Lanksy Turnbox Sharpener and Buck's Hollow grind

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busstonedfx

Joined
Jan 10, 2014
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Hey dudes.... a quick question... I think I read somewhere that Buck grinds their knives at 13-16 angles per side.... that would be 26-32 inclusive?

So for the Lansky turnbox- there is only a setting for 20 and 25. ...

Will I have trouble using the 25 degree setting? That's what I should use, right?

also.... before I found out what their angle was, I used the 20 degree setting for a few days.... is my edge going to be all funked up now, after I switch back to 25?
 
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I don't know how the 'turn box' works but if its similar to their original the 25* setting should be close. Mark the edge bevel using a black felt marker and then take a few strokes on the Lansky to see where it's hitting the edge. Then you'll know if it will work. DM
 
Bucks knives are roughly 15 or so per side. The lansky turnbox is 20 or 25 PER SIDE. NOT INCLUSIVE. So you could use the 20 setting and get the very edge. Scary sharp. :)
 
David's suggestion to use a felt tip to color the edge is spot on. I have found that moving the clamp a bit closer or a bit further from the cutting edge allows for "fine tuning" the angle between the established 20 or 25 degree slots on Lansky system. The colored edge indicates exactly how close the setting is and you may go from there to get the angle just right. However, this sometimes does not work on smallish blades because of the lack of width for clamping the blade. You may want to experiment on a blade of lesser quality to get the hang of it first.
 
IMO, the right bevel angle is determined by a) the geometry of the blade, as determined by the vendor and b) what the knife will be used for, as determined by me. ;)

I cut wood with my knives often and found that I get better edge life at 20 (per side, on the Lansky). On my shop (read: cut metal with it sometimes) knife, I'll use a final cutting bevel of 25.

One thing I love about the Lansky is how easy it is to establish a compound edge with it. I generally use a secondary bevel (aka back bevel) one step thinner than my final primary bevel (aka cutting bevel). I only redo the secondary bevel if the blade is badly worn and not responding to light touch ups of the primary bevel.

If I'm very ambitious, I'll also strop the knife flat on wet/dry paper to round out or soften the transitions from the grind/secondary/primary bevel. Again, this isn't for the apex. More like nudging the blade towards a faux convex edge with less hassle.

If you like the thinnest edge possible, I would just use the Lansky at 17 per side.

I don't worry one iota about maintaining the factory bevel angle. I really see that as something I get to choose based on what I want to get done. My (limited) experience on the Lansky is:
17 degrees : sharpest, most frail (no back bevel)
20 degrees : my favorite for general use (which includes cutting wood) (back bevel at 17d)
25 degrees : most durable for knives I beat on (back bevel at 20d)
 
I'm using this system by lanksy: not the one with the clamps..... i don't have the choice of 17, or else i would use that, as it is closest to the factory edge, I don't like hacking off more material than I need to, and light touch ups everyday are no problem for me.. i've been using the 20 degrees
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If you are using the 20 degree setting and holding the blade vertical you are putting a microbevel on the blade at 20 degrees per side. You will slowly convert the main bevel to 20 degrees but it will take a while.
 
so what's better? a 20 degree microbevel on a 13-17 degree main bevel? or a 25 degree microbevel on a 13-17 degree main bevel??

And are the angles the same on a buck 110, and a 55?
 
The top question invites opinions, I've never used either so I cannot compare them. My personal Buck 110 came with a 17 degree angle on one side and a 20 degree angle on the other. It was wicked sharp, when I resharpened it I converted the 20 degree side to 17 so they both matched. I haven't had it very long but I like it.
 
busstonedfx said:
so what's better? a 20 degree microbevel on a 13-17 degree main bevel? or a 25 degree microbevel on a 13-17 degree main bevel??
Click to expand...

Again, I don't give one thought to what the factory edge angle is on my knives. It's my knife and I get to choose the angle that best suits my needs.

I like a 20 degree cutting bevel for my EDC knives and a 25 degree bevel on my shop knives. 20 degrees cuts better in just about everything but if banged up against metal and hard knots, I can roll and edge with it. 25 degrees doesn't cut as well but takes more punishment and abuse without rolling.


You might want to ask the same question in the Maintenance sub-forum. Lots of helpful sharpening gurus over there.
 
I have the same sharpener as well as Lansky's "clamp" sharpener. I followed the instructions with the crock stick sharpener and have no issues getting really sharp knives with it. Put the medium (brown) rods in the 20 deg slots. I take 8 swipes on each side (8 on the left then 8 on the right), then alternate 8 more (1 left 1 right til I get 8 on each side). If feels sharp at this point, move to the next step, if not, then repeat. Then I put the fine (white) rods in the 25 deg slot and do 4 alternating passes with that. Sharp enough to shave arm hair, so it's done as far as I go. Using either degree slot won't mess up your knife. But I like mixing the the two to get a slight micro bevel.
 
Dale's post above is exactly how the system you have is designed to be used. Use the medium rods @ 20 and the fine @ 25. Only take a few (light) passes at 25 to finish. This will put a micro bevel that is very sharp on your 110, and you should be able to maintain it for a long time this way. At least I did for years with some of mine. If you want to go one more step, strop on leather with green compound for a few strokes. You can be confident that you haven't hurt your knife.
 
This would make 3 bevels? a main factory bevel at 13, a micro bevel at 20, and a micro micro bevel at 25?
I'll give it a shot!

When touching up after a job..... just a few light strokes on the 25?

Or should I start again with the 8 on each side, then alternating 8 on 20, and then the light strokes on 25?
 
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What Hard Knocks said. Stropping should do the trick, but if not, then hit it a couple times on the fine rods at the 25 deg setting. The crock stick sharpener is a great deal in my opinion. As long as the knife isn't butter knife dull, it can very quickly and easily put a nice edge on it. Well, even a butter knife dull edge could probably be tuned up with the crock sticks, but it may take a while. For coaxing out a really dull edge, I use the Lansky "Clamp" method (usually only need to do that once per knife), then I use the crock sticks from there on out.
 
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