Lansky Sharpening System Questions

KnottyEagle

KnottyEagle

Joined
Aug 10, 2012
Messages
6,586
I want to start off by saying I'm 15 years old, so some of these sharpening tips and tricks will be a little tricky for me to understand at first, but I'm willing to learn and I appreciate anybody that's willing to take the time to help me.

I recently received a Deluxe Lansky Sharpening System from a very good friend on here (Thanks again!). I've been able to sharpen my knives (all Kershaws) and produce a pretty good edge, but nothing razor sharp. I'm happy with the results, but I want to be able to get to that next level of sharpness. The steels that I've been sharpening are 8Cr13MoV and 14C28N. I've been using the C-Clamp and just setting it up on the corner of a table (being careful not to ruin the table or over-torque the clamp). I've got it as parallel with the table as I can, which is pretty parallel. I also have the clamp that you use to place the knife blade in and I've put tape on it where you clamp it down to the knife so it doesn't leave any scratches. I'm also careful to make sure that the amount of gaps between the rods and the stones when setting them up is very minimal. I've even labeled the rods to make sure I put them on the right stones, because for some reason, there will be gaps with some stones than with others. I also made sure to use the straightest rods I have for consistency. Also, I ALWAYS Sharpie the edge so I know where I'm hitting with the stones. That's pretty much my whole set-up.

Now with the actual sharpening. So far, I've been starting with the 70 grit stone and moving on upwards because I want to get a good feel for how well the stones work. I know I probably shouldn't do that with a fairly sharp knife (I try not to let my knives get dull), but I just want to get a good feel. The knives I'm working on sharpening are an OD-2 (8Cr), Cryo (8Cr), and a Skyline (14C). Kershaw says they sharpen their knives anywhere from 18-22 degrees (non-inclusive), but I'm not finding that to be accurate. I'm finding them to be around 25-30 degrees, or that could just be my knives. I know the Lansky has some variation with the angles because of where you tighten the clamp on the blade and because of how the rods move around in the holes, but I think I'm fairly accurate with my assumption. Either way, I've just been sharpening them at the angles I've been finding them to be at. Since finding that out, I've re-profiled my Skyline to about 20 degrees non-inclusive, or at least that's what I've think I've done. It was previously at 30 degrees, and I Sharpied the edge and after awhile, the Sharpie started to go away at the edge, instead of at the shoulder. I continued to sharpen with each stone until I felt satisfied that I did a good job (I started at the 70 grit and continued upwards, with doing the re-profiling with the 70 grit). From what you've guys have read, do you think I actually re-profiled the edge? I continued to sharpen with the 70 grit until all of the Sharpie was gone, so I think I re-profiled it.

Ok, my head is starting to hurt from all of this thinking and making sure what I said made sense to you guys, so I think I'll leave it at that for now on. I have more questions, but I can't think of some of them right now. I'll ask those later on. Thanks for any help!
 
that is how i go about sharpening with the lansky. i have found the angles to be off as well and it does really depend on thickness of blade and how far you put the clamp up on the blade. i like to use the sharpie as well as a guide. are you using one stone until you have a consistant back bevel? where the edge is actually pushed/rolled to the opposite side of the blade you are working on? i would love to get a high end sharpener but after a few months of practice i can get just about any steel in the safe razor sharp. the 8cr and 14c are very good steels to learn on. i have axed most of my kershaw collection and transitioned into almost exclusively ZT and those high end steels require better tools so i opted for the lansky deluxe diamond kit and have been very pleased with the results. i reprofiled a zt560 from 60 degree inclusive (factory) to 40 degree inclusive (according to the lansky markings) it took me about 7 hours with the diamond kit and i would venture to say reprofiling with the basic lansky stones on any steel better than 8cr or 14c would just eat the hones. in my experience i took deluxe kit (non diamond) out of package and went after a zt0200 which is cm154 and after about 40 minutes all i had done was smooth the 70grit hone out to about 300 grit. best of luck and the most important part is be consistant and persistant and you will get good results in due time.
 
asm3686 said:
are you using one stone until you have a consistant back bevel? where the edge is actually pushed/rolled to the opposite side of the blade you are working on?
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Sorry, these are confusing me. I'm familiar with primary bevel, secondary bevel, and microbevel. Is back bevel just another word for one of those, or does it actually mean something else? I think I know what you're talking with the edge being pushed to the other side.
 
I think he's talking about a burr. If you're raising a burr on the other side of the blade, then you know you've reached the edge. I have noticed with the Lansky that it sometimes looks like you've reached the edge, but there is still a microscopic bit that you're not sharpening. As you get closer to the edge while re-profiling, your progress will likely slow down because the bevel you're grinding out is getting wider and wider, thus more metal to remove.
 
Is there a definite and sure way to make sure I'm getting a burr? I've read of a couple ways, but I can't be completely sure if I am or not.
 
You should be able to feel it. Run your fingernail down the blade perpendicular to the edge. If you feel it catch up on the very edge, there's your burr. You can sometimes see it, too. It'll show up as a very thin shiny line that runs along the edge. Hope that helps.
 
MunroClansman said:
You should be able to feel it. Run your fingernail down the blade perpendicular to the edge. If you feel it catch up on the very edge, there's your burr. You can sometimes see it, too. It'll show up as a very thin shiny line that runs along the edge. Hope that helps.
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Yes, that helps a lot. After I get a burr, do I just move onto the next highest grit stone, or do I go to a fine or ultra fine stone?
ThatsMyKnife said:
There are a couple of good videos on youtube of how to use the system and get good edges.
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That's where I originally learned how to use the system.
 
Yes, that helps a lot. After I get a burr, do I just move onto the next highest grit stone, or do I go to a fine or ultra fine stone?
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I just progress up grit by grit to the finest I have. After that I do a quick a quick micro-bevel with my finest stone and then strop (I just use my belt because I'm a poor college student). After all that, I'm usually up to hair-popping sharp, but I'm still learning as well and sometimes I need to go back a few steps and repeat.
 
MunroClansman said:
I just progress up grit by grit to the finest I have. After that I do a quick a quick micro-bevel with my finest stone and then strop (I just use my belt because I'm a poor college student). After all that, I'm usually up to hair-popping sharp, but I'm still learning as well and sometimes I need to go back a few steps and repeat.
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Should I still check for a burr after using each stone? Or will it go away with the finer stones?
 
The burr is an indication that you are sharpening down to the very edge, such that the metal has folded over. So I wouldn't think you would need to keep checking for the burr unless you change angles for some reason, since you already know that your stone is contacting the entire edge. Hope that makes sense.

When all is said and done, though, you want to make sure that you don't have a burr. Because that would mean your edge is folded over, and that's obviously not desirable.
 
OHALLUM said:
To completely understand the burr and how to work with it, go to this link for the definitive word on the matter. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/697747-The-burr

Study what he says and your questions will be answered. Worked for me. Be sure and read the whole thread as some good questions were asked and good answers were given. Good luck!

Blessings,

Omar
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Can't stress this thread enough. I started out freehand, and now I have a diamond lansky set. Without the basic understanding of how the burr works and what it does, your knives will not get as sharp as you want them to be. The burr is the key. When you have a burr, you've "apexed" the edge.

On my Lansky, when I reprofiled my Griptilian with S30V steel, I started at the lowest grit obviously. Get some sharpie on the bevel, clamp it up, and use consistent, light strokes along the blade until all your sharpie is gone. Once the sharpie is gone, continue sharpening lightly, feeling the other side of the bevel for a burr. You can feel it by running your finger perpendicular to the blade, kind of across it. It'll basically feel like a hang nail or something. If you don't have the burr across the ENTIRE edge, you're not done with that side or that stone. If there is one part of the blade that isn't getting a burr, that means the bevel angle is inconsistent, and you can concentrate your strokes on that part of the blade. When you do that though you want to make extra sure that your strokes are light, since you're grinding one area with the whole stone, rather than the whole bevel. Also, I've found that with the lansky, even when you're concentrating on one part of the blade, you want to keep your strokes going diagonally, not straight up and down. I did that and removed a ton of metal way too quickly, and it offset the bevel and I had to re-do the rest of the blade.

Once you have a full burr, flip the blade, and do the same on the other side until you have a burr on the first side. Go up to the next higher grit you have, and do the same on both sides. Grind each side until you have a burr on both sides, then progress. After you've gone as high as you want, with the finest stone you have, stroke each side (the one that ended up with the final burr first) verrrry gently. Feather strokes here. Do that once or twice on each side so the burr comes off. After that, I wrap some newspaper around one of my stones tightly with tape, and use that as a strop for the final touch. It gets the rest of the burr off and refines it a bit. When stropping it's a bit odd though...because instead of grinding against the edge, you're grinding along the edge. Drag the wrapped stone down the blade diagonally lightly a few times each side, basically reverse the last strokes you did.

I like a fine but toothy edge on my blade, so that works for me. Your ending step may be different if you want a more razor sharp blade.
 
Thanks a lot guys! The all elusive "burr" was one of those things with sharpening that I wasn't totally sure about, but I think I've got a firm grip on how things work with it, and I'm pretty confident that I can achieve one and be able to get it off at the final stages.
 
No problem. I'm no expert by any means (a lot of expert sharpeners on here will say that, but I mean it, lol.) but I think most of the learning curve was blown to pieces by learning about the burr.
 
Yeah lansky angles are 30, 25, 20, 17 which isn't much help, say when you're sharpening a mora with a 27 degree angle unless you want to change the profile. I've got the system and just wound up using the stones freehand after a while, used on my mora clipper carbon followed by a strop, I'd shave my face with it lol. I think it's really more about technique than anything.
 
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