Not sure what the Work Sharp is ?

Bruce

I like my steel better than that. Grinders and their ilk, unless you REALLY know what you’re doing, will destroy more edges, blades, tempers, and good steel than anything else in my opinion and experience.

I think a belt sander is a great idea. It can sharpen an edge beautifully and put a nice concave cutting edge on. That said, you should also practice a lot before you try putting an edge on anything important. Grinders and sanders can make big changes before you know what happened.

Knife makers use belt sanders for shaping and sharpening, but they have a lot of time at the bench getting their chops down straight.

I bought a cheap sander used and have yet to put a knife to it. I have used it for axes and hatchets to start to get a feel for it. There’s a lot more steel to work with. I’ll move on to a cheap knife, then to the better things.

The old timers and those among us who use a lot of sharp tools know how to put an edge on with stones and files because they do it frequently, so they know how to hold a blade at a consistent angle. The rest of us waver because we just don’t do it enough.

All I can offer you is this thought-

I’ve tried every darn sharpening gizmo/shortcut out there to no avail. Finally I sat down and really learned how to use files and stones. After that I either sold, gave away, or threw away every single gizmo and now only use files, stones, and/or leather strops to sharpen everything. Much easier and faster and dare I say cheaper in the long run once you learn how.

I’m a big fan of the KME sharpener for my broadheads, and then a leather strop. Simple and quick.

I agree JamesG .Since childhood it’s been files and stones . Later in life I was introduced to the need for LEATHER as a finishing tool . I do use an antique STEEL on my knives which I follow with the leather .

For me , it’s been a learned skill ,,,like shooting the bow ,,,trickin’ ol’ tom with calling and a good set up ,,,woodsmanship.

Carey –

I have both, but I like the knife sharpener for my single bevel heads. It makes it super easy – just dial in the angle, keep a light touch, and you’re set.

While I do want a KME system, I decided to hone the skills I have and partially lost. I decided to sit down with one of my Tuffheads and sharpen the thing until it’s sharp or there’s nothing left to it. It took a bit, but I got it shaving sharp. I looked at the edge with a loupe for a close look at what I have been doing to the edge and could easily see I was not following the original bevel. I just worked on consistency. I got it sharp, then lost it, got it sharp and lost it. Just kept practicing. I also found that I think I was stropping at too high an angle and was taking the edge off that way. I laid the blade down lower and got a much better edge that way.

Those sharpeners are very valuable tools and I still want one, but in the meantime I needed to get back to basics. dwc

dwcphoto wrote:

Those sharpeners are very valuable tools and I still want one, but in the meantime I needed to get back to basics. dwc

Nothing wrong with that at all in my book, David. In fact, I think it’s really important to have the basics down before switching to a system like the KME – you’ll get a lot more out of it when you do.

Smith, just so nobody confuses me with a purist, if they have an extra KME laying around please send it to me! Christmas is tomorrow! peace, d