Work Sharp from Rutlands...?

[wcndave]

I have seen a lot of professional knife sharpeners, and had numerous discussions at meet ups, as this topic also baffled me, given there were so many options.

So i found that it is an art in it's own right, and some people only sharpen and never use them!

you can spend hours and hours getting a perfect edge, however if you have 20 tools to sharpen, that is weeks of work.

so unless you want to become a sary sharp specialist, then you want to get 95% of the result with 10% of the effort.

Grinding wheels are good, however you need lots of wheels, which are expensive, lots of jigs, lots of practice, you get a slight concave grind, and then you have to move on to buffing and honing etc....

the Worksharp really does make it easy, you can pick up a dull chisel, sharpen it in 5 mins, and back to work. No mess, quick, easy. The wheel is flat and for turning tools you can see what you are doing.

knives you cannot do on the flat wheel, as you could only do one side without handle getting in the way. you need the knife attachment, which i have NOT tried, so cannot comment on. (if it's like the rest it will be good), there i did comment after all...

however for kitchen knives it will be fine, it's your workshop tools you want really sharp right?!

this machine will get you to scary sharp shaving your arms, and 95% of where a pro will take it.

you can also do axes and other blades without handles that get in the way.
now to the bad points.

• you don't really want to change grits all the time, so I for example have 8 grits, and needed to buy two extra wheels, as peeling and resticking them would be a pain.
• the 2000 model on sale only has one fixed angle, 25deg i think, which is fine for most of us, however for example japanese chisels have a different angle so you have to do on top by hand the old fashioned way
• I cannot see many grits for sale on the rutlands site. i can see all the different ones for the WS3000, however they say do not use on WS2000, so perhaps this sale is due to end of life, perhaps there is a new version coming, perhaps neither and you will have to get grits from the US. Depending on how much you do you may not need to change them often, I have had mine on for a year, however in 3 years, will you find them? I think you can get any correct sized ones and stick them on, but still, i know some like to stick to the given route.

That last point would be my main concern, however I am ordering one, and 3 sets of abrasives, and then i can have my WS3000 with leather wheel and micromesh disc for honing, and WS2000 set up for coarse / fine, so i can be even quicker ;-)

If this set does not come with micromesh, you probably want to get that too, however i cannot see that Ruts have it for 2000 model...

I am also getting this as it's about the same price as the knife attachment for the WS3000

sorry if that's a bit long and rambling, my advice, get it!

BTW: I am not being dismissive of grinding wheels, water stones and other methods - they are perfect for you if you find them perfect.... however the poster sounded like me and had absolutely NO sharpening tools / experience, and for a zero learning curve, cheap, does all, fast, no mess, quite and quick place to start that does from chipped blades to scary sharp, this was the tool for me (well the other model ;-) )

 

[tonytopman]

however the poster sounded like me and had absolutely NO sharpening tools / experience, and for a zero learning curve, cheap, does all, fast, no mess, quite and quick place to start that does from chipped blades to scary sharp, this was the tool for me (well the other model ;-) )

Thanks for your comprehensive reply. The highlighted paragraph was, as you suggested, the crux of the matter !

However, you have now got me thinking on the availability of replacement discs for it !

 

[wcndave]

on the worksharp site, they sell abrasives that are "suitable for both" however that is US based.

I have asked them why the ones here say WS3000 only and will post any reply.

to be honest, i figured that assuming the machine lasts 20 years, for 200, the WS3000 was £10 per year, and that is nothing to sharpen all my tools, so i went for that one.

only getting this one on sale as it's too much of a bargain to pass up ;-)

 

[studders]

You can ignore the WS3000 only bit on the abrasives, they fit both machines. It is the Glass wheel that is unsuitable for the WS2000.
That said, I wouldn't pay the extortionate price for those abrasives; buy some Mirka Gold instead or for finer grits use the 3M PSA sheets.
The plastic discs of the WS2000 are not as flat as the glass plates but it is easy enough to make your own from 18mm MDF.

 

[wcndave]

Ah, is that another difference then, that they have plastic wheels...I did not know that.... oh well, do you some links for abrasives, as i keep hearing about using those that car body shops used, and about lots of "really cheap" sources, however i can never actually find them

 

[studders]

Here ya go.

 

[tonytopman]

Ordered and dispatched today.

Thanks to all for the input. Well if it's duff at the tools at least the kitchen knives will be scary ! :shock:

 

[tonytopman]

You can ignore the WS3000 only bit on the abrasives, they fit both machines. It is the Glass wheel that is unsuitable for the WS2000.
That said, I wouldn't pay the extortionate price for those abrasives; buy some Mirka Gold instead or for finer grits use the 3M PSA sheets.
The plastic discs of the WS2000 are not as flat as the glass plates but it is easy enough to make your own from 18mm MDF.

Would be interested in trying that.

Have you, or anyone else done so Studders ?

 

[wcndave]

take some MDF
cut it into a circle
drill a hole in the middle

done :twisted:

 

[wcndave]

Here is a place in the UK to buy abrasives by the way

http://workshopheaven.com/cgi-bin/cp-ap ... Sharpening

 

[tonytopman]

take some MDF
cut it into a circle
drill a hole in the middle

done :twisted:

I can probably manage that......

What I wanted to know is have you actually tried it and does it actually work ?

Seems very lax of Worksharp not to put some odd fixing on the circle forcing a sale...if you know what I mean !!!!

Going to practice drilling the hole in the circle now.. :lol:

 

[wcndave]

As far as i recall from the 3000, it's just a hole, and the thumb knob holds it on, all you need is a 9" circle saw with a 12mm arbor....

 

[brianhabby]

Well mine arrived this afternoon, not had a chance to unpack it yet but hope to check it out tomorrow.

I did have a quick gander through the instruction booklet and while they obviously recommend that you use their abrasives, they do say that if you can't get them, you can use any regularly available 6" discs. They even go on to say that you can use regular sandpaper and cut it to size after gluing in place. They recommend using a spray adhesive for this.

Very interesting if you can make your own discs for this machine because it would make changing grits a piece of cake.

Looking forward to having a play tomorrow.

regards

Brian

 

[studders]

Have you, or anyone else done so Studders ?

I sure have, and they're a damn site flatter than some of the supplied plastic ones.

 

[studders]

...all you need is a 9" circle saw with a 12mm arbor....

6" might work better.

 

[baldpate]

I've made and used an MDF disc on my WS3000 - in my case using 12mm MDF, which was quite flat enough for the course grits, and just (only just!) thin enough to attach with the supplied central knob (12mm MDF is slightly thicker than the glass discs).

I don't know how the disc is attached on the WS2000 : assuming it's the same as on the WS3000, however, you may find 18mm MDF too think to use the supplied fixing knob (the glass discs are 10/11 mm thick & I assume the plastic ones are much the same). You could get around this, of course, by counterboring your central hole to the necessary lesser thickness (or making your own knob with an appropriately threaded bolt).

I eventually abandoned the MDF disc only after I recently upgraded my WS3000 by the addition of the wide blade attachment, so I could sharpen wide plane blades on the top surface. The difference in thickness then became a problem. This isn't a consideration for the WS2000, which doesn't offer this option.

In summary, I found 12mm mdf flat enough for coarse grits (say <= 120). I can't vouch for it with finer work.

 

[studders]

To use the 18mm MDF, which I found better (more stable) than 12mm, you need to remove the thin, lower section of the fixing knob. Don't loose it though as the standard discs wont tighten down without it.

 

[brianhabby]

I took the device for a spin today with an old chisel that would never get sharpened otherwise


Before...

After a few minutes...

Definitely pleased with it and glad I bought it.

As for making my own discs from wood it certainly looks like a possibility.

regards

Brian

 

[wcndave]

could one use 18mm and the use a forstner to make the part with the knob thinner? or would that risk it not being "flat" at the point of fixing? guess it depends on whether it's supported underneath of not.

my 2000 arrived today, but in UK, so will be a few months before i get hands on it, however i might have a look at making some disks for my WS3000... nice thing about wooden ones is they will be interchangeable on both models, whereas you can't use glass on the 2000.

I am guessing though that the glass will be superior, however perhaps not necessary...

 

[studders]

I found it best when making my own discs not to drill away the hard outer layer of the MDF; as you rightly predicted it makes the discs tend to wobble.
Another tip... I may have mentioned, can't remember, ignore the way they say to flatten the back of the chisel, that way disaster lies. Instead, lay the chisel on the disc with a finger on the blade to keep it flat and just flick the switch on for a second and repeat till done, you get much better control that way.