Ken Onion

Has anyone ever used one of the Ken Onion belt sander sharpeners on a Japanese knife?

I'm sure it would work well on my carbon steel knives, and others, but I was wondering about it on a couple of my Tojiro DP knives.

With the design of that sharpener, I wouldn't anticipate any issues. Keep it at a lower speed and low grit possibly to start. Whether carbon steel, modern stainless, or Japanese steel, blade sharpening is really the same.

I have one. With the belt you're going to get a convex edge on the blade. If you're knives have a chisel edge it's not going to work. I did my chisel edge M-16 tanto freehand on the belt and got a freakish sharp edge but it now has a slight bevel on the straight side which I am fine with.

Also particles get stuck on the edge of the guide, and can scrape the sides of the blade. If it's a knife you would like to keep pristine use some blue painters tape to protect the edge.

As soon as some discretionary funds open up I plan on getting the Blade Griding Attachment. http://knifenews.com/sharpening-pro-credits-modern-tools-for-speedy-service/

Kazeryu said:

Why not just scrape them on the sidewalk?

If you want to use a belt sander on your knives (and I don't recommend that you do), you'll probably be happier in the long run if you buy a real belt sander and make your own guide from $3 of scrap.

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Dad did show me how to sharpen a pocket knife on a brick when I was a kid.

I always used a belt sander to put the bevel on a new knife when I was working in packing houses...everyone did...that's what the belt sander was there for. Then hit it with a stone and steel.

Shave_Rat said:

With the design of that sharpener, I wouldn't anticipate any issues. Keep it at a lower speed and low grit possibly to start. Whether carbon steel, modern stainless, or Japanese steel, blade sharpening is really the same.

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Commander Quan said:

I have one. With the belt you're going to get a convex edge on the blade. If you're knives have a chisel edge it's not going to work. I did my chisel edge M-16 tanto freehand on the belt and got a freakish sharp edge but it now has a slight bevel on the straight side which I am fine with.

Also particles get stuck on the edge of the guide, and can scrape the sides of the blade. If it's a knife you would like to keep pristine use some blue painters tape to protect the edge.

As soon as some discretionary funds open up I plan on getting the Blade Griding Attachment. http://knifenews.com/sharpening-pro-credits-modern-tools-for-speedy-service/

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Thanks guys; I figured someone who had actually used one would chime in. I was just wondering if the convex bevel would have any effect on the "clad" or "layered" feature of the Tojiro DP series.

I don't have any chisel edge Japanese ones Derrick..just the V-edge ones. I'll have to experiment a bit, but I was thinking I could leave the extra fine 3,000 grit or the 6,000 grit polishing belt on it and SWMBO could touch up her favorite Tojiro paring knife when it gets a bit dull, and do it in less than a minute. She takes good care of that one (always uses a cutting board and no dishwasher), but she uses it so much I have to get out the Japanese stone quite frequently.

I did put a double bevel on an Old Hickory paring knife with the initial bevel of 15 degrees that will shave you, but that one only gets used to cut meat and soft veggies on a cutting board. I'll have to see how the convex bevel does on that one first since it's a low priced knife, then move on to the more expensive ones. I was thinking about using the 3,000 grit belt on that one, since it's already pretty sharp, and using the lowest speed to avoid overheating.

And I was NOT looking forward to sharpening the carbon Forgecraft longer butcher and carving knives that Mom let get as dull as the back of a saw blade after Dad passed 20 years ago. The belt sharpener should make short work of setting a new bevel and sharpening those.

For me, touch ups with a diamond hone or sharpener are good enough when I don't want to use the waterstones.

Harbor Freight belt sander does the same with belts that last longer. About $40 if I recall correctly for the sander and you can often find 20% off coupons. Belts from Lee Valley or eBay in whatever grit you want.

The Worksharps look like nice tools and if I didn't already have the HF unit, I would consider one.

kelbro said:

Harbor Freight belt sander does the same with belts that last longer. About $40 if I recall correctly for the sander and you can often find 20% off coupons. Belts from Lee Valley or eBay in whatever grit you want.

The Worksharps look like nice tools and if I didn't already have the HF unit, I would consider one.

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The Worksharp has the added feature of an already built in jig to hold blades at a set angle. A generic belt sander would need some additional engineering to rig something up.

Shave_Rat said:

The Worksharp has the added feature of an already built in jig to hold blades at a set angle. A generic belt sander would need some additional engineering to rig something up.

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Honestly, that's not needed. I freehand it. Hundreds of knives sharpened on mine without a jig. Convex edges are convex edges. Some guys fixture up a flat to press against for a little more of a v-shape but I've never felt the need for it. Also have a leather strop belt for it. Very cool.

Shave_Rat said:

The Worksharp has the added feature of an already built in jig to hold blades at a set angle. A generic belt sander would need some additional engineering to rig something up.

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I don't have either units but I would guess, size plus storage of the unit would be another point of difference.

cleanshaved said:

I don't have either units but I would guess, size plus storage of the unit would be another point of difference.

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BINGO!!! We have a winner. The belt sanders I used to use were about two feet tall and I'd have to put it in a shop, garage type area.

The Onion one would be able to sit in the cabinet until SWMBO needed it, and it's simple for her to use...if she can learn to use it and not burn up a blade. But she really likes her Japanese paring knife so I'm sure she would be careful with it.

I used one at Cabelas that they had on display. It is a handy, portable size. Made quick work of a dull pocketknife. Seem like a fairly well built tool.

Don't forget the safety glasses!

I use a Ken Onion, works great on my forgecraft knifes

kelbro said:

I used one at Cabelas that they had on display. It is a handy, portable size. Made quick work of a dull pocketknife. Seem like a fairly well built tool.

Don't forget the safety glasses!

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Yep, because no one wants a safety briefing.

http://www.worksharptools.com/blade-grinding-attachment.html

While pricey, this attachment will eliminate the convex bevel but there is no bevel jig.

I used one once and it did its job sharpening but it was no knife grinder. I wouldn't try to create a blade with it. I ultimately purchased water stones because I was sharpening plane blades as well.

I use a ken onion, sharpened all my knives, all were carbon steel, did a good job, use a steel to touch up, will redo them all when needed, does a good job, not as good as so e would require but my needs are just to cut well. Also touched up some serrated and work ok on them, i have an assortment of CS none high end, but they do the job.

One note: watch heating the steel too much and affecting the heat treatment of the blade.

Just touching up won't be a problem, but removing a nick or resetting a bevel can get warm.

have a dish of water next to you. After each pass submerge the blade in water. You will not damage the heat treat this way.

They weren't lying about it putting a mirror finish on the blade. I had it on the slowest speed for all three grits I used and felt the blade after each three passes out of ten on each side for each grit and it didn't even try to get hot on the Old Hickory carbon. Did a 15 degree angle on it just for grins.



It shaved my arm and I hit it on a steel a bit after that and it still shaved. I may get a round steak tomorrow and see how it does slicing strips and then slicing the pieces in half edge wise for thinner slices for jerky. I'm going to do about three pocket knives before I try it on the Japanese paring knife. Case pocket knife is going to get 20 degrees on the clip blade, 25 on the sheepsfoot I use for opening envelopes and boxes, etc., and 15 on the spay blade I use for minor surgery.

The bevel does reflect print.

Whoa, looks like it did a great job on that parring knife. I'm even more convinced that is on my "purchase asap" list now.