Worksharp 3000 or a Veritas Mk II

[Chuck Isaacson]

The wife was going to get me a Worksharp 3000 and I was going to get a Veritas Mk II Honing guide. She was going to get it for a later present but I was going to get the Veritas today. I had planned on using the scary sharp method for sharpening. Which route would you go?

Chuck

[Scot Ferraro]

I cannot speak for the Worksharp 3000, but I have and use the Veritas MKII and it is awesome...no thinking, quick and easy and consistent. Plus it is compact for storage and works with all variety of chisels and plane blades. I highly recommend it.

Scot

[russell lusthaus]

I have and highly recommend the worksharp 3000. Great for chisels and irons - - no thinking required.

I have heard others compalin about the platen moving, or about the fact that the same part of the platen is always being used and possibly becoming grooved, but I have had no issues.

Where I might have used a less than sharp iron before, now it is quite enjoyable to put on an edge so easily.

[Michael Schwartz]

I have both and its hard to say which I would go for.

The WorkSharp doesn't quite live up to its marketing claims and I was a
little bit disappointed by it but I do use mine very frequently.

I mostly use it as a power strop, or for power-lapping blades that just won't flatten out by hand. Since it is not very aggressive its also very safe, and nice to use for general grinding/de-burring etc...

For sharpening tools used for carpentry etc... the Worksharp is quite amazing.

The Veritas MK II is very well designed and works. I will admit I don't use mine much, maybe less than the Worksharp since I usually hone free-hand. I mostly use my MK II guide for plane irons when I need them to be perfect. If you use allot of stones or the scary sharp method already I would go for the veritas guide.

[glenn bradley]

I have both. I generally go straight from the WS3K to the work. If I am working with some particularly nasty grain or know I am going to cross-grain on purpose, the MKII lets even a goof like me get a scary sharp edge on things. In practice I would say that the ratio of use is 100 to 1, Worksharp to MKII. If I had not bought the MKII first, I would proabably get by doing the final effort by hand because we're only talking about a few strokes.

[Keith Christopher]

I actually have both. And I love them both. The worksharp is amazing. makes honing a breeze. But sometimes, I love to take my time and hear the sound of steel on stone. You will not be disappointed in either of them. Your wallet will appreciate the MKII better however. But I am not counting it loss to the money I spent on the WS 3K, I rehoned (and in some cases re-beveled) ALL of my chisels (8 of them) my block plane irons and turning tools in about 2 hours. and you can shave with the planes/chisels. I would test the turning tools but the name gouge and skin just don't seem to mix.

[Chuck Isaacson]

Well, I got the Veritas. It is awesome. I would highly reccomend it to anyone. It is super easy to setup and use. I had two junk chisels razor sharp in about 5 minutes each. I have a granite slab that I use to stick the sand paper to. I use 220, 400, 600, 2000. I think that I should only need the 220 for the inital bevel. I had to use some 120 for one. It worked great. But sow I can see myself in the bevel. Should I be using some different grit? Should I go higher? Should I do a step between the 600 and 2000? Wher should I start the micro bevel? Do I need a micro bevel? Help would be great. Thanks.

Chuck

[Scot Ferraro]

The micro-bevel is great to get razor sharp and it will help your edge last a little longer -- I put one on every time I sharpen. I do not put a back-bevel on plane blades, though.

Scot

[PADDY HEALEY]

Chuck, I have both, in fact I have used about every sharpening jig back to the old General with the tall post screw and the roller on the bottom from the 1960's. (Oh to be 40 years younger and know what I know now!)
Seriously, the Mk II is the able to sharpen 99% of my edge tools on wet/dry papers on a granite block or on water stones in a repeatable manner, it would be my first choice.
The WS3000 has it's merits but they are not accuracy or repeatability due to the variance in how square you feed the tool freehand in the slot, how worn the paper disc is and how long you apply it to the edge. I bought it and use it to flatten the backs of the many cutters for my 45/55's, chisels and plane irons. I also use it to rough out a new bevel on old chisles before moving to the Mk II.
All the best, Paddy

[Zach England]

I have both and I hardly use the worksharp. I use it sometimes when I have to remove a large amount of steel, but for general sharpening the veritas gives me far better results usually in less time.

[Cary Falk]

I have the WorkSharp 3000 and love it. I never knew wat a sharp chisel was until I got it. I don't have any experience with the Veritas Mk II.

[Cliff Holmes]

I've used both. Personally, I hated the WS and returned it, I thought it was a royal pain the butt. If you want the long version, check out http://www.thewoodnerd.com/reviews/ws3000.html

The Veritas is wonderful, within a few minutes I was cranking out razor-sharp chisels for the first time in my life.