Worksharp

[Nathan Talbert]

I was wondering if anyone uses the Worksharp machine. I am thinking about using it to sharpen my new block plane iron and a few chisels. It costs $200 and the sandpaper discs are quite expensive. I think it will suit well for a beginner like me. Any words of wisdom?

[Sam Takeuchi]

Or you can just get a grinder and a set of Shapton, King or other stones. In a long run, that would be more economical since stones don't need to be replaced until it's broken or used up.

[Tri Hoang]

I'd second Sam advice. It's not that complicated to sharpen plane blades and chisels by hand. A set of 220/1000 and 4000/8000 norton waterstones, a glass/granite plate to flatten the stones, and a small bench grinder. The set up would costs about $200.

Spend sometimes flatten/polish the back of the blades. I used to use the ruler trick but no longer do it. Once it's flatten and polished, you are done with it. This is probably the only place where a power sharpening would be faster.

Hollow grind the blade with the desired bevel. The actual honing process is pretty straight-forward on the 1000/4000/8000 and takes only a few minutes. A small honing guide ($10-12) could be use for chisels if you want a secondary bevel. Also, I've not really figure out how to hone a camber blade free hand...so if you want that, use a roller guide.

Re-honing takes even less time on the 4000/8000. As with everything, practice makes perfect. It's probably take more time to remove the bade and reinstalling it than to re-hone it. Use little water and the mess would be manageable. If you spray the stones with water after use and put them back in their cases...you don't have to soak them before used unless a significant time has elapsed.

Sharpening a skill worth learning and a set of stones would probably last a life time for a weekend warrior. I believe you can get quite good after only a few hours of practice. I started out a few months back and got really comfortable/efficient at it after about 20 hours. I'm not a very fast learner so if I can do it, I bet you could too in probably less time.

[Casey Gooding]

I mainly use waterstones. However, I do occasionally use the Worksharp. I have trouble getting a perfectly square edge on it. It seems to go out of adjustment frequently. I only use it for grinding, not honing or polishing. As far as the abrasives are concerned. You can use any 6" PSA sanding disks if you just cut a hole in the middle. I can pretty easily find up to 320 grit. You may have to buy the Worksharp paper for anything finer.

[Jim Kountz]

I use the Worksharp 3000 and can tell you its well worth the money. Yes you can learn to hone freehand but if you want razor, even surgical sharp tools NOW with no learning curve, this will do it and then some. What I will tell you is that just like any other sharpening method whether it be stones, diamond or ceramic, I dont recommend trying to reshape a bevel with it. Meaning if you want to go from say 25 degress to 35 degrees, do that on your grinder then hone it on the Worksharp.
The Worksharp is fast, repeatable and once again little to no learning curve.
Highly recommended.
You can use any paper with it and if you check automotive supply stores you can find all the way up to 3000 grit if you need it. I use spray adhesive to attach mine. Simple.

[Jamie Cowan]

I love mine, and so far I haven't had any trouble keeping the edges square. I had gotten pretty good at sharpening with water stones freehand, but wanted something faster and easier. I used to really enjoy sharpening, but it became a task. Anyway, Didn't want to shell out five or six hundred, but wanted a machine. Watched the Worksharp video about 20 times, pulled the trigger. Love it. I want to dull some chisels, gouges,and plane blades just to use it some more. Love it. Really easy to use, paper lasts pretty long.

[glenn bradley]

Have it. Love it. Paper is not that expensive compared to other quality abrasives. You can buy cheaper 6" PSA discs and trim them a bit but, I don't really see the savings with papers that will wear out quickly.

[Jacob Mac]

I have one and it is great for chisels and carving gouges. I just bought the attachment for plane blades on Sunday. After I get a chance to use it, I will post a review if you want.

[Jim Koepke]

My power sharpening system is the Veritas MK II power sharpening system. It is similar in that it uses a flat disk instead of the edge of a wheel.

I like my set up and though there is a tendency to get blades out of square, I have learned to overcome that by using both sides of the moving surface. There are other ways to compensate, but that is another thread.

If you only have a few blades to sharpen, a powered system is not as practical as sharpening by hand.

If you buy used planes and chisels, then a sharpening system is essential. For this purpose, my recommendation is for a flat disk type. The back of a pitted blade takes long enough to clean up that power makes the difference. Doing this chore on a wheel does not work too well.

Your profile does not show a city. Tri is in New Mexico, wet stones in a warm shop is not a problem. My shop is in Washington and it sometimes gets to freezing. That could be a problem with wet stones. I let mine dry between using in the cold months.

If you do have quite a few blades to keep sharp, get extra tool holders if the system you decide on has them. My experience is that it takes sharpening a few blades at a time to allow for cooling. The system you purchase may be different. If you have to change plates to change grits, you may want a few spare plates. This will allow you to have one set with fresh abrasive and one set with worn but useable abrasive. This comes in handy when you want to work on rough stuff like shovels or other metal work.

When you purchase stones, make sure they are big enough for your blades. A 2 inch wide stone is not the best stone to use on a blade that is 2-5/8 inches wide.

Remember, what ever you do, if you milage does not vary, something is not right.

jim

[Randy Klein]

I bought one and returned it. I got better results by hand using my own jig and scary sharp. It's a skill well worth learning.

[Robert Rozaieski]

I have never used one but I'll offer one reason not to get it and instead learn to hollow grind and hone on stones.

If you ever take your tools out of your shop, i.e. take a class somewhere, how will you keep your tools honed? Are you going to pack up and bring your Worksharp with you?

Learning to hollow grind and hone on stones freehand is a skill you can learn in an hour tops. Plus, the outlay of cash is considerably less because when you hone freehand, you can get away with smaller (and therefore less expensive) stones. I use both a high speed and a hand cranked grinder depending on how much grinding needs to be done. The HS ginder was about $45 at Lowes. The hand crank was about $20. You really only need one.

I hone using oil stones. My coarse/fine combination India stone (the fine is the first stone used from the grinder; the coarse is only for heavy metal removal) is 6" x 2" x 1" and was $11. Then I move to a surgical black Arkansas stone, also 6" x 2" x 1" (Hall's Stones) that was about $40. Finally, strop on a piece of leather charged with green honing compound.

The benefit of this system is that I can easily pack up the stones and strop for a class or working out of the shop. I can also stop mid work and touch up the edge on the strop or stones frequently during work without having to set up a jig and guide and clamp etc. It allows you to hone while you work, which is the best way. You don't want to work with a sub sharp tool just because it takes too long to set up to sharpen. Make it quick and easy for yourself to touch up your tools during use and you'll do it much more frequently and hence your tools will stay sharper.

Just my 2¢.

[Nathan Talbert]

What is hollow grind? How do you do it? Why do you do it?

[Tri Hoang]

Because the grinding wheel is round, it creates a slight radius on the surface of the tool being grind. Think of the hollow grind as a small arc with a large radius...so when you put a hollow grind tool down on a flat surface, only two small strips of metal come in contact with it: the top and bottom of the bevel. When you hone the tool, only small amount of metal have to be removed before an burr is formed. It is equally handy when re-honing..which is done multiple times before the bevel has to be re-grind. The easier and faster it is to re-hone the blade, the more likely one would do it at the moment needed instead of pushing it off.

I used to own the Worksharp 3000 but hate dealing with applying PSA paper, bubbles, and the steel dust so I sold it. Another issue I have with power sharpening during re-sharpening is that one little slip and the edge is ruined. I could still trash a blade on the stones but at a much slower rate. So if I'm careful, it does not take much to correct the mistakes.

I spent quite a bit of money and time on different sharpening systems. At the end, a simple set of stones seems to be the most efficient route. Obviously, there are multiple ways to approach this and many people whose opinions I highly respect do it with power tool. So research carefully, pick one, and stick with it...It would be a lot less costly than what I did.

[Nathan Talbert]

How can I be sure that i'm holding it at the right angle? Do I need to buy a jig?

[David Keller NC]

Nathan - I wrote out a rather lengthy description of why you want a hollow grind on a plane blade and how to use it:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=112262&page=4

It is post #54. It's not a better explanation than Tri posted, just a bit different. The two together should answer your questions.

[Jim Kountz]

I have never used one but I'll offer one reason not to get it and instead learn to hollow grind and hone on stones.

If you ever take your tools out of your shop, i.e. take a class somewhere, how will you keep your tools honed? Are you going to pack up and bring your Worksharp with you?
Sure why not, have you ever seen a worksharp? Its a little machine that really doesnt take up anymore room than 3-4 stones and a sharpening jig or two.

Learning to hollow grind and hone on stones freehand is a skill you can learn in an hour tops.
Some can learn in an hour, others may take longer and still others yet may never get it.

Plus, the outlay of cash is considerably less because when you hone freehand, you can get away with smaller (and therefore less expensive) stones.
You will save a little money I guess however good quality stones aint cheap by any means so the cost difference isnt really that much different.

I use both a high speed and a hand cranked grinder depending on how much grinding needs to be done. The HS ginder was about $45 at Lowes. The hand crank was about $20. You really only need one.

I hone using oil stones. My coarse/fine combination India stone (the fine is the first stone used from the grinder; the coarse is only for heavy metal removal) is 6" x 2" x 1" and was $11. Then I move to a surgical black Arkansas stone, also 6" x 2" x 1" (Hall's Stones) that was about $40. Finally, strop on a piece of leather charged with green honing compound.

The benefit of this system is that I can easily pack up the stones and strop for a class or working out of the shop. I can also stop mid work and touch up the edge on the strop or stones frequently during work without having to set up a jig and guide and clamp etc. It allows you to hone while you work, which is the best way. You don't want to work with a sub sharp tool just because it takes too long to set up to sharpen.

Once I get and edge I want on the WS, I never have to hone again unless I damage the edge. All it takes is about 20 seconds on the stropping wheel to get back to a surgical sharp edge.


Make it quick and easy for yourself to touch up your tools during use and you'll do it much more frequently and hence your tools will stay sharper.

Just my 2¢.

Im just offering the other side of the story here, this is by no means meant to be an argument for anything you have said ok? You have made some valid points but I just felt there was a little more to the story to consider. No harm meant!!

[Robert Rozaieski]

What is hollow grind? How do you do it? Why do you do it?

Here's the best article on hollow grinding and honing that I know of.
http://www.antiquetools.com/sharp/

[Robert Rozaieski]

Im just offering the other side of the story here, this is by no means meant to be an argument for anything you have said ok? You have made some valid points but I just felt there was a little more to the story to consider. No harm meant!!

No harm ;). Like I said, I've never used it so can't really comment on using it specifically. Everyone nees to learn their own favorite way and stick to it. In the end, there is no magic solution to getting a sharp edge other than practice and experience.

I do know that the hollow grind/freehand hone method works extremely well and extremely fast. I used Joel's article and nothing else to learn it. It's really not that hard. And good stones don't have to be expensive. They will be if you want big ones like the big Norton or Shapton water stones (8 x 3 x 1) but if you hone freehand you don't need that much real estate. A 6 x 2 x 1 oil stone is all you need and they are relatively inexpensive in that size for very good stones.

[Dan Karachio]

Can I use this thread to ask a couple of really dumb questions about the Worksharp?

1. The leather honing wheel. I conditioned it as stated, applied the green stuff, but it is bumpy and clumpy. How does one avoid this/fix this?
2. The dumbest question of all - is the leather wheel meant to go face down, because mine simply will not mount this way.