[Rewarded Review] Sharpens the dulls

This is a nice little unit that will do all the basic sharpening you want IF you get the accessories that are available for it. The guide/holder that is included is only for chisels--and it's great at doing flat chisels. If you want to sharpen other things like knives or turning gouges, you need to get other accessories, either from Wen or another manufacturer. If you poke around youtube a little, you can find a number of interviews comparing this to the industry standard sharpener, and it is clear that this unit is made to somewhat less stringent standards than top-of-the line sharpeners. There's some play in the guides, so you need to make very sure you're setting things parallel or perpendicular as you need to. The plastic is fairly thin and given to flexing. But, if you do set it up, it does the job and gets your tools nice and sharp.

[Rewarded Review] Very affordable knife sharpener

Very well packaged. Much less expensive than equivalent products. Solid and stable when running without having to attach it to a flat surface. The 220-grit grinding wheel is well balanced and runs true on assembly. The stropping wheel also runs true. The stropping wheel comes with paste but light machine oil to prep the stropping wheel is not included. Instructions for assembly are easy to follow. However, instructions for operation are harder to understand. The instructions would benefit from a QR code or internet link to a WEN sponsored video demonstration on how to operate the product. The gauge for setting the sharpening angle is simple and easy to use.

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[Rewarded Review] Handy moveable sharpener

The Wen 8 inch wet/dry sharpener tool arrived in a well packaged box with no damage. The tool is housed in rigid plastic. It is surprisingly stout and heavy for its size. You need a 19 mm wrench to tighten the grinding wheel onto the unit or an adjustable wrench. There is no locking mechanism on the wheel so you must hold it stationary while you tighten the wheel up. There is no way to bolt the unit to a work bench but upon use, it remained in place. The reservoir is held in place by two clips. There are three slots on both sides of the unit for adjusting the height of the reservoir. The size of the reservoir does not allow clipping in the lowest slot. The slots allow for raising the reservoir height as the grinding wheel wears down. There is an adjustable work support that can be placed in either the horizontal or vertical position when grinding. There is an included hand jig or chisel jig. Additional jigs can be purchased for sharpening scissors, knives etc. The unit has one speed and runs very quietly. The on/off switch is on the backside of the unit which can be reached over or around the unit. New wheels will absorb some of the water in the reservoir when first starting. You may need to add additional water. If you’ve never used a sharpener tool there is a learning curve to it. The manual is more about getting the unit running rather than how to. I was able to sharpen lathe tools without a jig, by just using the support bar. Unlike a traditional grinder, this runs at a much lower speed and stops quickly when switched off. The reservoir collects metal filings which can be easily collected by putting a magnet in the reservoir per the manual. It was easy to remove the reservoir without spillage. The other wheel is a leather stropping tool. The manual instructs to apply machine oil to it which is not included. You then are to apply abrasive paste which is included. The stropping wheel will remove burrs and polish the surface. This unit was able to quickly sharpen tools to a very sharp edge. It did not move on the work bench and provided great stability for sharpening your tools quickly and efficiently.

[Rewarded Review] Well built tool

I have wanted to try a sharpening tool like this for quite a while and the Wen offers a much better price point than a lot of other options. From the moment I received the tool I could tell that it was well made. While the case of the tool is plastic, it has a good weight to it and feels very solid. I don't have any concerns about the overall quality of the tool.

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[Rewarded Review] Great little sharpener

I’ve never had a sharpener before, but I’ve wanted one for a long time.

Could use a deeper reservoir.