We recently had the opportunity to review the Work Sharp WS2000 Tool Sharpener with the knife sharpening attachment. My first concern before even receiving the product was, how good could it be for only $99. On receiving the unit and setting it up I was surprised by how solid it felt. The unit is compact, perfect for storing away when not in use but still stable enough for use when sharpening tools, even without bolting it down.
The WS2000 is a simple design with 1 speed (1,750 RPM) and an on/off switch; the attachment wheels are very versatile and can be used right side up with solid sheets or upside down with the slotted sheets. The slotted sheets work great because at high speeds they allow you to see through to the sharpening edge as you are working. A fixed port on the front of the unit is set at 25 degrees and has a 2” wide opening. It works great for most applications putting a very straight edge on some scrapers we tried out. The port is most commonly intended for wood chisels but I found the height to be a little limiting for some other applications. A nice feature would be to have the ability to adjust the angle but if you need to be that exact with the blade angle you might consider looking at the WS3000 model. The kit comes with 2 wheels and several sheets of different grit so you can have 1 wheel for slotted sheets and the other one for solid sheets. Going from one wheel to the other is also very simple, just remove the hand tightened knob on top and within a few seconds you can go from one to the other.
The knife sharpening attachment ($35) is a fairly easy to put on, first you need to remove the stabilizing bar and tightening knob on the wheel. Then attach the wheel where the knob was and secure the sharpening piece with screws and nuts. The kit includes 3 sharpening belt of different coarseness for getting a finely sharpened edge. The belts are easy to switch in theory but I kept having trouble getting them to line up perfectly after switching the belts. Once everything is setup and working this sharpener does a really nice job. The smoothest belt for honing is like a very fine polishing belt. I’d recommend getting all the blades you need sharpened together and go through them all on the necessary belts and save yourself some setup time. The general purpose belt is all you really need to get a sharp edge but my guess is if you are considering purchasing the Work Sharp and this attachment you are going to go the extra step and make that edge shine like a diamond.
There are also some additional accessories available for the WS2000 Work Sharp such as leather Hone disks, tempered glass, additional solid and slotted disks, among others. I was a little surprised to see the accessory packs of disks costing $15-30 when the unit itself is such a deal at $99 but the accessories provided in the kit should get you through all of your tools that need sharpened right away.
Overall everyone who had a chance to use it was very impressed. The price is right and it is a very versatile tool for a wide range of people; DIY & Professional. For most home owners it could be something that would only get used a few times a year but even so you would keep your tools and accessories sharper and lasting longer saving money. There is also always the route of buying it as a present for a someone close, friend, brother, father, etc and simply dropping by to give it a whirl every once in a while, not that it isn’t obvious what’s going on when you do that. Checkout the video below for more details.