Work Sharp Ken Onion Mk.2
Mk.2 base ~$100; with the Ken Onion Blade Grinding Attachment ~$190-280
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- Best For
- Dull, damaged or outdoor blades that need fast repair
- Sharpening Method
- Powered belt grinder, adjustable angle
Why it ranks here. The most argued-about sharpener on the internet, a sign of how many people own one: a small powered belt grinder that takes a whole block of dull knives to hair-shaving sharp in fifteen to twenty minutes with very little practice, and handles axes, hatchets and hunting knives too. A butcher's work knives held their edge through ten hours of boning beef, and owners say the Blade Grinding Attachment is the selling point they end up using for everything.
It removes metal fast, so a heavy hand over-grinds. The heat debate is real: a professional sharpener argues the very tip of the edge overheats on any dry belt, and one owner has seen edge retention drop and now keeps it for kitchen and beater knives rather than nice pocket knives. Expect a learning curve despite the marketing; one new owner cannot get a sharp edge at all.
What owners like
- A knife block sharp in twenty minutes
- Handles axes and hunting knives
- Grinder attachment does everything
What owners complain about
- Removes metal fast
- Belt heat may shorten edge life
- Learning curve
“I use the mk2 often. It’s been nothing short of great for me. It being a belt sharpener it does work fast with the drawback of it taking more material than let’s say a diamond stone would take. Hair shaving sharp on multiple knives in 15-20 mins with very little practice.” — Reddit comment · u/Oh_MyJosh · r/sharpening · 2025-11-13
7 positive · 2 mixed · 2 negative · 11 voices · ✓ all 11 linked to source
Read all 11 quotes (11 voices)
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I use the mk2 often. It’s been nothing short of great for me. It being a belt sharpener it does work fast with the drawback of it taking more material than let’s say a diamond stone would take. Hair shaving sharp on multiple knives in 15-20 mins with very little practice.
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It’s a great machine, don’t let the purists put you off , I’m my opinion you can get results just as good as stones if you take the time with it, does it heat your blades up too much? Probably, but I sharpen my work knives on it and I used one today for ten hours boning beef carcasses out and by the end of it it was still in relatively good shape so the functionality hasn’t been affected noticeably
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-Pros: extremely fast and low physical effort to get knives razor sharp. Becomes even more versatile if you get the blade grinding attachment... -Cons: removes material FAST, need to practice your skills/touch. The speed absolutely heats up the very apex, no matter how quickly you move the blade and dunk in water, that very edge of the apex is thin and heats up instantly. Edge retention is lessened in my experience and I don’t really use it anymore on nice pocket knives, just working kitchen knives and beater knives.
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Pro sharpener here. This is not true at all. The apex of an edge is SO thin that it overheats with any dry belt system. I fix and sharpen a ton of knives for people who trusted their knives to people using dry belts and they all comment that their edges last much longer. You can’t get away from the physics of it... You can make a knife very sharp on a dry belt. Maybe the edge life is good enough for you. But it’s absolutely not as good as it can be if you’re not messing with the heat treat.
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So far I think it works great. It gives my knives a really nice edge and works fast.
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Get the blade grinder attachment. It’s the selling point of this model. It’s basically all I use to sharpen these days. Love it so much
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I’ve been sharpening on belt sanders for years and this machine with the belt grinder attachment is still my go to. I’m practicing more and more with stones but man it’s really easy for me to just say f-it and go to this machine.
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I have the Ken onion edition and love it. I do some broadheads on it lots of different knives and hatchets and axes. The con exes edge holds up really well. It’s fast too which is the main reason I got it.
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I just got 1 and I cannot sharpen a knife with it. I like my knives razor sharp not sure what I’m doing wrong.
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I have owned the Ken Onion grinder knife sharpened for many years and I think it is garbage so just recently I purchased the grinder attachment and I'm waiting for it to arrive.
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Good video, I have had this setup for years, just FYI... you don't need to take out the screws to remove the angle guide, it just pulls off. (It has notches/detents so it snaps into place,)
