Hi everyone,
I’m looking for some advice from people who’ve used both systems.
Right now I’m deciding between (or possibly combining):
• Spyderco Tri-Angle Sharpmaker
• Work Sharp Precision Adjust Elite (WSBCHPAJ-ELT)
The knives I plan to sharpen are mainly pocket knives, OTFs, foldables, and some fixed blades (Microtech Ultratech / Combat Troodon, Benchmade, etc.). Most of them are kept in good shape and used for regular EDC tasks — no kitchen knives.
My goals:
• Consistent, safe sharpening
• Mostly maintenance and touch-ups, with the ability to reset an edge when needed
• Avoid damaging tips or coated blades
I understand the general differences:
• Sharpmaker = simpler, great for maintenance and quick touch-ups
• Work Sharp Elite = more control, faster reprofiling, adjustable angles
What I’m trying to figure out:
1. If you had to choose only one, which would you pick and why?
2. Do they actually complement each other, or is owning both redundant?
3. For OTFs and EDC blades specifically, is one clearly safer or more practical than the other?
I’m still relatively new to sharpening and plan to practice on cheaper knives first before touching my nicer ones.
Appreciate any insights or real-world experience 👍
by GainEven1020
7 Comments
Wicked edge carbon is better than both.
The sharpmaker is only good for touch up.
https://wickededgeusa.com/products/wicked-edge-carbon-we40?srsltid=AfmBOoqMiyxNIxNWS84RIO_eNd5DEaML0vZK6Pa-sgBw7YGABjcXiheY
But between the worksharp and sharp maker and u could only have 1, the worksharp is much better as you can reprofile the grind much faster and easier.
Sharp maker is still cool to have on the side when ur lazy and just want wanna hone the edge real quick. But ur limited to 15 or 20? 25? degrees.
Most knives fall in the 17-18 degree range.
Honestly just go wicked edge. I have bought all of em and used them
I have the precision adjust elite. It will suffice on most of the sharpening jobs, unless you are sharpening really long blades.
Cant say anything about the sharpmaker.
However, even though it is double the price of a worksharp, get a tsprof pioneer if you can afford it.
I have both. I like the worksharp for pocked / folding knives. Sharpmaker is great for kitchen knives.
I don’t find having both redundant, particularly with the knives I’m using them on.
The sharpmaker definitely packs up to a far more compact package. It lives in the kitchen and my wife hasn’t punted it out. Doubt the worksharp would be tolerated.
I find the sharpmaker a lot less refined and has a lot more room for error. Typically until you’re well practiced the edge finish will look uneven. The Work Sharp system is more fool proof and easier to maintain good angles.
The worksharp will be good for more steels. The sharpmaker is good for touchups or at least a bit faster. I would get the worksharp
I am just starting to get into sharpening, and a fixed angle system has been awesome for consistency. I went with the xarilk (~$100), the single arm clamp to make pocket knives easier, and some nicer stones to go with it. Almost immediately was getting sharper edges on my blades than I could ever achieve freehand. That was 100% a skill issue, but the end result and ease of acquisition with a fixed angle makes it hard for me to want to bother with anything else.
My opinions on your questions:
1. I’d choose the WSPA. Matches your goals better. You can’t get more consistent than a fixed angle system. It’s also hard to damage other parts of the blades. Of course you still can damage the knife by accidentally dropping the plates on the blade, but in general you’ll get a crispier line between the first and second bevels. The only thing it does worse is for your second goal of general maintenance it just takes longer to setup. But I’d argue that for general maintenance you should be using a strop anyway. Strop daily, and when the knife isn’t sharp enough even after stropping, it’s time to do a full sharpening.
2. A bit of both. If you have the WSPA you don’t necessarily need the sharpmaker. But the sharpmaker can be quicker. If you have many knives and have cheap ones that you don’t want to spend time on, you can sharpen with the sharpmaker, and leave the WSPA for knives you want perfect edges. However even in this case I’d argue for a double sided diamond stone instead of the sharpmaker. It’s even faster and that’s the part that complements the WSPA.
3. I don’t own OTFs so don’t know if the WSPA has any problems with it. But for manual pocket knives I’d say both are fine