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Sharpening a knife is an art that takes time to master and time to practice. Unfortunately, with 3 kids, I seldom have time to devote to practicing that art…I just need an edge back on my knife and quick.
What I Need
I’ve been in pursuit of a sharpener that could handle my most common uses cases:
- Keeping an edge on my EDC Spyderco Endura
- Touching up the edge of various field knives that are typically bumping on wild hog bone as we clean in the dark
- Putting a razor edge on my chefs knife that can thinly slice tomatoes while also cubing the kids steak
In pursuit of a quick edge, I’ve blown through several sharpeners: from stones to the Lansky system….In steps the Work Sharp Ken Onion Edition Knife & Tool Sharpener.
My Take on the Ken Onion Edition
The Work Sharp Ken Onion Edition Knife & Tool Sharpener is basically a handheld belt grinder with built in angle adjustments that allows a user to drag a blade across the guide while the belt does the work of raising a burr.
Where It Shines
Easy Learning Curve
The system is easy to learn…you can put a razor edge on a knife nearly immediately, which is more than any other sharpening system I’ve found can claim. The steepest part of the curve is probably sharpening the tip without grinding it off, but if you go slow, you should be fine.
Speed
There is no faster sharpener! This is the biggest selling point for me. When the Work Sharp Ken Onion Edition comes out, I sharpen every knife I can get my hands on. It turns a tedious task into a fairly quick exercise.
Versatility
The sharpener can do it all. In addition to your non-serrated blades, it can sharpen serrations, gut hooks, even tools. The strength I believe is the versatility to adapt and add on…spoiler alert….I’m going to review my favorite method of sharpening which requires an attachement in a future review.
Points to Consider
Tendency To Scratch
You have to be careful…the act of dragging your blade through the sharpener has a tendency to mark the blade. This can be remedied with some painters tape, but who wants to tape their blade every time they sharpen? After all, one of my primary goals is speed.
Difficulty in Following Vertical Guide
Another challenge can be maintaining the correct angle when dragging across the belt. The setup of the machine obscures what is happening, and if you aren’t careful, you can find yourself deviating from the guide. If you are like me, this seems to get worse when you switch to you non-dominant hand.
Difficulty Sharpening to the Heel
This is more of any annoyance, but if using the blade rest, the hilt of the knife can prevent getting the heel of the knife against the sharpener. You can correct this issue by not using the built in guide to rest the blade on…I just find it difficult because free-handing the blade with one hand and oriented vertically makes it tough to grind consistently.
Conclusion
Even with some of the drawbacks, there is no better sharpener for putting an edge on a knife quickly. The Work Sharp Ken Onion Edition is must have for any outdoorsman.
But wait, there’s more…I’ll be reviewing the Ken Onion Blade Grinding Attachment in the future…an attachment that aims to address many of the drawbacks above.
