I abuse knives. I admit it. Guilty as charged. I learned many years ago not to pry with the tip of my valued knives, but have to admit I'll still do it occasionally with some of the utility ones.
I cut things, I screw things, I hack at things, cut wire, metal, basically any task that needs doing.
I also hate dull knives. Dull knives are dangerous. I like my knives sharp, but I don't like to spend hours sharpening.
So what about after all that abuse? Well, I recently upgraded my sharpening kit to include the Worksharp Precision Elite. This is an upgrade to the standard version (available as larger, standalone new kit, or as upgrade kit if you have the previous version.
This new kit includes more sharpening stone grits, a ceramic rod for sharpening serrations, and a leather strop for that finishing touch. Comes in a nice storage/travel case.
Stone Grits included are:
The little tri-stone design makes it quick and easy to change between grits. The same for changing rods, they are held in with magnets and just a quick 2 seconds to pop one out and another in.
For those that know or don't know much about sharpening, this kit is ideal. The most important thing about good sharpening no matter what method or tool you use is keeping a consistent angle. This kit makes it super easy. There is even a nice adjustable knob and scale to set different angles for different type knives.
Just clamp the knife in, pop in the stone you want and run it back and forth a few times, then flip the knife and repeat. Start at the Lower grit and work your way up to the finer grit.
There are certainly more expensive and better kits out there. For the price and the quick ease of use, this is the best I've found without spending over 200-500 dollars.
I took my favorite carry knife which was getting dull from use and gave it a quick run-through in under 10 minutes to test it out. Basically just did about 10 strokes on each side, repeated 3 times on each of the stones from 220-Strop.
I was very pleased with the results, papercutting and hair shaving sharp in that time, much better than it came from the factory. It also gave a nice, consistent edge. I'm sure if I spent more time I could get it even sharper, or go for an even better "mirror" edge, but this meets my goals perfectly of wanting to put/restore a good cutting edge in a short period of time.
Love it, and definitely worth the upgrade for those of you that have the original.
Here's a video of the blade and paper action:
No comments about the scratches and such on the rest of the blade, I told you I abuse them! But that edge is nice!
