp saw that there were some questions about tip rounding on their sharpener. They are located in Oregon, and cannot participate in the forum, but I have worked with them in the past and have gotten to know them a bit. They asked if I would post some tips on their behalf. So, here is some information that they give me to help make sure you don’t round off the tip of a knife:



•Easiest technique to explain: As you draw the blade across the belt, release the switch when the tip reaches the belt. This will remove minimal material from the tip and prevent tip rounding. (If you draw the tip all the way across the belt while it is running, the belt will flex/wrap around the tip and remove the point.)


Other related tip sharpening tips:

•Start with an inexpensive blade so that you can develop you technique before you trying your most prized blade. Practice on that old knife you have laying around with a broken tip. The best sharpening practice for can be reshaping a broken/abused blade. When using a WSKTS, you have control over the shape of the blade. However, if you use too much time and/or pressure at any point on the blade you can unintentionally alter the shape of the blade.
•Straight profile blades (such as the Kershaw Leek and NeedsWork) require more care when sharpening near the tip. Blades with a big belly (curved blades like a skinner) are much less prone to tip rounding.
•Only use a couple of strokes on thin tipped blades. They will sharpen very quickly and extra strokes increases the odds of tip rounding. Save your worn 220 grit belts (or try our intermediate grits from the website) for thin blades.
•The 220 grit belts will cut very aggressive for the first few sharpening. Try breaking them in a little before sharpening a thin tip knife.
•Avoid using the coarse green 80grit belt for knives unless you are really comfortable with the tool. If you want to change the profile/shape a blade, try using our stiffer red belts from our web site. These belts have a stiffer backing making it easier to control the blade shape. Be aware that coarser belts will remove material very quickly and risk overheating thin blades