Although the Work Sharp Ken Onion is a quick and easy way to sharpen a knife I'm not completely sold on it. Here's why–
First some backgroundBuy a butcher's steel if you want to keep your knives sharp.
This one is at least 50 years old. It was my father's. He lavished care on it so it never rusted and developed pits.
You'll notice that it's as smooth as glass. It doesn't remove material from knives that are stroked across it, it just straightens out the microscopic burr that makes a knife less sharp.
If you visualize a knife edge, the steel tapers to a sharp point. If that point were as sharp as absolutely possible, the cutting edge would be one molecule thick. The first time you cut something that one molecule edge would bend and now the knife isn't as sharp.
Even though your knife blade doesn't end in a one molecule edge, that edge still rolls over (somewhat like a burr) as you use it. But if you lay the knife's flat bevel along the steel and stroke it a few times the burr will straighten and the original sharpness will return.
But the Work Sharp's flexing belt doesn't grind a flat bevel. It grinds a curve to a point. This is taken from the owner's manual.
So, I have difficulty holding the knife to the proper angle when "steeling" it. YMMV.
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Topic: Work Sharp Knife Sharpener Model Ken Onion (Read 9913 times)