Any Lansky System Users?? Need Advice on My Set Please.

[Nalapombu]

Hey all.

I have a LANSKY Basic kit. It has the 3 stones, the red coarse, the Green medium and the Blue with Red stone which is fine. I am a novice user but I seem to get fairly good results with it. There are a couple things I’d like to get help with, if you all don’t mind sharing your knowledge.

I’d like to get a couple extra stones, to give me better results. They have Diamond stones and I am wondering if I should get 2 of them. I seem to have difficulty establishing the angle. It takes many passes woth the coarse stone to get that tiny “wire” edge on the opposite side. I then turn it over and go until I get that same “wire” edge on the opposite side and then I switch to the MEDIUM hone and repeat.
Since I shouldn’t have to use that coarse stone after establishing the angle, I am wondering what the most useful additions to my kit would be.

The other issue I need help with is finishing. I use each stone on each side of the blade, one side at a time, until I get that “wire” edge and then I turn the blade over and go until I get the same results on that side.
The difficulty comes when I switch to the blue FINE stone. I’ll get the “wire” edge and turn it over and then get it on that side. When I try to get rid of that “wire” edge it seems that no matter how lightly I make a pass with the blue stone, I cannot get that wire edge gone. I’ll make passes where it seems as though I am barely touching it and it’ll still bring that wire edge up. It’s as though I just can’t get rid of it to get that final edge that you need.
Is there one of the stones I can get that will make this much easier? If not, what can I do after I get the wire edge with the FINE stone? How do I finish it?

If you think I should add a stone or 2 to my kit, which ones would you say would help me most with my sharpening to enable me to get that edge I am looking for?

If there’s a technique to get that great finished edge from that light wire edge?
Please help if you don’t mind.

Thank you for your help and time.

BD.

 

[kreisler]

When I try to get rid of that “wire” edge it seems that no matter how lightly I make a pass with the blue stone, I cannot get that wire edge gone. I’ll make passes where it seems as though I am barely touching it and it’ll still bring that wire edge up.

i have a ruixin system which is similar. i have the same problem, the 1000 is the last stone in the OOTB set. It clogs and continues to build up which makes the 1000 even finer (~1500?), and the knife edge starts to reveal a reflective finish, low grade mirror. At that point i use edge-following movements, the edge looks just geometrically beautiful/perfect, i reduce pressure, switch the blade sides frequently and yet there is still the wire edge which i can't really get rid of with the clogged 1000.
my next stone on the ruixin would be the RUBY3000, a super hard super flat stone which is great on its own and also does a starting mirror-finish on the bevel but somehow isn't the solution to the wire edge problem.

short story long.

we're in the same boat. deburring is the hardest challenge in the sharpening process. whole books have been written on the topic of deburring. it is instructional to teach oneself the principles of deburring with a small piece of plastic and a multitool file (leatherm*n vinox g*rbie). file the plastic edge with the file, creating a bevel. you'll notice the plastic burr at the edge.

Click on Like if you found this post helpful, thanks.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Having used that same Lansky set for awhile, years ago, I can understand the difficulty removing the wire edge. With a guided system, since the angle doesn't vary, the apex can be made abnormally thin, sometimes freakishly thin, without breaking off the wire. When it gets that thin, the wire just barely deflects away from pressure exerted by the hone, which remains flush to the bevel and unchanging in angle - so it can't chase the burr to break it away. With some ductile steels, the thin burr (wire) can hang on tenaciously, much longer than it should. It happens more with the ceramic finishing stones (red 600/white 1000).

The easiest way to remove it with the guided system is to do so at an elevated angle. Use a higher angle setting than used for the initial bevel-setting. And if/when the wire gets thin enough, it can also be removed by stropping. If it's VERY thin, it can even break off by gently rubbing laterally across the edge with a fingertip. Obviously, you need to be careful with that. I did this more or less by accident, early on, in rubbing the edge and seeing a wide portion of the wire break off onto my fingertip. Thought something was very wrong in seeing that, until the light bulb came on in my head and I realized it was just a huge and very thin burr.

The diamond hones can make bevel-setting a bit easier and faster. My set was old, probably 1990s or earlier - but the stock aluminum oxide stones in that set were prone to loading up and clogging very fast, which made them very slow. I don't know if newer sets have improved on that. But it might still be an issue.

 

[TwinStick]

The higher angle is known as a micro bevel. I do not have the Lansky, I have the Gatco diamond sharpening kit. I chose it specifically because it had bigger surface area. I have a LOT of knives. Big outdoor choppers. A few months back, I purchased a 12" double sided strop & some green compound. That works great for touch ups.

I recently purchased the Norton/Dexter/Russel IM 313 tri-stone oil sharpener. It works great & is fast but I wanted more. So I purchased an empty stone holder for the IM313 & the 1000, 3000, 6000 grit water stones. That did the trick for me. After the 6000 grit it is wicked sharp but I still use my ceramic sticks to put a micro-bevel. Literally in 1 or 2 swipes they pop hair like a straight razor. The only thing left for me is a ceramic stone, which I am saving up for.

Good luck on your quest for sharpness. I really enjoy sharpening by hand. I have power tools to use when the grind is way off or I need to re-profile one. But hand sharpening is therapeutic for me.

 

[Ourorboros]

You might consider just getting or making a strop to remove the burr.
Not everything needs to be done on the system.

 

[AntDog]

Having used the same Lansky set for awhile, years ago, I can understand the difficulty removing the wire edge. With a guided system, since the angle doesn't vary, the apex can be made abnormally thin, sometimes freakishly thin, without breaking off the wire. When it gets that thin, the wire just barely deflects away from pressure exerted by the hone, which remains flush to the bevel and unchanging in angle - so it can't chase the burr to break it away. With some ductile steels, the thin burr (wire) can hang on tenaciously, much longer than it should. It happens more with the ceramic finishing stones (red 600/white 1000).

The easiest way to remove it with the guided system is to do so at an elevated angle. Use a higher angle setting than used for the initial bevel-setting. And if/when the wire gets thin enough, it can also be removed by stropping. If it's VERY thin, it can even break off by gently rubbing laterally across the edge with a fingertip. Obviously, you need to be careful with that. I did this more or less by accident, early on, in rubbing the edge and seeing a wide portion of the wire break off onto my fingertip. Thought something was very wrong in seeing that, until the light bulb came on in my head and I realized it was just a huge and very thin burr.

The diamond hones can make bevel-setting a bit easier and faster. My set was old, probably 1990s or earlier - but the stock aluminum oxide stones in that set were prone to loading up and clogging very fast, which made them very slow. I don't know if newer sets have improved on that. But it might still be an issue.

Good advice here. That said, if you go all the way to the fine stone and still have a burr flopping, that steel will really hold an edge one you get it taken off.

As has been said, get it to the point you’re getting it to on the lansky, then strop it. I bet you might be able to even use bare leather or cardboard. Give it a shot.

 

[115Italian]

Get a coarse diamond stone and a medium diamond stone. Those are my most used. Those two stones alone will give you a very sharp and usable edge.

To go a step further, get the yellow handle white ceramic hone. After you finish sharpening take the yellow hone at the next highest angle and give each side a few light pressure passes.