What does the Ken Onion Edition do that the basic Work Sharp doesn’t?
Have been using whetstones ever since I bought a good quality knife three years ago. Have watched several YouTube videos and done my best to duplicate the techniques I’ve seen, but never been able to get as good an edge as what that knife had when I first took it out of the box.
The original has a 1/2 inch wide belt. The KO 3/4 inch wide belt. With the KO series you have much more control over the angle.
Unfortunately, it costs a lot more, too.
Years ago there was a thread here, and from that I bought one of the Chef’s Choice models. Can’t remember which one but it’s very handy. I use it mostly on my kitchen knives but also sometimes on my daily carry SAK.
I also have diamond honing stones and I like that one a lot. I used it to put a new edge on a very old Kabar I’ve had for decades, and it did a great job.
And I have some others I’ve used over the years but those two are my main ones.
I remember those positive comments about it, and I’m glad it’s working for you. My concern was whether it would be wise to use it with high-end knives like Zwilling or Wusthof (mine are all Zwilling). I thought about adding to an Amazon order I just placed today anyway but I was further put off by a review (not that I automatically believe internet reviews!) that claimed that it works great for cheap knives, but would ruin the edge on the high-end ones.
Instead I’ve been using one of these Zwilling sharpeners.
Wusthof makes one that looks identical.
The Zwilling one appears to have been discontinued in favour of one that has only a single sharpening angle instead of 20º for standard knives and 15º for Asian. Anyway, I have one of the older ones with the coarse and fine honing elements for both angles.
I’m not sure what to think, TBH. It definitely sharpens the knives; the coarse element produces visible fine metal filings, the honing element doesn’t produce much of anything. The blade subsequently feels sharp and cuts well but I wouldn’t rave about it being “super sharp” or anything extraordinary. I’d say it works well enough and certainly produces better and longer-lasting results than a honing steel alone.
You can also add their Blade Grinder to the Ken Onion edition. It allows freehand sharpening. While the other edition does not require quite as much skill.