Worksharp Sharpening Station

D

danjames

Member
Joined
Sep 30, 2009
Messages
55
Hi Everyone, 

I've been looking into getting a new sharpening system for my hand tools, at the moment I just use a bench grinder which is ok but I would like something different.

The Worksharp system appeals to me as it sharpens tools without water, looks portable and can give a fine edge to tools.

I have a few questions to ask if anyone has any experience with this tool -

Is it as good as they say, I have not seen or used one here in Italy yet. 

Can it give a truly sharp and polished edge.

How long do the abrasives last for and are they value for money.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated - thanks in advance.

Dan James.
 
Dan,

Buy it.

That tool is one of the tools that I have never regretted buying.  I have only used it for straight chisels.  No gouges, turning tools, etc.  There was a thread here not too long ago about what tools were keepers and it made that list consistently from many members.

I am not a fan of spending hours sharpening, so I appreciate the fact that it is quick.  I also got a far superior sharpening than I have ever achieved by another method.  When I got mine, I gathered up all my chisels - 25 or more - that were in bad shape and went to town.  At the end of maybe 2 hours I was ecstatic.

As to the length of abrasive life, I can't answer that for you - I haven't used any up. 

Don't worry others will chime in for sure.  I'll go looking for a couple of links for you.

Peter
 
Dan,

I have to echo Peter's advice.  It's a great little machine.  I use my chisels/planes in the field, and always find a way to nick them up.  I have never really mastered sharpening blades, and working on them was a chore, so I rarely had nice sharp tools with me when needed.  With the worksharp, I'm always ready to go.  I can usually tune up my 6-8 blades in 10-15 minuets, max.

I think the abrasives are a bit pricey, but good quality.  I use generic 6" sticky disks for the lower grits, then switch to better quality disks in the higher grits.  seems to work ok.

Dan
 
I have the work sharp and love it.  I have sharpened everything I own on it from chisels, plane blades, carving tools, and I did sharpen some turning tools on it.  I have the wide blade attachment on it for plane blades and it works great.  I have worn out paper but it does take a while.  I will admit that sharpening turning tools, while it I was able to do it,  I prefer the speed from a grinder and the hollow grind.  I then follow up using the Koch system for most things after the work sharp that system is great.  I Purchased the wheel separately and mounted it to a 1750 rpm motor and love it to death.

JJ
 
Dan,

Buy it!!  Until I bought the worksharp 3000 I was far more likely to make my chisels duller than sharper.  I'd get them sharp eventually but could easily waste an hour to sharpen one chisel.  Just have never picked up the ability to sharpen anything with a stone.

Now I can sharpen a chisel in 2 or 3 minutes, less for just a quick touch-up and end up with a chisel that's sharp enough to shave with.

I've not worn out any paper yet, but I don't do enough work w/ chisels that I have to sharpen that often.

I can say enough good things about this tool.

Fred
 
I think its worth the money.  It will produce a pretty sharp chisel with a minimum of time and effort.  For very demanding applications such as dovetails, I will move on to waterstones from the worksharp, but for utility chisels, it is the cats meow!
 
I feel the need to chime in with everyone else.  It is one of those purchases, like FesTools, that meet or exceed one's expectations.  I use it for chisels and turning tools.  It has made keeping sharp turning tools a breeze and I don't worry about "bluing" a gouge. 

It is most definitely a "buy"!
 
Thank you very much for all your replies, really good feedback.

Looks like I'm going to be buying myself a Toolsharp system.

Many thanks - Dan James.
 
I purchased a Worksharp 3000 along with all of the accesories and ended up selling because it wasn't near as good as the Veritas MkII honing guide. The MkII is just so much more precise and there is no mucking around with all those parts. After sharpening my wide plane blades on the small round plate of the Worksharp and the long flat surface of a water stone there is no returning the Worksharp.
So I went from Veritas sharpening system (4 years) to Worksharp (3 Months)  to the Veritas MkII and have found this to be the perfect blend of flexibilty, control and accuracy for my requirements.

Good luck.
 
waynew said:
So I went from Veritas sharpening system (4 years) to Worksharp (3 Months)  to the Veritas MkII
Click to expand...

Hi, Wayne.  Does the MkII work with short-bladed chisels?  I've got a set of Japanese chisels that don't work with the old Veritas system.

Regards,

John
 
waynew said:
I purchased a Worksharp 3000 along with all of the accesories and ended up selling because it wasn't near as good as the Veritas MkII honing guide. The MkII is just so much more precise and there is no mucking around with all those parts. After sharpening my wide plane blades on the small round plate of the Worksharp and the long flat surface of a water stone there is no returning the Worksharp.
So I went from Veritas sharpening system (4 years) to Worksharp (3 Months)  to the Veritas MkII and have found this to be the perfect blend of flexibilty, control and accuracy for my requirements.

Good luck.
Click to expand...

Waynew,

I use the veritas mark 1 system at the moment it's ok but not so easy to set up really accuratley time after time, I also use water stones.

Maybe I shall need to use a combination of both, chisels in the worksharp and my stones and guide for my plane blades.

I like the idea of the worksharp because you can do a quick touch up without having to set up the guide and also without getting dirty fingers from the slurry created with the water that is used.

Many thanks - Dan James.
 
Hey, John...we're almost neighbors (I live in Philadelphia, near 22nd and South St)

Yes, the Veritas MK II guide can work with Japanese blades & chisels.  The blade bottom is clamped against the jig, which was not the case with the MK I guide.

The registration jig part of the MK II is a huge improvement over the MK I; all things being equal, one can quickly set a blade in the jig at a given angle and square to the jig.  With my square blades (Lie Nielsen, Veritas, et cetera), I still check the set up with a small square.  My Japanese blades, blacksmithed by a guy, one at a time..aren't necessarily the same width, front to back.

In these situations...I can...

1.  Not worry about it...most of the time, a chisel bevel edge two or three degrees out of square doesn't matter.

2.  "Joint" the blade side on a diamond stone, so it orients square in the registration jig.

3.  Set up the blade in the registration jig, compensating for taper.

4.  Sharpen freehand.

I probably choose #1 or #4 most of the time, but that's just me.

As I said in an older thread about hand planes, the MK II is worth the money. 
 
Buy it,

I have the smaller Tool Sharpener ws200 from worksharp,
and use it out on site.

Fantastic bit of kit, you wont regret buying it  ;)
 
I think I saw a demo video on the WS2000 and that's where I came up with the question for the 3000.  Strange they'd have it for the 2000 and not the 3000
 
I like the speed of the worksharp for chisels but i like to give a final honing with the MK 2 on a waterstone. The worksharp will get your blades pretty damn sharp, I'm just a bit obsessive. Saves a huge ammount of time though with jobsite chisels so i recommend!
 
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