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Butter Knife vs. Credit Card: GearJunkie Goes Sharpening

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The Work Sharp Ken Onion Edition Knife and Tool Sharpener makes dull edges sharp quickly. So we decided to have a little fun with it.

The Work Sharp Ken Onion Edition Knife and Tool Sharpener is a small belt grinder optimized for sharpening knives, tools, axes, and scissors. We’ve used it for a few months now and have enjoyed its sharpening speed.

But what would it do with really, really dull stuff? We figured we’d give it a try on a metal credit card and a butter knife. You know, just for fun.

Ken Onion Edition Knife and Tool Sharpener

This is a fast, effective way to sharpen knives. The tool has an adjustable sharpening guide to help the user hold edge bevels from 15 to 30 degrees.

In use, we’ve found the sharpener really easy to use to get knives to a solid, sharp edge. Pushing them into the razor-sharp category takes a little more practice, as any variation in stroke can round the edge, effectively making it a little duller.

It produces a convex edge, which is very strong and holds up to abuse well. When using for the first time on any knife, you’ll likely be introducing a new angle (unless you absolutely nail it, which is unlikely), so be ready to reprofile your blades and record your angles for resharpening.

The strengths of the sharpener are speed and ease of use. Its negative is probably that, even with the guide, you can still introduce variation into your stroke.

Work Sharp recognizes this fact and provides a lot of instruction online. To learn how to effectively use this powerful tool, check out Work Sharp’s instructional videos.

We love that this sharpener can also serve to sharpen tools, blades with serrated edges, and even gut hooks.

How does it work for credit cards and butter knives? You be the judge.

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