Worksharp 3000

[phil p]

Hi,

Does anyone have this machine and could rate it?

Plenty of good reviews on the Rutlands website so I'm slightly tempted, however for £200+ and in my case it would just be for occasional use is the reason I'm holding back slightly.

Must admit the knife sharpener attachment looks pretty good.

Any opinions/ comments would be appreciated.

Thanks
Phil

 

[lurker]

It's common knowledge rutlands don't allow poor ratings so the opinions are skewed. It might be ok but who knows.

 

[Droogs]

Stumpy nubs rates them quite highly. And even though he has a fairly cavalier online personna, I think his RL quality stands will be quite high

 

[Ring]

I have one and have used it for a number of years now, Up until I got it I used a sharpening stone and made a pretty decent job with it. The worksharp works straight out of the box easy to set up and use and yes you can shave your arms with the edge it puts on your tools, would I buy it again yes but I do not pay the prices for the replacement discs I make my own for a fraction of the cost .Once you have tuned your chisels [does take a bit of time] it only takes less than a minute to touch up your chisels /plane irons to scary sharp standards . Hope that helps.
Jim

 

[Tim_H]

I would agree with Jim, nicely made bit of kit and does what it says. I have also made my own extra wheels out of MDF. I have not used the wheels that allow you to see lathe tool cutting faces for sharpening freehand but it is a clever idea. I would buy it again

 

[ED65]

It's a lovely piece of kit. Seen numerous posts from users on multiple woodworking forums speaking to its quality, it does exactly what it says on the tin.

But I think for the hobbyist it's hard to justify the cost and you have to be careful you're not doing the "Oh look, shiny." thing.

If sharpening is something you enjoy doing a lot of and like to experiment with and you're after a new sharpening toy then go for it. If you're more a practical sharpener though, where getting a good edge reliably and quickly is what you're after, what hole is it filling that a grinder plus a few diamond plates or good stones doesn't provide, for far less? And they could well be faster.

 

[chippy1970]

It's excellent get one !!!

I've had one a few years and its the fastest way I've found to get razor sharp chisels

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[ED65]

its the fastest way I've found to get razor sharp chisels

Never tried stropping?

 

[Mcluma]

best sharpner you can buy

 

[chippy1970]

its the fastest way I've found to get razor sharp chisels

Never tried stropping?

Yeah on the worksharp with the leather wheel

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[Richard S]

It's a lovely piece of kit. Seen numerous posts from users on multiple woodworking forums speaking to its quality, it does exactly what it says on the tin.

But I think for the hobbyist it's hard to justify the cost and you have to be careful you're not doing the "Oh look, shiny." thing.

If sharpening is something you enjoy doing a lot of and like to experiment with and you're after a new sharpening toy then go for it. If you're more a practical sharpener though, where getting a good edge reliably and quickly is what you're after, what hole is it filling that a grinder plus a few diamond plates or good stones doesn't provide, for far less? And they could well be faster.

I'm not sure a decent grinder and a few decent diamond plates would be any cheaper let alone far less. For the record I'm a fan of the worksharp, I've had mine for about three or four years or so and find for me it is better than the Tormek it replaced. I'm not a slave to sharpening I prefer to be working wood. I tend to have a big session every few months where every edge tool that I have is reground on the worksharp and then touched up as I go with a lovely old oil stone that leaves a good enough edge to take the hair off my forearm.
Works for me.

 

[Doug B]

I bought one a good few years ago, it's great for honing edges & minor touch ups but that's about the limit of the machine, it is fairly dire for removing any amount of material which is down to it only having small abrasive discs.

I found I was going back to the grinder to remove chips in edges & then finishing off on theWorksharp so I sold both & bought a Proedge & haven't looked back, I can grind & hone on one machine which is quicker & takes up less space.

 

[ED65]

Never tried stropping?

Yeah on the worksharp with the leather wheel

Walked into that one didn't I? :mrgreen:

 

[ED65]

I'm not sure a decent grinder and a few decent diamond plates would be any cheaper let alone far less.

They would be, I did the sums and you could do it for about an 80% saving.

But we'd have to get into a debate on what a decent grinder is to begin with. Since I was assuming light use from a hobbyist owner I was naturally assuming less-expensive options for both the grinder and the diamond plates. I didn't factor in any cost for one or more strops since they should be free to any woodworker with a scraps bin.

 

[Richard S]

If you could get a grinder and several diamond plates circa £40 I can't imagine they would be anything worth having.

 

[Inoffthered]

I have a Worksharp and think it is a great piece of kit. I have consigned my japanese waterstones and Scheppach grinder to a cupboard.

Not sure that I agree with Doug B about the limitations on removing material. I have a wheel set up with a coarse paper and have used it to re-profile some seriously dinged plane irons and chisels and I think that with the right abrasive you can remove a lot of metal quickly in a controlled fashion.

After the initial purchase of the WS I bought a spare tempered wheel so that I could have all of grits readily available (I know that some folks have made spare wheels in mdf). It is so easy to use and the slotted wheel takes a lot of guesswork out of sharpening roughing gouges etc.
It is not difficult nor particularly time consuming to convert a scabby edge into a sharp tool with a mirror finish.

 

[chippy1970]

I bought one a good few years ago, it's great for honing edges & minor touch ups but that's about the limit of the machine, it is fairly dire for removing any amount of material which is down to it only having small abrasive discs.

Doug you gotta get some 60 grit paper for it. I got some paper from toolstation , had to make a centre hole as they're just solid discs. 60 grit makes a few sparks but grinds away material in no time. Great when you wanna change the blade angle or you have a few chips to remove

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[ED65]

Richard S, everyone's standards vary but you can pick up a perfectly reasonable grinder for £30 or so from Lidl or Aldi. They just had a couple of types in late last year, including a low-speed jobbie with a regular grinding wheel at the front, and one with a belt to the side instead of the water-cooled wheel.

And you can pick up sets of four diamond plates for a tenner practically anywhere, or the sets of three for about six or seven quid. They're not Eze-Laps or DMTs, but they get the job done.

 

[Mark-numbers]

I bought one a good few years ago, it's great for honing edges & minor touch ups but that's about the limit of the machine, it is fairly dire for removing any amount of material which is down to it only having small abrasive discs.

I found I was going back to the grinder to remove chips in edges & then finishing off on theWorksharp so I sold both & bought a Proedge & haven't looked back, I can grind & hone on one machine which is quicker & takes up less space.

I need to get a new grinding wheel for the workshop, is this something that would withstand a workshop environment or should I just stick to a grinding wheel?

 

[MickCheese]

I have one, it's great for honing but not so good for grinding. Takes a while and the aggressive abrasive discs blunt easily so you start removing material quickly but it soon dulls to a real bore.

I really like it though.

Would buy again.

Mick