Work Sharp Cullinary

[Jan]

Mr. Grepper, your interpretation is correct. Please stop worrying about edge weakening and enjoy all benefits of your toothy edge!  

Jan

[Rupert Lucius]

The E5 and E3 use the same abrasives and belt technology as the standard Work Sharp line but were designed specifically for use in the kitchen. The guides are set to accommodate smaller angles (17 degrees comes standard, there is an optional expansion to 15 and 20 degrees for the E5) that are leather-lined to help keep grit from marring the edge of your knives. The angle is also built to remove the rounding of tips some inexperienced users have with our standard line. They also feature an internal vacuum system with magnets to pull any material and grit into the machine instead of on your counter. The E3 runs at two speeds (Shape and Refine). The E5 has three timed stages to entirely remove the guesswork for "am I sharp", and includes MicroForge.

The M3 also has MicroForge.

MicroForge is achieved by running the blade across a proprietary stationary wheel in the handle of the rod. It applies tiny facets to one side of the blade, giving you a straight edge on one side and a faceted edge on the other. 

Here's a photo of an 8' chef's knife we applied MicroForge to the bottom half of the blade-






Close up

While we have a complete battery of tests to perform with different edges and steels before we would make official claims, one of our engineers ran six identical 154CM blades with a 15 degree angle through a CATRA tester at the Benchmade engineering office with no MicroForge, light MicroForge (gentle pressure used in the MicroForge process), and heavy MicroForge (assertive pressure used in MicroForge process). 

The results revealed slightly less sharpness in the first couple of cuts with the MicroForged knives, but by the third test cycle the lightly MicroForged knife was at equal sharpness with the original edge and by the fifth test cycle the MicroForged edge was actually sharper. By the 20th test cycle the MicroForged edge was significantly sharper than the original edge in all cases. The heavily MicroForged knives started out slightly less sharp than the straight and light MicroForge but tested sharper than the straight edge by the sixth test cycle and sharper than the lightly MicroForged edges by the 10th test cycle and ended the sharpest of the blades. 

So what does all that mean? In this test, MicroForge stayed sharp for longer than a straight edge. All knives passed the paper cutting test at the beginning of the trial, so the difference in sharpness at the beginning wasn't  enough for most users to notice, but by the 20th cycle the heavily MicroForge edge tested sharper than the straight edge was in the 11th test cycle.

How does MicroForge feel? In a paper test, there is a slightly "zippery" feel but it doesn't snag nor perform worse than a straight edge.

MicroForge excels at cutting fibrous foods like peppers, meats, and especially useful for people who don't want to regularly upkeep their knives.

What is the micron rating on the M3 diamond rod?

What is the micron rating for the M3 polished ceramic rod?

Thank you
Rupert

[Rupert Lucius]

How does this perform on harder steels RHC 60+ that are prone to chipping?  What was the hardness of the blades that you tested?

Let me talk to engineering and get back to you on that...

Are the facets just on one side of the blade?  

 
Correct. It appears to be on both sides (it's difficult to convey the three dimensions of the facets), but in the most close up picture you can see the light reflecting within the facet all the way to the edge
 

Do you have any microscopy of the edge?  

 
I suspect we do... I'll see what I can round up.

---

At this time I am sold -

And thanks to Mr/Mrs WorkSharp Culinary for their post.

Hope this is that "holy grail" edge.

Rupert

Thank you, and please let me know if you have any additional questions we can answer!

---

Interesting that even Work Sharp is bailing on a smooth edge.

Not quite! The MicroForge is an optional edge... we still love hair-splitting straight edges as well!

 Mr/Ms Work Sharp Culinary

What is the micron number for the M3:

Diamond rod?

Ceramic rod?

Thank you

Rupert

[Ken S]

Think of an ancient hamlet where edges were traditionally all highly polished and smooth. The first person to suggest a serrated knife edge or a saw must have faced ridicule. (or worse for blasphemous thinking).

In the hamlet in the next valley, where edges were traditionally sawtoothed, Imagine the poor radical who suggested highly polished, smooth edges.  

Ken

[EOU]

A fair analogy Ken and one very much in line with the precepts of this community. We should simply be thankful that people like Worksharp spend their time and resources in an honest and sincere effort to advance the industry. No matter if the product acquires acceptance or not, they deserve a pat on the back and a thank you.

[Mark Reich]

Well said, EOU. Right you are.

Thanks a bunch for sharing with us, Work Sharp Culinary.

I'm looking forward to the M3 heading my way!

[grepper]

I agree, and I too am looking forward to checking out what a M3 MicroForge edge is all about. 
 
If nothing else, it is innovative and different, something which is almost nonexistent in the at home blade sharpening world.  Sure, folks have come up with all sorts of new variants of belt grinders and grinding wheel contraptions, but while these may indeed have incremental improvements in some aspect or another they represent no radically different approach or innovation.
 
When I think about it, coming up with some significantly new approach to sharpening is a real head-scratcher.  My hat’s off to Work Sharp for their out of the box thinking and effort.
 
Actually, the only real change in sharpening that I’ve ever seen in all the time I’ve been involved in sharpening is thanks to Mr. Mike who finally gave us a way to reliably and accurately test edge sharpness.

[Ken S]

While I agree with my distinguised collegues, Mark and Grepper, about the importance of new ideas, I do not believe the contribution of the pioneer Varients is small potatoes. I do not include myself in this group. I just followed the trail they blazed. There may be more, however, I think of the pioneers as Rupert, Don, Henry and Max. Max' scissors video was what first informed me about the benefits of the variable speed motor for a belt grinder. As an old Tormeker, I realized the value of being able to slow the motor significantly. All of the pioneers have very generously advised and assisted me.

The Varients have shown how to make a useful tool more controllable. They have thus brought the benefits of using the belt grinder to the many more users, like me, whose skills are still developing.

Ken

[grepper]

Well, this is an interesting and enjoyable read about an “Apparatus and method for shaping a cutting tool ( 100) so as to have enhanced cutting performance.”
 
Just keep scrolling down and reading.  There is a brief summary of illustrations and then the most interesting stuff starts about 1/5th of the way down the page with the in-depth description: “FIG. 1 shows an exemplary cutting tool 100 constructed in accordance with some embodiments”
 
Lots of fun patent-speak such as:
 
“It has been discovered by the inventor that recessed cutting edges formed by the cutting notches such as illustrated in FIG. 2E contribute to maintaining the cutting tool 100 in an effectively "sharp" condition, thereby prolonging the cutting efficiency of the blade. While not limiting, it is believed that the recessed nature of the cutting edges protects the edges 1 14B, 1 14E from being dulled responsive to contact by the exposed segments 1 12 to a cutting medium.”
 
Sadly, no illustrations:
Cutting edge with microscopically sized channels to enhance cutting performance
Patent: WO 2016168495 A1, Darex, Llc
 
http://www.google.sr/patents/WO2016168495A1?cl=en&hl=nl
 
You may also enjoy:
http://www.google.sr/search?tbo=p&tbm=pt....+Dovel%22

[Work Sharp Culinary]

It's worth noting that MicroForge is most effective when honed after. Our design of the belt sharpeners was set to enhance MF by placing the "uphill" side of the abrasive belt travel on the same side of the edge that the majority of users will MicroForge, so the Refine setting really pulls it into the ideal form in a single pull.

There are some great user photos on the Blade Forum- https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/micr...900/page-3