Top 5 Work Sharp Electric Belt Knife Sharpeners You Can Buy – Versatile & Portable

Using a blunt knife is no fun. Getting it sharpened manually is tedious and time-consuming.

You’re not alone.

The Work Sharp electric belt knife sharpeners are here to help. It literally restores your blunt knives in minutes, sharper than brand new.

The Work Sharp knife sharpeners are very versatile, meaning you can use them to sharpen a variety of blades either with the guiding slot or freehand. Glad to see it’s portable and simple to use.

Compared to other bulky sharpeners, it’s very compact and handy. You can store it in a small kitchen.

In times when you need to use it, grab it from the kitchen cabinet and get the knives sharpened at rapid speed. You’re back to slicing and dicing in no time.

Did you know Work Sharp Knife Sharpeners are engineered and assembled in the USA?

We’ve researched and gathered 5 models of Work Sharp electric belt knife sharpeners.

We strongly recommend the Work Sharp Ken Onion Edition for all your sharpening needs. You can expand the sharpening capabilities in the future with the attachment options.

Thanks to the versatility and probability of the Work Sharp sharpeners. You can sharpen different types of knives and blades with ease.

Just because it’s a knife sharpener doesn’t mean it can only handle kitchen knives. It can sharpen scissors, hunting knives, serrated knives, and other hard-to-reach edges.

Do you have lawn mower blades to sharpen? You’re in luck.

Coarse to fine abrasive belts are interchangeable to get the job done right.

With the help of the guiding slot, the optimal angle is maintained throughout to achieve hair-splitting sharpness. And with a little practice, you’ll be able to get the razor-sharp blade every time.

All Work Sharp knife sharpeners come with manuals and instructional DVDs. The purpose is to guide you through to get the best sharpening results.

It also includes important safety instructions to help you operate the sharpener.

Once you get the hang of it, you’ll realize Work Sharp knife sharpeners are the best investment for sharpening knives and other tools.

Top 5 Work Sharp Knife Sharpeners Review

1. Work Sharp Combo Knife Sharpener

The one single knife sharpener which can create a keen edge to all your blades whether it is the kitchen, serrated, hunting or pocket knife is the Work Sharp Combo Knife Sharpener.

This is the knife sharpener with no frills and comes with integrated angle guides fixed at 25 degrees, optimal for anyone who wants to sharpen kitchen, pocket, and hunting knives.

The flexible belt technology develops a convex edge to achieve optimum sharpness that is more lasting than a flat edge.

The Combo knife sharpener makes use of the flexible abrasive belt to perform the bulk of steel removal.

The abrasive belt is designed with pure grinding metal that can sharpen any type of steel blade without overheating.

The honing of knives is done by passing it through the ceramic honing rod. Moreover, the built-in honing rod will also help to sharpen any serrations with ease.

The simple and easy two-step process will get all the knives sharpened in no time. You get a power sharpener and the manual honing ceramic rod with this combo knife sharpener.

The combo knife sharpener features a 120v single-speed small motor and uses a 3M abrasive belt (1/2″ x 10″).

The belt can sharpen knives up to 100 times before a replacement is needed but it will also depend on the dullness of the knives.

In fact, to sharpen it 100 times will take quite a long time before you need to replace it. We don’t sharpen knives every day, right?

Replacing the abrasive belt is very simple. You just need to remove the belt cover and push down the belt tensioner.

To sum it up, the Work Sharp Combo Knife Sharpener is one of the most effective, yet affordable electric sharpening systems available today for all discerning knife owners.

Read the full review on Work Sharp Combo Knife Sharpener.

What We Liked

• Fast and consistent sharpening without overheating the blades
• Versatile and can sharpen any type of steel knife
• Ceramic honing rod and premium grade abrasive belt for long-lasting convex cutting edges

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2. Work Sharp WS3000 Tool & Knife Sharpener

The Work Sharp WS3000 Tool & Knife Sharpener is a specially designed bench-mounted sharpening system for woodworkers looking to quickly and easily sharpen chisels, plane irons, carving tools, lathe tools, and many wood cutting tools.

Unlike other handheld sharpeners, WS3000 is not a typical kitchen knife sharpener out of the box.

But wait.

It can do much more (with attachment).

No mess with expensive and cumbersome jigs, this sharpening system is an air-cooled sharpener that many woodworkers and carpenters loved to use.

The built-in sharpening port quickly and accurately grinds, sharpens and hones chisels up to 2” wide to the perfect angle you desire.

From 20 degrees to 35 degrees bevel angle with an increment of 5 degrees setting, just set it and get it sharpened. That’s simple.

The patented air-cooled sharpening port with routed air flow and heat sink design can quickly sharpen chisels and any flat iron blade without overheating or damaging the steel.

The WS3000 comes with 2 tempered glass wheels (150mm) and 4 abrasive surfaces.

Stick the abrasive surfaces (coarse and fine) onto each side of the tempered glass and mount it horizontally on the sharpening system to quickly sharpen whatever dull tools you want.

To use different abrasives for coarse and fine sharpening, just flip over the wheel.

The WS3000 features a 1/5 hp motor that turns the glass wheel horizontally at a maximum of 580 RPM to ensure cooler, stable, and precision sharpening. The motor operates quietly without vibration.

In addition, it also includes a transparent innovative Edge-Vision wheel. Attach it to the sharpener and you will oversee the whole process and the material being removed thereby eliminating guesswork and over-grinding.

As usual, read the user’s manual and watch the DVD videos first before using the sharpener. Safety comes first.

There are also optional attachments for scissor and knife sharpening that can be purchased to further expand its sharpening capabilities (Read below number 2a).

Read the full review on Work Sharp WS3000 Wood Tool Sharpener.

What We Liked

• A heavy-duty wood tool sharpener
• It can sharpen larger blades with the freehand method
• Stable and quiet operation
• Includes a wide range of accessories
• 2-year warranty

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2a. Work Sharp WS3000 Belt Sharpening System Attachment

This is the Work Sharp belt sharpening system attachment that works only with Work Sharp WS3000 (refer to the above review).

We’ve included it in this review to help users understand its sharpening capabilities. Buy this attachment only if you have the WS3000 model.

It is designed to handle the sharpening jobs of any knives and tools.

This attachment can be easily attached to the WS3000, and uses a blend of flexible abrasive belts and a precision sharpening guide to sharpen any blade.

The sharpening guide is adjustable from 10 to 35 degrees for kitchen knives, outdoor utility knives, and serrated knives. And for scissors and shears, it is between 55 to 80 degrees.

For a freehand sharpening experience, remove the guide to sharpen and hone a variety of woodcutting tools including the carving tools and the marking knives.

The user’s guide explains clearly the correct way to use the attachment and the helpful tips to optimize the sharpening results for specialty tools. Please read the manual prior to operating the system.

The abrasive belts used in this sharpening system are from Norton and Micro Mesh, which ensures durability especially used for honing and sharpening applications.

The WS3000 sharpening system is quality tested and certified in Ashland Oregon.

What is included in this attachment?

1 x Belt Pulley

1 x Belt Tensioner Assembly

1 x Sharpening Guide

3 x Abrasive Belts (1 x coarse P120 belt, 1 x Medium P220 Belt and 1 x Fine 6000 Belt)

1 x User’s Guide

What We Liked

• It comes with 3 different belts to suit the specific needs of sharpening
• It can sharpen larger blades with the freehand method
• The sharpening attachment can handle blades from 1/8 inch to 2 inches with ease
• A great addition to the Work Sharp 3000 sharpener system

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3. Work Sharp Knife & Tool Sharpener

With thousands of positive reviews, you won’t be surprised the Work Sharp Knife & Tool Sharpener is one of the best sellers on the market.

It can quickly sharpen any blades you could find using the flexible abrasive belts and the precision sharpening guide.

This is the first model by Work Sharp to use its flexible abrasive belt to sharpen all types of knives. Be it straight blades, curved knives, filet knives, tanto knives, gut hooks, or serrated knives.

It comes with three different precision angle sharpening guides (40, 50, and 65 degrees) to ensure precision angle sharpening every time.

It also includes 6 flexible belts (2 coarse belts, 2 medium belts, and 2 fine belts) for all your sharpening tasks. That’s more than sufficient to sharpen any knife you may have for years to come.

It can deliver professional-grade razor-sharp edges anytime at home, all thanks to the flexible abrasive belts and the interchangeable precision guides.

The Work Sharp Knife & Tool Sharpener can do more than just sharpen knives.

One word to describe this sharpener is versatility. It can also handle the freehand sharpening job for larger edges.

Search around your home, garage, lawn, garden, and storeroom.

Pick up any axes, scissors, mower blades, hatchets, shovels, garden shears or any other tools with a cutting edge and test it out.

With a little hands-on, the blunt edge will shine and cut like brand new.

Owing to its versatility, it remains the top choice for many work workers, carpenters, and homemakers.

It is a valuable tool that keeps every knife at your home in razor-sharp conditions and ready for slicing and dicing anytime.

You can also change the guide to a scissor-angled guide that is designed for sharpening the scissors.

Read the full review on Work Sharp Knife & Tool Sharpener.

What We Liked

• It is versatile and can sharpen any knife you could image
• It includes 6 premium grade abrasive belts to meet the varied sharpening needs
• It also includes 3 different precision sharpening guides to establish precise cutting angles for your knives
• Compact design and high-quality sharpener.

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4. Work Sharp Ken Onion Edition

The Ken Onion Edition is a handheld belt sander designed to sharpen knives and other tools with additional features not available from other Work Sharp models.

This is the knife sharpener which comes with a sharpening angle that can be adjusted from 15 degrees to 30 degrees.

Simply turn the knob to set the angle for sharpening the edges of your knives and get razor-sharp edges in under a minute.

From pen knives to axes, machetes to lawn mower blades, yard tools with cutting edges, and fishing knives to scissors, you can use it for sharpening any type of blade.

It also has a built-in angle guide at 65 degrees for sharpening scissors.

The Work Sharp Ken Onion sharpener is designed with a variable speed motor which can be adjusted as needed to prevent overheating the blades.

Depending on your requirements, you can set it for slow-speed honing and higher-speed grinding.

The sharpener comes with a set of five flexible abrasive belts (extremely coarse to ultra-fine) that promise to deliver longer-lasting razor-sharp convex edges to your knife.

It also includes an instructional DVD, a user’s guide booklet, and a handy flowchart to help you get started the right way.

Work Sharp recommends reading the user’s guide thoroughly so you can get the most from the sharpening tips they shared with users.

The Ken Onion sharpener is expandable with optional attachments, such as the blade grinding and the tool grinding attachments.

Both attachments come in handy when you need to sharpen many different types of tools freehand. It can also sharpen ceramic knives by using specialty belts, additional purchases are needed.

Read the full review on Work Sharp Ken Onion Edition.

What We Liked

• It can be used for sharpening any edges
• It delivers razor-sharp edges all thanks to its flexible abrasive belts
• Easy replacement of the abrasive belt
• Easy angle guide adjustment
• Comes with a variable-speed motor
• Expandable with optional attachment
• Versatile and powerful sharpener

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5. Work Sharp Culinary E5 Electric Kitchen Knife Sharpener

Work Sharp Culinary E5 Sharpener has managed to garner a reputation and creates an impression amongst users for its compact, yet interesting design.

It leaves the users amazed due to its usability, performance, and convenience in use.

You get a high-quality belt sharpener at home that matches professional sharpening services and knife manufacturers.

The Culinary E5 automated sharpener weighs only 2.5 pounds and the compact design measures 7.2 inches by 4.5 inches by 5.2 inches.

It only occupies a small footprint in the kitchen and effortless to store it when you are done using it.

The sharpener comes with One Touch programming operation. With that said, sharpening is just simply alternating the strokes on each side until it automatically turns off.

The E5 sharpener will optimize the knife to get the best results in auto mode every time. Whether for sharpening or refining the knife, the E5 sharpener knows what to do.

Owing to its automated use, it makes its counterparts pale in comparison.

Performance-wise, this is one of the best-performing sharpeners in the market today that uses an abrasive sharpening belt to deliver razor-sharp edges.

Its operations are quiet, clean, and safe for all kitchen knives.

The built-in guides are set at a 17 degrees sharpening angle but you can opt for the 15 and 20 degrees guides that are sold separately.

It also includes a ceramic honing rod that can help you get ultra-sharp knives and touch up edges after the sharpening process.

What is noteworthy to mention is the exclusive MicroForge technology from the E5 honing rod that helps to create superior edge sharpness and a lasting cutting edge on the knife.

A sharpened MicroForge knife will outperform other knives for it will not slip and easily cut through foods with less pressure.

Work Sharp Culinary E5 comes with a manual and a generous 3-year warranty. This model is pricey but its impressive performance will far outweigh its price.

Read the full review on Work Sharp Culinary E5 Sharpener.

What We Liked

• It works well for sharpening knives and can sharpen serrated knives as well
• One-touch programming for automated operations
• Features premium grade sharpening belts
• MicroForge technology for ultra-sharp edges and durability

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Work Sharp Knife Sharpener Buyer’s Guide

Before you move ahead and buy the best electric knife sharpener, it is important you know all the important factors to make a wise buying decision. This buyer’s guide below combined all the crucial points from the manufacturer’s recommendations and various review sites into a practical accessible list below.

Abrasive Materials

Whether it is just a simple touch-up job or you want a comprehensive re-sharpening of the blades, it is necessary that you check the abrasive material used.

Aluminum oxide (P80), ceramic oxide (P220), and silicon carbide (6000) are the most commonly used abrasive materials in Work Sharp knife sharpeners.

Depending on the model, there are other different types other than the common ones listed above.

Know the types of belts your sharpener uses. And always buy the original belts made by Work Sharp to ensure compatibility and quality.

Before you begin to sharpen the knife, use only the right type of abrasive belt for the sharpening job. Abrasiveness is measured in terms of grit. The smaller the number, the more material it will remove.

It is necessary to have both coarse abrasive and fine abrasive materials for sharpening knives. While one is used for dull and damaged knives, the other one is used just for polishing and touch-ups.

For example, a belt with grit 80 is used for coarse sharpening and grit 6000 is for polishing and touch-ups.

Never use the fine abrasive belt for coarse sharpening and vice versa. And mixing the two can often lead to damaging the knife permanently.

The Angle Guides

No matter how experienced you are in sharpening kitchen knives, you will always need the support of the angle guide for precision sharpening of the edges.

Most electric knife sharpeners are designed with that in mind to make your life easier. The Chef’s Choice Knife Sharpener does that well with very good reviews.

With a little practice, almost anyone can master sharpening skills and get a well-sharpened knife in no time with the help of an electric knife sharpener.

For a complete range of sharpening angles, try to get a model with varied angle guides to get the job done quickly and with precision.

The Work Sharp Ken Onion Edition is a good choice.

When comes to angle guides, you need to ensure that the knife sharpener is capable to deliver the required edges that you need.

If you are looking to sharpen or refresh the standard US or European knives, then ensure to invest in a model with angle guides of 20 degrees or more.

It is also preferable to have angle guides down to 15 degrees just in case you have Asian knives.

It is important to use the correct angle guide. This will ensure the sharpness of the blade remains consistent.

Unless you want to re-profile the knife and change the angle for other purposes or just as an experiment.

Budget vs Versatility

The Work Sharp electric belt knife sharpeners are already very capable of simple touch-ups, polishing, and comprehensive re-sharpening.

There are a variety of models to choose from, with prices ranging from under $100 to over $200. Know what you need it for.

Depending on your usage, for a budget of under $100, the Work Sharp tool & knife sharpener and the combo set are good bets to get all knives sharpened.

Unless you are a heavy-duty user who wants to sharpen a wide variety of different edges and blades, then invest in the Ken Onion edition, preferably with the optional blade grinder attachment.

You’ll not regret it.

A lot of users already recommended this unit. Feel free to read the reviews on Amazon.

Motor Speed

Do you need variable speed so you can fully control the operation?

The only model with variable speed control is also the Ken Onion edition.

Yes, we highly recommend it. There are many pros and almost zero cons.

The design is very versatile with flexibility in mind.

Be careful when operating the motorized sharpener. Make sure you can handle the speed of the motor in case it has been set to run at full speed.

Always check the speed control knob first before you start to sharpen. A simple check can prevent unnecessary damaging effects and shocks.

Warranty

Most of the models come with a standard one-year warranty with the exception of the Work Sharp Culinary E5 Sharpener.

The 3-year warranty reflects its reliability and confidence. So check the warranty period before any purchase.

Do not assume all models come with a 3-year warranty.

The Operation Mode – Precautions and Safety Aspect

For a first-timer, always read the manual first and make sure you fully understand the operations and safety instructions.

There are warnings that users must understand to avoid injuries and tips from manufacturers to get the best results.

Many users have encountered problems and have not been able to optimize the sharpening process.

In the case of using the handheld electric belt sharpener, many users have experienced rounding the tip of the knives and doubt its effectiveness.

Was there a flaw in the design? Nope. It was the way how they handle the knife when swiping through the belt.

Firstly, do not apply pressure to the knife; just use the weight of the knife to rest on the belt during sharpening.

To avoid rounding the tip, disengage the motor when the tip of the knife touches the belt. All these are written in the user’s manual.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Today, electric knife sharpeners are designed with advanced technology features which have both advantages and disadvantages.

These high-end sharpeners have better features and are more versatile which can lessen the burden of sharpening knives and virtually any tool that comes with cutting edges.

What needs you to sharpen in hours can be accomplished in a matter of minutes.

Of course, it has its disadvantages.

Without proper knowledge of handling the electric sharpeners, they may prone to injuries.

One of the drawbacks is also the heat generated from high-speed grinding that could soften the steel blade. It is advisable to rest longer between each swipe to cool the blade.

By following the guides in the manual, all knives and tools can be fully sharpened with Work Sharp sharpeners.

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