Is my 20 yr old Lansky system still good? And what to use for stropping?

[wahoowad]

I have had a 3-hone non-diamond Lansky 'universal' system for 20+ years (could be closer to 30+) but never felt very proficient with it. Up until recently I did not understand about the burr or about polishing/stropping. Now I am trying to do better.

My stones look OK, not worn out. Do you think these stones are worth using?

I never know which angle to select either - what should I use for general purpose field knives vs. daily pocket knife? 25 degrees? 20? I assume 17 is for kitchen knives.

Finally - to remove the burr - what do you recommend for stropping for a beginner? I see Lansky sells a leather 'blade' for stropping.

I'm trying to avoid buying another system like the Sharpmaker if my problem is that I am not suing my current tool right.

 

[RiderOnTheStorm]

Should be good to go. If you use the preset angle guide, I'd make sure to mark the edge with a sharpie to make sure you are hitting the edge, otherwise you might get frustrated. One of the reasons why I just use the stones from the lanksy to freehand. Use the back of an old belt, works for me at least.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

I have two Lansky kits; one is apparently the same vintage/type as what you've got (purchased in early '90s), and the other is a newer diamond kit.

Depending on what steels(?) you're sharpening, your kit stones may do just fine. More so if they're not too worn, as these stones will sometimes get glazed over and very smooth & slow with more wear. The standard stones can handle most of the typical carbon steel & run-of-the-mill stainless steels used in cutlery.

On the other hand, if you're thinking of sharpening some of the high-wear 'supersteels' like S30V or D2, a diamond kit may be better for those, especially for re-bevelling or other heavy grinding tasks. I wore out two of my standard stones on an S30V re-bevelling job. You could supplement your standard kit with one coarse or xtra-coarse diamond hone for setting bevels, then use the other hones for refining work done after. For most steels, that'd work OK (I did this for a while, with a medium diamond, before purchasing my new diamond kit).

As for the angle used, I have just generally gone as low as possible. The marked angle settings on the Lansky clamp are in reference to the very front edge of the clamp itself. Wider blades which position the edge further away from the front edge of the clamp will sharpen up at angles less than what's marked. Very wide blades, like large kitchen/chef's knives, will be much lower in angle; often by several degrees. A pocketknife-sized blade, such as the main spear blade in a Swiss Army Knife, if held in the clamp's notch near the front, will sharpen up at around 15°/side when using the '17' marked setting.

For stropping, my preference is to use something longer/wider than what's provided by Lansky. Stropping gets much easier and more effective with a longer stroke and larger surface area (this is true for sharpening in general). In order for the small Lansky hone-sized strop to be very effective, the edge will have to be pretty refined to begin with. Otherwise, stropping will be slow to show any significant results.

A decent starter-strop can be ultra-simple; just a thin & firm piece of veg-tanned leather with compound, or you can use wood (balsa works well) with compound, or just put some compound on a piece of paper and use it over a hard surface (wood, sharpening stone, glass). With compound, all that's really necessary is a surface that's at least fairly firm (doesn't compress much) and smooth, and holds the compound well. Simple cardboard can also be used for this.


David