Knife Sharpening That Doesn't Suck! // Work Sharp Precision Adjust Elite

For years I've been sharpening my knives on a stone with good enough results. My knives are tools and I never fussed too much with polished edges or razor sharp finishes. I have used just about every sharpener known to man with pretty good accuracy but never bit the bullet on one (mainly because I had free unlimited access to all the sharpeners for years). I'm a bit of a Luddite so for certain things my motto is if it's not broke don't fix it. My buddies over at Work Sharp sent me over their new Precision Adjust Elite sharpener to check out. They didn't send it for me to make a video, or to shill anything to you guys, they literally just sent it for me to check out which was really nice of them.

I find that I learn a lot about a thing the very first time I run through it so I thought it would be fun to bring you guys along as I figured out this new sharpener! Not only did I get a razor sharp edge on my WE Banter I also got a bit of that 'polished' look! The Precision Adjust Elite turned out to be easy, intuitive, and (after some figuring out) a very effective system for excellent knife sharpening. I'm definitely not a knife sharpening expert and I hope in this case that's a good thing as we both got to learn together.

[EcuadorAventurero]

If you want to precisely see the original angle a Knife is sharpened, using a marker on the edge and softly work on the edge a stroke or two, look at the edge and readjust the angle according to the marks on the edge

[kyleduddleston]

One thing that I always make sure to do when going for a nice looking edge, not just sharp, is to wipe the blade down with a cloth (wet or dry) to remove the grit that might be on the edge from previous stones. When you get to the finer stones, the previous larger grits can make gouges in the finish and you would then have to go back through the progression to remove those scratches. You will still get a great cutting edge, but if you are chasing that mirror polish, wipe it down between grits.

[christianmarshall]

I never go by number of strokes. I adjusted the o rings on mine to be able to do passes across the full length of the stone rather than abusing one small section of the stones. I go by feel and how the knife edge looks since I've used it so many times. Also, when you finish with whatever passes you do on each stone, do one full pass strictly pulling towards you. It makes a MAJOR difference in my experience.

[peterbovey]

I have used/tried several “guided sharpening” systems over the past several years and can’t see ever going back to a freehand sharpening technique. I could never get a freehand edge as sharp as a guided sharpener system. The consistency of the angle makes all the difference in my experience. This seems like a well designed product and I am sorely tempted to pick one up!

[scottdecker]

I have the original unit, and, I found that the stones would eventually start to " bind", on the rod. Spraying a little pure silicone oil on the rod smoothed things up, nicely.

[LSwick-ssnm]

Back in the day I carried the lansky system in my rucksack. It is the same concept as this but breaks down into a skinny little case.
My platoon members always gave me their knives to sharpen.
I now have this new work sharp device and I love it.

[parkerbaird]

Really glad to see you and Jaime doing videos again. You need to have a few guest appearances by Ben (and Athena, who we know is a major force in that operation). Great video!

[dtester]

When it first came out, this Work Sharp was the first "rod" system that I saw that was a reasonable price, not that big, and good quality. All the others seemed to be huge expensive things.

[Gunfighter]

I love sharpening my knafs and this system makes it soooo easy! Great to see you and Jaime making some great content like this.

[CitizenKate]

I just picked up one of the basic Precision Adjust sharpening systems today from Work Sharp. I wanted to see how well it worked before I went all in with it. For me it was a game changer. My old beat-up knives that I thought were hopeless are back in operation. They are way sharper now than they were after hours of work on a traditional stone. Not the stone's fault -- I just couldn't get the hang of it. But this product is easy enough to use, there isn't much you can do to screw it up.

[TrashPanda]

I own a works sharp, its more or less the best kit UNDER 400$ (when I bought mine) I had a huge knife collection of dull knives. Now I enjoy using them again. Great vid!

[mycompasslawp.a.]

I just got mine today and was using it while watching this video. This system most definitely works. Money well spent. Took me only about the length of this video to get two blades razor sharp.

[Shiroiokami]

Zac, my extreme thanks to you for the great video. I bought the system, and it worked wonders on my custom titanium Bugout with CPM-S90V. Just an fyi, there is a simple way to compensate for the flexing that occurs with the clamp; just use the free hand to grip the base and the four fingers to apply a slight amount of upward counter pressure at the rear portion of the clamp vise. The four fingers are safe since they are not near the blade's edge. Also, this grip technique helps establish a crisper edge with a more accurate angle.

[JLStreetDoc]

This sharpener is legit. Bought mine a few months ago and it puts an amazing edge on a blade. I use for my kitchen knives, pocket knives and everything in between.

[Spearin]

Awesome to see you and Jaime together again! You two are the reason I got into knives!

[dustinwhitt]

Hey Zac, you can also buy attachments to use better stones and a brace for the clamp. Trust me when I say get the clamp. It helps so much with keeping the right angle.

[MasterNukeEngineer]

I hand sharpen mine and others knives with just a few different stones and I can get it sharp enough to shave. I'm not doing anything commercially so no need to have exactly the same edge. My hand is pretty steady anyways. I can see sometimes I do have a bit of a different angle but everything still works and is super sharp

[Mag]

I had always sharpened my knives with a couple of stones, and managed to get them shaving sharp with some time and work.

I splurged and bought one of these, and I have to say it was the best thing I have bought in a long time.

I can sharpen any knife in the house in under 10 minutes, with no effort. The secret is to not put a lot of downward pressure, and let the stones do the work. Start on one side, and go until you feel a bur on the backside of the blade. (Try to keep track of the number of strokes you made) - Flip the knife over and repeat...gradually work up to the finer stones using the same technique. (I only use the 220 if I need to re-profile) - I use the 400, then the 600, then the ceramic, and close with a couple of swipes with the leather rod.

It is also helpful if you keep track of the angles you use for your knives. I like 15 on the kitchen knives and about 22 on EDC blades. I have sharpened as large as an 8" kitchen knife, not sure how it would handle blades larger than this, but I think you would have trouble with larger blades unless you were using a larger angle.

[hkguitar]

Looks pretty cool, and I'm sure it works well when new.
Myself, I will not spend that much on anything with a plastic base and assemblies.
Thank You for the demonstration.

[okietrippin]

I just bought. It comes tomorrow and I’m excited to sharpen some knives. I have their hand held belt sander, but never got a great edge with it- I bought it like 12 years ago. This looks much more refined. Can’t wait!