I currently have a spyderco sharpmaker but am not able to to get the edges I want on some of my higher quality steels (primarily s30v). I am eyeing the lansky deluxe sharpening system and then buying the mount and leather stropping attachment as well. I was wondering if people normally get the diamond version or the stone version. It's a pretty big price difference so unless there is a good reason why I need the diamond I will stick with the stone stuff. Also, have people had good success with getting mirror edges or at least very sharp edges using the lansky stone system with the leather stropping attachment?
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Lansky deluxe sharpening system
- Thread starter Armenate
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The strop attachment is not needed for mirror edges. The system as a whole can be very time consuming with set up. The diamonds cut much faster with less clogging.
The stones are cheaper though.
The stones are cheaper though.
When I first got into sharpening, the salesman recommended the standard stone system (3 stones) plus an XC diamond to reprofile. He also suggested the pedestal to hold it. That combination was a good recommendation IMO.. I later moved on to the Edge Pro and others, but that Lansky combination started it all.
Did you need the ultra fine hones or were you able to get a mirror polish with just the fine and stropping?
So, does the system work well?
For a mirror edge, you can use the yellow handle with the white stone. If you use the marker trick to match the bevels (to make sure you hit the whole cutting edge) and patience (not a quick procedure), it will produce a nice edge. I think the strops might exceed the accuracy of this system- IOW, if you want them later, you are ready for an Edge Pro or Wicked Edge- you will have outgrown the Lansky at that point!
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The system is not my cup of tea but it works. It's too laborious for my taste.
I bought it to try out guiled sharpening.
I only use the stones for free hand field sharpening.
All five stones can get a mirror edge with attention to detail to remove all scratchs from the previous grit. Yellow is the finest in the 5 stone kit. The separate add on blue super sapphire is the finest made by lansky but not by much. Previous generation super sapphire was purple and less fine then the yellow. Currently the super sapphire is also a white ceramic stone like the yellow handle stone but slightly finer.
The Extra coase diamond stone would be an excellent pick up for the three stone kit to like someone mentioned to speed up the grind time. Throw in a sapphire stone and it should be a great starter set for a mirror polish.
The strop by itself doesn't polish and would need a compound.
I bought it to try out guiled sharpening.
I only use the stones for free hand field sharpening.
All five stones can get a mirror edge with attention to detail to remove all scratchs from the previous grit. Yellow is the finest in the 5 stone kit. The separate add on blue super sapphire is the finest made by lansky but not by much. Previous generation super sapphire was purple and less fine then the yellow. Currently the super sapphire is also a white ceramic stone like the yellow handle stone but slightly finer.
The Extra coase diamond stone would be an excellent pick up for the three stone kit to like someone mentioned to speed up the grind time. Throw in a sapphire stone and it should be a great starter set for a mirror polish.
The strop by itself doesn't polish and would need a compound.
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I started with the "Deluxe" stone system. The hones work great on the "less hard" steels but on the "super" steels they don't work nearly as well as the diamond hones.
I really like the Lansky system...but I haven't used any other system so my judgement is very limited.
If you are going to be using it primarily on the "super" steels I suggest getting the coarse, medium and find diamond hones...yep they are costly but imo they are worth it.
I strongly suggest NOT buying the strop hone...I have one and it is useless...just too small what what a leather strop should be and how it is used.
I do however strongly suggest buying the yellow and blue ceramic hones...they work great to polish the edge to a mirror finish but at 2000 grit, more or less, for the blue hone they are not going to give the polish some achieve using the uber grit hones, etc.
I still use a leather strop with Bark River's green and black compound after the yellow/blue ceramic hones to finish off the edge...I use a home made leather strop...perhaps I just find the act of hand stropping on leather a pleasurable way to finish off the edge but that is how I like to do it.
If going the Lansky route I also suggest replacing the "wing nut" screws with "inset" screws and buying enough of the wires so each hone has its' own wire and remains on. I use blue LocTite on the threads to hold everything in place and use a modified tackle box to hold all my stuff. This way I'm sure the wires are in the same plane as the hone surface and it saves a lot of time.
I also mounted the base on a piece of oak shelving with rubber feet for a more stable surface.
Good luck and keep us informed.
I really like the Lansky system...but I haven't used any other system so my judgement is very limited.
If you are going to be using it primarily on the "super" steels I suggest getting the coarse, medium and find diamond hones...yep they are costly but imo they are worth it.
I strongly suggest NOT buying the strop hone...I have one and it is useless...just too small what what a leather strop should be and how it is used.
I do however strongly suggest buying the yellow and blue ceramic hones...they work great to polish the edge to a mirror finish but at 2000 grit, more or less, for the blue hone they are not going to give the polish some achieve using the uber grit hones, etc.
I still use a leather strop with Bark River's green and black compound after the yellow/blue ceramic hones to finish off the edge...I use a home made leather strop...perhaps I just find the act of hand stropping on leather a pleasurable way to finish off the edge but that is how I like to do it.
If going the Lansky route I also suggest replacing the "wing nut" screws with "inset" screws and buying enough of the wires so each hone has its' own wire and remains on. I use blue LocTite on the threads to hold everything in place and use a modified tackle box to hold all my stuff. This way I'm sure the wires are in the same plane as the hone surface and it saves a lot of time.
I also mounted the base on a piece of oak shelving with rubber feet for a more stable surface.
Good luck and keep us informed.
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- Apr 12, 2009
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With S30V, you'll want at least one diamond hone (maybe Coarse/XC) to handle heavier edge repairs or rebevelling. The AlOx/corundum hones in Extra-Coarse, Coarse and Medium grit in the Deluxe set will struggle with such tasks, taking 2X-3X as long to accomplish the same work, IF it can get it done at all. I ruined two of them in my Deluxe set (they glazed and dished), in attempting to reprofile an S30V blade. Frankly, if immediately jumping into sharpening S30V with a Lansky system, I wouldn't even bother with the Deluxe set, and instead go with a diamond set. That's what I did, after the lesson taught me by trying to rebevel that S30V blade; my Deluxe set got 'retired' after that. The Fine & UF ceramics in the Deluxe set (600 & 1000) are still quite useful for refinement and polishing of many blades, so you might consider purchasing those separately, to supplement a diamond set.
BTW, with a guided setup, I don't think I'd even bother with the leather 'stropping' hone; it's very small size will greatly limit it's usefulness, especially if mirrored edges are the goal. You'd do just as well (or likely better) by just temporarily attaching some paper with compound on one of the ceramic hones (600/1000) mentioned above. It'll be firmer (edges will be crisper), and you'll have much greater range of polishing capability, depending on which compounds you use with it (diamond compound is great with S30V, in particular). A bare leather strop is limited in usefulness anyway, as it doesn't really polish at all by itself, and the edge already needs to be very refined to benefit from it; a tiny 4" x 1/2" bare leather strop will be even more limited in usefulness.
David
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