Lansky sharpening system question

T

TheSunny

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Sep 26, 2012
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Hello,
I am currently using the spyderco sharpmaker to sharpen my knives and while I'm able to get a sharp edge my bevel is pretty horrible. It gets a little crooked towards the tip and the right side seems higher than the left. So I thought I might benefit from a system that clamps the knife. Not ready to drop the cash for an edge pro or wicked edge, but the lansky knife sharpening system seems to be a good place to start. Um.. Just realized that there is probably a thread on it... Well, anyone who owns one I would be curious to hear your feedback. Also, I saw that there are 3 types of hones(regular, diamond, and Arkansas) would each type be best for a specific steel? Besides the obvious what is the difference between the 3? Also, to use the oil or not to?? Thanks for reading. Please share.

Sunny
 
If you can afford the diamond, go for it.

I used a lansky for decades. You can get a real sharp polished bevel. It is a bit limited on real big blades.
 
Have you used the regular hones? What is the advantage of the diamond hones? Are you able to get a mirror edge with them? Or do you use a ultra fine hone too? Maybe with the strop?
 
I use a lansky on most of my pocket knives. My blades are aus8, 440hc, 1095, Case CV, and 154cm. I have diamond, silicone, india, and ceramic hones for it. I use the diamond for rebeveling only. For dull knives, i'll start with the sic and work my way through the rest of the hones. For touch ups, I go straight to the ceramic hones. The diamond and ceramic I use dry. I use the honing oil on the sic and india stones but I make sure the blade is thoroughly clean before going to the ceramics. I little masking tape on the blade where the clamp goes helps from scratching it. With patience, you can get excellent results with it.
 
So I ended up getting a gatco system with the diamond hones. It also has a fine ceramic. I get good results as far as evenness goes however when I look at the bevel when I finish going through the hones it has a choppy look to it. You guys/girls have this issue too? I end up using my sharpmaker last to even it out. My sharpmaker skills are lacking though. I test on my leg hairs for sharpness and notice that while holding with the right hand hairs are popping off, left handed I have to change my angle to shave the hairs. The knife I sharpen is a para2 with cpms30v. Pretty frustrating. Any tips?
 
I'm sure the Gatco system will work for you. It's very similar to the Lansky.

To answer your question from before, I did use the standard stones and they did a nice job on non-exotic steel but lagged behind when dealing with D2, 3V and my new S90V.

The diamond stones make the work much faster and I can reprofile without too much fuss if I start with the extra-coarse and coarse stones.

I finish up with a fine stone (the pink Lansky one) and it leaves me with a very nicely finished edge. Not polished but very useable.

Regarding the choppy look, you can alternate using a sawing back and forth motion with a sweeping motion that goes from ricasso to tip to smooth things out.
 
I have the Gatco system with the extra fine ceramic, and works great. I use a strop with white/green compound as my last step. It takes out the choppiness out of the bevel and makes the edge hair popping sharp. It also puts a really nice polish on the edge. The strop I use is from the Stropman. He makes excellent strops.

A tip I found also to make the bevel more uniformed and not so choppy is to use light single passes with the last stones. Start at the back of the knife with the tip of the stone and sweep the until the bottom of the stone is at the tip of the knife. I'm not really sure how better to explain it. I hope this helps.
 
It sounds to me like you may be applying too much pressure on the diamond stones. Even the finer stones are very aggressive. Try using very light strokes and see if it doesn't improve. Some people just stroke in one direction, others stroke both directions. You may experiment with both methods and see which give YOU the best results. The Gatco is a good system from what I have researched, and is better than the Lansky some say since the stones are wider. Again this is from other user's as I have not used either one. Good luck and remember to have fun!

Omar
:rolleyes:
 
Thank you all for the input. I saw videos of people using the lansky and gatco and everyone either went back and forth or just upwards. I was curious about being able to sweep the hones similar to the motion when using a sharpmaker but wasn't sure. I also did not use the oil at first so I believe it took off a lot more metal. Trying it with the oil seems to give it a much smoother but less aggressive feel. I was still unable to get a smooth edge so had to finish with the sharpmaker.
 
i have a lansky deluxe 5 stone with a super sapphire the UF ceramic hone is 1000 grit the SS hone is 2000 grit with this system. the bigest key to getting an edge pro like bevel is to have the clamp secure like in a vice or with one of the lansky mounts like the universal mount or they have a plastic one but i would go with the metal one. number 2 proper stone alignment make ure the stones are even i cant even tell u how many stones from lansky ive have got over the years that from factory that were as uneven as lumpy mashed potatoes just flatten them on a flat coarse surface. 3 rod alignment with the lansky system the rods are a verry soft steel wich means there easy to bend when u take them out of that plastic prison of a case they have a tendency to warp and bend and its a SOB to get them perfectly strait, but with some pliers and elbow grease u can bend them straight.4 afte ure done with each stone rep for instance 5 on one side 5 on the other when ure getting ready to switch stones pick up the knife make the blade vertical and take the stone and run it flat on the edge verry lightly and it will semi straiten the bevel only do this once or twice per every stone u finished with b4 u use the next stone this step is done preferably on the fine UF&SS this will ensure a straighter bevel not edgepro/wicked edge but a straight one none to less.5 oil/water all honing oil does is keep the metal particales from stickin to the stones some say its sharper with some say with out but oil helps the life of ure stones and helps raise/fine a burr.6 the way to move the stones when u do a quick sawing motion thats genna get a poor grind try to make it long sweeps useing the top all the way to the bottoman upswept motion from top to bottom ensures maximum range on the stonefrom the bottom to the top of the edge make long upswept strides from the bottom to ure tip when u reach the tip pick up the stone reset it at the bottom of the blade gently u dont want any micro chipping then ure f***ed for a hair splitting edge trust me, when u reset set the stone gently on the edge there will be little to know micro chipping. all of this will work with the gatco system no prob and when u put everything back in the case let the ros free float in the case if u clip the back in now matter how carefull u are u will bent them ive had the lansky system for 8 years and i would recomend it to anyone on a budget just do ure homework and practice on a cheapo folder/fixed u cant just use it once and exept to have a hair whittleing edge it took me almost 2 years to master my techinque now i hope my insite on the lansky helped for ure gatco but it will take timedont worry my friend u will be sharpening like a pro in no time have fun and be RESPONSIBLE with all ure knives.
 
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Thanks for the tips! I really need to spend more time with the gatco and get better acquainted. It seems like my go to is the sharpmaker still. I use the gatco for super dull knives and for some of the knives with harder steel. Investing in a pedestal or clamp sounds like a good idea. For now it just feels awkward holding the gatco while sharpening. I imagine once its comfortable I will get better results. the guided rods help with the learning curve, but I think the knife needs to be clamped at the same spot to get consistent results. I could be wrong. I recently figured out that on the gatco the rods can be pulled out which helped a lot. Before, when using the lower angles the hones would grind on the clamp. The general consensus seems to be finding a technique with a side of patience. Hopefully I will be able to stick with it. Otherwise, just crack and buy a wicked edge!
 
i believe in landsky i have always used it and never been disappointed and the normal stones work for me but i use the fine and ultra fine ceramic stones to touch-up the knives hope it helps!!
 
i had a look at the gatco system and it is close to the landsky just be patient in the sharpening process and don't apply force be gentle it will take some time to get done the first time
 
dreadside said:
i had a look at the gatco system and it is close to the landsky just be patient in the sharpening process and don't apply force be gentle it will take some time to get done the first time
Click to expand...

I'm getting better results but still can't get the edge as sharp as I can with the sharpmaker. I get a more even edge when using the gatco but hair whittling with the sharpmaker.
 
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