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Back in March, the folks from ProTool (the folks that make the Drill Doctor) came into our offices to show us their new Work Sharp system for sharpening woodworking tools. You’ll be hearing it advertised on the Paul Harvey show.  They left their WS3000 for us to play with in our shop.

One day not too long ago, I went to use the Work Sharp to hone some chisels for our new public television show, The Woodsmith Shop (more on that later).  Well, I couldn’t find all the parts to the Work Sharp, so I resorted to honing the chisels by hand using wet/dry sandpaper.  A few weeks later, I asked Steve Johnson, our shop craftsman, about the Work Sharp’s missing parts. He said that they weren’t missing and walked me around the corner of his work area and showed me the box that contained the “missing” parts. Turns out he had the Work Sharp squirreled away to keep it from disappearing.  He says he uses it all the time for touching up his chisels. For example, when he’s chopping mortises or cleaning up mortises, all he needs to do is walk over to the Work Sharp, and in just a few seconds he’s got a sharp edge.  He thinks it’s a great addition to his shop for keeping an edge on his tools.

Work Sharp has come out with a homeowner/DIY version of their system called the WS2000.  It uses the same motor as the WS3000 but doesn’t have the built-in speed reduction and doesn’t come with the finer grits of abrasive that you’d use for honing.  It’s meant for grinding a quick edge or, as one homeowner did, ground a sharp edge on his garden shovel.

You can read more about the Work Sharp systems here.

Tempered plate glass, adhesive-backed PSA sandpaper, precision honing guide for sharpening bevels at 20°, 25°, 30° and 35°. Looks like I’ve got everything I need to get started with some hand sharpening on my workbench, right? Well, sort of.

The truth is, I’ve just finished watching a demonstration of the new Work Sharp™ sharpening system. This innovative new product combines all of the best features of sandpaper sharpening with the quality, ease, and repeatability of a top-of-the-line slow-speed wet grind sharpening system. And for about $100 less.

Work Sharp uses an air-cooled, dry sharpening set up (featuring air flow portals and a series of heat sinks) to keep your cutting tools cool without the mess of a wet system. Its 1/5 hp motor turns a horizontal wheel at 580 rpm, but unlike conventional horizontal wheel grinding systems, where you grind from above, Work Sharp is unique in that you set your chisel flat on a platen below the cutting wheel and use a simple “plunge- pull” technique.

Another unique feature is a slotted, see-through wheel that replaces the tempered glass wheel and allows you to see the cutting edge when sharpening carving and lathe tools. It looks like a great new system and I’m looking forward to putting it to use soon myself. Check out the video on Work Sharp’s website for a demonstration.