Something to note that I've seen beginners do with the KO. For full flat grinds (or close to it), the angle you set on the machine is intended to be with the knife edge perpendicular to the belt. If you use the reference plate and use the plunge grind of the knife (which in most cases is easier to do), that angles the edge down and throws off the intended angle. The affect depends on how tall a knife is, but it can be the difference of aiming for 20 degrees and ending up with 22 instead. With the Guardian here, that's not much of an issue as there's plenty of flat ricasso area that's exposed for you to use on the reference plate. There's a lot of knives that don't have that though (Spyderco Resilience comes to mind as an extreme case). It's just a nuance I've noticed over the years that doesn't seem to get mentioned in how to videos. The knives still get sharp, you'll just have a different angle than you intended.
Hey @JerryLoffelbein I’ve figured out an easy solution to accommodate the issue you’re talking about! I simply place the primary bevel on the reference plate with a digital angle finder (or a standard angle protractor) to see how many degrees the primary bevel slopes down and just subtract that number of degrees from the desired angle set on the sanding belt. Maintain that position from the reference plate like you typically would, raise the blade edge to the modified angle on the sanding belt, and sand away! It works great and is just as repeatable with the same muscle memory motion! (Example, 20 degree desired angle with a 2 degree primary bevel angle slope, set the sanding belt angle at 18 degrees and you’re golden!) If you don’t have an angle finder or don’t want to purchase one, you can get pretty dang close with a simple triangular math equation. Once you figure out half the thickness difference from the tip to the spine end of your primary bevel, you just find a shim close in thickness and tape it to the reference plate edge closest to the sanding belt and you’re good to go without modifying the sanding belt angle! You can honestly eyeball half the thickness difference pretty easily though and just have a couple different thickness shims ready to go with your sharpening stone set at all times! Hope this helps!
I like how the MK2 gives you more clearance on the left side. On the MK1, I had a tendency to lift the handle with my left hand to clear the protruding pulley frame and end up having a dip in the grind 1" from the bolster. Its nice that the MK2 addressed that.
The other day I used the Professional Precision Adjust to sharpen my Walmart Ozark Trail in D2 to 15° per side. It did an outstanding job I would highly recommend it.
I have my Pro PA for half a year now. My diamond plates wore out after 15 knives (they barely cut anymore). Grit contamination was awful (especially at the edges of the diamond plate), 800 grit was rougher than 600 and still is, 400 grit rougher than 320. The clamp is awful for anything with a flat grind. It just rocks up and down while sharpening no mater how much you tighten it. It's a pain to de-burr anything not to mention long flexible kitchen knives (example: Victorinox 8 inch chef knife). The plastic bushings in the stone holder wear out after a few sharpening. Had to replace them with self lubricating bronze bushings on CBRx's recommendation. There are fixes on his channel for it. I now only use it if I don't have my Ken Onion Blade grinding attachment or have a really hard super steel pocket knife to sharpen.
I unfortunately bought the Ken Onion Elite just before the Mark 2 was released!! Wish you guys offered a trade in program because I want the Mark 2 now!😂
Yall Guys are knocking it out the the park with WorkSharp Videos- 👍👊
Appreciate the feedback and thanks for watching!
Something to note that I've seen beginners do with the KO.
For full flat grinds (or close to it), the angle you set on the machine is intended to be with the knife edge perpendicular to the belt. If you use the reference plate and use the plunge grind of the knife (which in most cases is easier to do), that angles the edge down and throws off the intended angle. The affect depends on how tall a knife is, but it can be the difference of aiming for 20 degrees and ending up with 22 instead.
With the Guardian here, that's not much of an issue as there's plenty of flat ricasso area that's exposed for you to use on the reference plate. There's a lot of knives that don't have that though (Spyderco Resilience comes to mind as an extreme case).
It's just a nuance I've noticed over the years that doesn't seem to get mentioned in how to videos. The knives still get sharp, you'll just have a different angle than you intended.
Hey @JerryLoffelbein I’ve figured out an easy solution to accommodate the issue you’re talking about! I simply place the primary bevel on the reference plate with a digital angle finder (or a standard angle protractor) to see how many degrees the primary bevel slopes down and just subtract that number of degrees from the desired angle set on the sanding belt. Maintain that position from the reference plate like you typically would, raise the blade edge to the modified angle on the sanding belt, and sand away! It works great and is just as repeatable with the same muscle memory motion! (Example, 20 degree desired angle with a 2 degree primary bevel angle slope, set the sanding belt angle at 18 degrees and you’re golden!) If you don’t have an angle finder or don’t want to purchase one, you can get pretty dang close with a simple triangular math equation. Once you figure out half the thickness difference from the tip to the spine end of your primary bevel, you just find a shim close in thickness and tape it to the reference plate edge closest to the sanding belt and you’re good to go without modifying the sanding belt angle! You can honestly eyeball half the thickness difference pretty easily though and just have a couple different thickness shims ready to go with your sharpening stone set at all times! Hope this helps!
I have a question can you read profile screwdrivers on that machine on the workshop 3000
Thanks for the pointers. Seeing the new precision adjust and the new Ken Onion makes me want to update both of mine now.
We are giving one away along with the knife in this video over on Instagram!
Awesome! I’ll see if I can find it. Thx!
This is what I call how to sharpen your knife the easy but effective way. Excellent presentation. Thank you.
I like how the MK2 gives you more clearance on the left side. On the MK1, I had a tendency to lift the handle with my left hand to clear the protruding pulley frame and end up having a dip in the grind 1" from the bolster. Its nice that the MK2 addressed that.
The other day I used the Professional Precision Adjust to sharpen my Walmart Ozark Trail in D2 to 15° per side. It did an outstanding job I would highly recommend it.
The bugout killer! Nice! 15° dps must make that puppy super slicey.
I have my Pro PA for half a year now. My diamond plates wore out after 15 knives (they barely cut anymore). Grit contamination was awful (especially at the edges of the diamond plate), 800 grit was rougher than 600 and still is, 400 grit rougher than 320. The clamp is awful for anything with a flat grind. It just rocks up and down while sharpening no mater how much you tighten it. It's a pain to de-burr anything not to mention long flexible kitchen knives (example: Victorinox 8 inch chef knife). The plastic bushings in the stone holder wear out after a few sharpening. Had to replace them with self lubricating bronze bushings on CBRx's recommendation. There are fixes on his channel for it. I now only use it if I don't have my Ken Onion Blade grinding attachment or have a really hard super steel pocket knife to sharpen.
Isn't it 220 grit on the field sharpener? Great video!
Thanks! Good catch, we should have said 220!
I unfortunately bought the Ken Onion Elite just before the Mark 2 was released!! Wish you guys offered a trade in program because I want the Mark 2 now!😂
haha, our customer service team might be able to help you out! Shoot an email to info@worksharptools.com to get the conversation started.
How do you sharpen a multitool, the Surge to be specific?
I have an idea to make the precision elite absolutely perfect who do I need to contact
Need a field sharpener !