Yes, there are better sharpeners, but this is an excellent “portable” belt sharpening system. I have a sharpening business, and I typically use a 42” belt sander or my TSPROF system to sharpen blades. But those are a pain in the butt to travel with and use outside of my shop. This system fits in a small bag and I can easily take it to sharpen knives for my parents, friends, etc. It’s very quick and easy to get a mirror edge if you want to wow your friends, or stop at about 30-45 microns for your mom’s kitchen knifes. In most small belt systems, the belt moves too quickly, and you can easily overheat and damage the knife if you don’t know what you’re doing. On this one you can slow it way down to control the heat. Also, there are many 1x18 belts commonly available, as well as leather strops that will fit this. The convex edges created by this typeof sharpening is durable and suitable for a wide variety of uses. Thanks for the informative video!
idk if i like how the belt is behind that plastic shroud unlike the first edition, seems harder to take the belts off/on. i do like the convex pully system and how they made the angle easier to adjust.
Of coarse nothing is compatible with the old one. Too bad Mr. Onion doesn’t cater to the end user as much as he does his own royalties with proprietary products...Trying to remember what the different belt grits are is really confusing...
I agree on the backward compatibility issue. My wife of now 35 yrs has always been interested in photography .Whats that got to do with knife sharpeners? Well, it's been a few years now since she made the switch from film cameras to digital. When that day came, after spending a fair amount of time accessing and comparing the features, specs and pricing, she wound up spending the money on a couple of high end NIKONS , largely because the $5000 or so she had invested in lenses for her film cameras could be used with her new digital's She considered herself lucky because this would not have been the case had she started with another brand. Backward compatibility is a relevant value. Get the point?
@@duanejones2410 I found myself making the same moves with my Nikon lenses. Although a part of me misses the darkroom, and light table, the change in workflow can't be denied. (No chemicals either.) That said, back to topic, I like the speed control and the bga. If you had the first system it's easy to set it back, use the new and keep on trucking. If money's tight you don't *need it* until you must.
I don't consider this much of an upgrade at all . Slightly more convenient controls but I expected so much more . If you're buying a Ken Onion for the first time I could see going with this but if you already have a Ken Onion with the blade grinding attachment stick with that .
The KO1 is a pretty good machine, so this KO2 can only be incrementally upgraded while remaining close to its original footprint. I agree that these upgrades are not revolutionary, but I do think that they offer features to help with sharpening and forming tasks. Revolutionary would be to marry the PA Pro with the KO2.
I like my original work sharp knife sharpener just fine. And hey guess what, I paid for mine myself. I didn't get it for free. @@hardworkingmanoutdoors
Ill stick with the old one but if you dont have one yet, and are competent, grab one. The speed goes pretty low if youre worried about burning the edge, but with a slack belt you dont really get any heat buildup. Tons of belts out there to choose from from reputable abrasive companies used by knife makers.
I have the gen1 with blade grinding attachment. Used to use a lansky. The best out there if ur not a crackhead or goin thru withdrawals and have a steady hand. Never met another human who can duplicate what I do on one of these. Just remember one side then the other, repeat until initial bevel is achieved. And anyone who says there's a better system just utube bark river knives n see what they do on slack belts for convex edges
I have the original blade grinder w/the 1 X 18 belts . Supplied belts are very good but with a little help from the after-market I have achieved outstanding results. Mower blades and oh my, Shaving sharp on everything from regular kitchen knives incl. small skinning knives, parring knives right up through machetes w/ 20 in. blades. I'm sure the MK2 will make it even easier to achieve to to get great results. Great review. Just might have to get the new one just because!!
Thanks for the review. I own a Tormek, a Wicked Edge and whetstones. I like using each of these systems and they all produce very sharp edges. My opinion is it’s useful to be competent using each system. If I am sharpening expensive knives where I want very precise bevel angles, I use my Wicked Edge. I use my whetstones when I am travelling, and The Tormek for quicker sharpening. I can see a Ken Onion in my future for knife repairs and rapid sharpening. Sharpeners are like fishing rods and reels. You can’t just have one. They all do the same thing in different ways.
I bought the original one of these some years ago. I definitely see a quality improvement over the original insomuch as materials are concerned. I still use my sharpener to take the guesswork out of angles and for a fast sharpening of knives. I even sharpen my old WW-2 Woodsman’s Pal using the machine 👍🏻
Cool you have tools. I am stuck at farm living in a truck off the road. I need a hand up here in NY. Trying to have a RU-vidr come here. Joe The Grower in NY. I have nothing else to live for
@@hardworkingmanoutdoors all will go to Expos & wood shows no one comes here to the farm store. Joe The Grower trying to get up. No car little food can not run business like this or survive. Send NY kind hearted people. Joe The Grower 1127 RT 216 Poughquag, NY 12570
Looks like your Sony ZV-1 is getting the burry disease! Welcome to the club! Here's a question. What tips do you have, so when you go inside after working, you don't end up spending your evening picking 34 wood ticks off you? You can use your sharp knives to cut them in half! HA!
A knife of that stature cannot be taken to any machine! And if anyone owns a knife like that, then the person would already master the art of sharpening it on really, really expensive wet stones. We are no longer talking amateurs and DIY or Pros; we are talking collectors and makers. They are not in the same class.
@@hardworkingmanoutdoors I do have one of those, the older model, and I do love it. I get better results on that than my Wicked Edge, and I don’t know why. I thought the Wicked Edge would be the best because of its design that allows you to sharpen both sides almost simultaneously.
Knife sharpening is as much of an art with the artisan as it is with the tool. The tools when used properly work well. I used Work Sharp, TORMEK and HONE. All for different uses and each one of them delivers an incredible edge but I had to learn how to use them over the years to get the results I wanted. I have never had an issue with my Work Sharp Ken Onion original or my Work Sharp precision adjust elite which did need some modifications to from from "it's ok" to "it's awesome"...there are many great sharpeners on the market and are like Lay's potato chips. You can't have just one 😊
