Help w/Lansky and Izula

J

JohnJames

Joined
Mar 16, 2010
Messages
18
Just got my new Izula Monday from TKC (awesome service, by the way).
Hadn't a chance to use it until the wife wanted me to cut up a few boxes for her. I was going to use my $10 Buck knife but decided to go ahead and give the Izula a shot knowing how hard cardboard was on an edge. After finishing I noticed a bit of a bald spot where the knife was making contact, and I thought it would be a perfect chance to pull out the Lansky kit to see how it worked.
GARBAGE....lost what edge I had and can't get it back. I started with the fine stone thinking it just needed to be touched up, but that made it worse. Went to the medium stone then back to the fine stone and now I have a butter knife. I've used the Lansky to put a scalpel edge on my Buck knife but I'm having no luck with the Izula.
Anybody else using the Lansky system?
I'm using the basic kit and going with the 20deg. edge....is that right?

Thanks
 
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Izula is a flat grind. The pinch point on the clamp won't lock the izula evenly. It'll wobble back and forth, or cause an uneven grinding. Best solution is to get some stones and hand sharpen it up. I did it, its ok.
 
The Lansky kit sucks on flat grind blades. I have the same kit you do. It works great on thin blades with a flat surface for the clamp to clamp to. The flat grind allows the blade to rock back and forth some and it doesn't work worth a crap.

Come to think of it the Lansky is what knocked the shoulders off my RC-4 which convinced me to convex it.
 
The DMT aligner is the same way. Very difficult to set the clamp on the full flat grind. I've had much better success with hand sharpening on whetstones.
 
I have the Lansky diamond setup and and have have nothing but great results using it on all of my ESEE blades. You might be using too much pressure other than that I'm not sure. Try starting with the course and working your way all the way back up to the fine using very light pressure. I've talked to plenty of others who use them and they like them also. If your still not up for it, try the Sharpmaker with diamond rods.
 
I also have the lansky and sharpen many flat grounds with it just fine.

Try This:

#1
The clamp has to be secure and can grip a flat ground blade effectively if you simply loosen the bolt and the thumbscrew and then pinch the blade in the clamp using hand pressure; this allows the jaws to angle to the same degree as the blade grinds. Then while still holding the jaws tighten the screw and the thumbscrew to give you an accurate clamp position.


#2
Assemble all the stones and rods and place them on a flat table; make sure all the stones are perfectly flat on the table and that all the rods are also flat and parallel with the stones.
I mark my storage box with Fine Med & Coarse where the rods go so I only have to straighten the rods once.


#3
Take a non permanent magic marker and paint a line along both sides of the secondary grind (just about a 1/16th will suffice). Now try giving it a few strokes of the medium grit to see if you are actually hitting the very cutting edge or not.

Adjust your angle until your stones erase that magic marker line and now when you sharpen you will be touching all the way up to the edge.


**After you are done strop the edge carefully.
 
adaman04 said:
Come to think of it the Lansky is what knocked the shoulders off my RC-4 which convinced me to convex it.
Click to expand...

My Sharpmaker made me do the same thing. I was trying to get 30 degree inclusive, but convex was what I really wanted. So, I ended up making my shoulder sore with sandpaper/mousepad technique.

Do you have any pics of your RC-4?
 
ACHË;8093787 said:
I also have the lansky and sharpen many flat grounds with it just fine.

Try This:

#1
The clamp has to be secure and can grip a flat ground blade effectively if you simply loosen the bolt and the thumbscrew and then pinch the blade in the clamp using hand pressure; this allows the jaws to angle to the same degree as the blade grinds. Then while still holding the jaws tighten the screw and the thumbscrew to give you an accurate clamp position.


#2
Assemble all the stones and rods and place them on a flat table; make sure all the stones are perfectly flat on the table and that all the rods are also flat and parallel with the stones.
I mark my storage box with Fine Med & Coarse where the rods go so I only have to straighten the rods once.


#3
Take a non permanent magic marker and paint a line along both sides of the secondary grind (just about a 1/16th will suffice). Now try giving it a few strokes of the medium grit to see if you are actually hitting the very cutting edge or not.

Adjust your angle until your stones erase that magic marker line and now when you sharpen you will be touching all the way up to the edge.


**After you are done strop the edge carefully.
Click to expand...

OK....not to sound like too much of a newb, but is the secondary grind where the finish meets the bare steel?
Also, if using the Lansky, how many swipes of each stone should I be making?
My Lansky seems to be gripping the blade quite firmly, but I am getting a bit of shuddering as the stone passes the blade.
 
JohnJames said:
OK....not to sound like too much of a newb, but is the secondary grind where the finish meets the bare steel?
Also, if using the Lansky, how many swipes of each stone should I be making?
My Lansky seems to be gripping the blade quite firmly, but I am getting a bit of shuddering as the stone passes the blade.
Click to expand...

ACHE gave good directions on how to set up the Lansky. Follow them.

Many people knock off the edge where the angle of the cutting edge grind and the body of the blade meet. That is the secondary grind. It will reduce the force needed for a deep cut.

This video will help explain the concept.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjvxTf5QNGs&feature=related

Make equal number of swipes on each side until you can feel a burr raised then switch to a finer stone.

Hope this helps.
 
smustian said:
ACHE gave good directions on how to set up the Lansky. Follow them.

Many people knock off the edge where the angle of the cutting edge grind and the body of the blade meet. That is the secondary grind. It will reduce the force needed for a deep cut.

This video will help explain the concept.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjvxTf5QNGs&feature=related

Make equal number of swipes on each side until you can feel a burr raised then switch to a finer stone.

Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Wow....now I'm confused
When you say "Many people knock off the edge....." is that good or bad?
To me, the gist of the video was....the more shallow an angle the blade has i.e. 17deg., the weaker of an edge it will have, which I understand. What I don't understand is why it's harder to sharpen a flat grind as opposed to a hollow.
 
The flat grind is like a triangle. A flat clamp is more difficult to setup to hold the knife at an even angle. A blade with even sides is simple to clamp.
 
The clamp can be placed so its just barely on the handle where the steel is parallel. The two halves of the clamp should be as parallel as you can get them.

ACHE's instructions are dead on. I can put an edge on a knife with my Lansky that looks like it was done by machine because it is so straight and symmetrical. In fact I have gotten poor at doing it by hand now from depending on the Lansky so much. SO dont forget to keep both methods up to par!
 
Yup....getting absolutely nowhere. Tried everybody's (Thanks everybody) suggestions but it's just getting worse.
Guess I gotta go get some Japanese Waterstones or something, 'cause right now this knife is just an OD paracord holder.
PISS ME OFF!!!
 
LOL OD Paracord holder. Umm.. you could try just freehanding with the sharpening hones that come with the system if you're comfortable, but otherwise it sounds like you need a new sharpener.
 
berandom said:
LOL OD Paracord holder. Umm.. you could try just freehanding with the sharpening hones that come with the system if you're comfortable, but otherwise it sounds like you need a new sharpener.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I actually tried that free hand, and if you're not very careful, it's easy to tilt your hand so you run the blade along the corner of the stone. The stones are so narrow, it's hard to clamp them down. The few swipes I did get actually made a difference! Going to try some larger bench stones as they will work better for my Chef knives as well.
Thanks all!

For Sale: 1 Lansky Sharpening Kit....lol
 
Lansky has been horrible for me, better to learn free hand in the long run, trust me. Anytime there are flat spots with just a glint of reflection on the blade an extra fine steel works well and really cleans the edge before you need to sharpen again.
 
JohnJames said:
Yup....getting absolutely nowhere. Tried everybody's (Thanks everybody) suggestions but it's just getting worse.
Guess I gotta go get some Japanese Waterstones or something, 'cause right now this knife is just an OD paracord holder.
PISS ME OFF!!!
Click to expand...

I know where you are coming from, the more you sharpen the worse the knife gets it is the worst feeling like you just ruined your new knife. Try DMT sharpeners, and the Spyderco sharpmaker. There is a learning process to sharpening. If you put in the time to learn freehand in a couple months you will look back and laugh because all your blades will be sharp as hell. Finish your blades with a strop and stropping compund, this can help a blade when sharpening has been less than perfect and on a good sharpening job it makes the blade amazing. Good luck man, your situation for me was a few years back, and now I laugh when I think about messing up my best knife.
 
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