Lansky Sharpening System...thoughts?

I am a big fan of the GATCO. I feel it gives you great results for your money.

I have the professional kit. I added the extra fine and ultimate finishing hones. I also added a stropping step.

I have done all of my cutlery on it from a Leatherman Juice S2 up to a 10" chefs and I am very pleased with the results. I haven't done a wild recurve but my mildly recurved EDC does just fine.

I took the kit up to the deer camp and the guys were pretty happy with the edges I produced on some really abused Bucks.

Compared to similar systems:

I like the number of angles I have on the GATCO
I like the wider stones
I like the price
I like the ease of use and the short learning curve.

The only troubles I have had is on very narrow blades like a Victorinox Classic and on really flexible blades like my fillet knives. Those go on the Arkansas tri-stones.
 
I have to get a pair of those Diamond rods for my SharpMaker, everyone raves about them
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They're awfully pricey and not as durable as I'd have liked - meaning I'm developing some smooth spots already (my fault) from re-profiling S30V and D2.

That said, don't lean into them as hard as I did and use more strokes not hard ones and they should make you really happy! :D

No offense, but I think all of those rod & stone aligner systems suck, lansky, gatco, smith, dmt aligner
 
I do have a lansky system, but I'm looking into buying some high quality benchstones or strops for my knives...... for just getting into knife sharpening..... Either Lansky of the Spydie Sharpmaker you can't go wrong with..... the Sharpmaker will just take a bit more practice. Either one should get those blades nice and sharp though.

M.E.
 
I prefer GATCO over Lansky. Both are the same type of guided system, but I think GATCO's clamp is more effective, the rods are stronger, and the stones wider. The wide stones make sharpening wild recurves difficult, but I don't like wild recurves anyway! For the money, I think GATCO makes a better product. With that being said, DMT Aligner system, although it 'feels' cheap, performs like a pro and is cheaper than the GATCO setup. The DMT is my number one pick for clamped guided systems.

Stitchawl
 
To the GATCO fans posting here, a question:

Have any of you had any issues with blades moving/slipping inside the clamp? I've noticed that the inside faces of my clamp aren't quite flat (slightly convex), and can even see a slight 'turning up' of the contact face at the forward corners of the clamp, where it grips the blade spine. I noticed this only because every blade I put into the clamp has a tendency to pivot side-to-side when clamped down. I've used masking tape, painter's tape and a couple other varieties of tape to get some extra grip, but the slightly convex curvature of the clamp's contact faces renders all that moot. Still slips. Just wondering if this is a QC fluke with mine alone, or if this issue has been noticed by others. A friend of mine just ordered a GATCO set, and in fact, it's due to be delivered to him today. So, I'll be taking a look at his also. Aside from this specific issue, I'm generally impressed with the GATCO setup overall, compared to Lansky (with which I've done most of my sharpening thus far).
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
To the GATCO fans posting here, a question:

Have any of you had any issues with blades moving/slipping inside the clamp? I've noticed that the inside faces of my clamp aren't quite flat (slightly convex), and can even see a slight 'turning up' of the contact face at the forward corners of the clamp, where it grips the blade spine.
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Yes, I had this problem too... until I flattened the clamp faces with some wet/dry sandpaper and ten minutes of work. ;)
I had to take off quite a bit of metal but the results made it worthwhile.

Stitchawl
 
stitchawl said:
Yes, I had this problem too... until I flattened the clamp faces with some wet/dry sandpaper and ten minutes of work. ;)
I had to take off quite a bit of metal but the results made it worthwhile.

Stitchawl
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On the one hand, it's good to know I wasn't alone with this. On the other hand, looks like I've got some sanding to do...

By the way, what grit sandpaper did you use? Did the sanding marks (if any) help provide a little more grip on the blade?

Thanks
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
On the one hand, it's good to know I wasn't alone with this. On the other hand, looks like I've got some sanding to do...

By the way, what grit sandpaper did you use? Did the sanding marks (if any) help provide a little more grip on the blade?

Thanks
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Sorry... had to be about 15 years ago. I really haven't a clue what grit I used, but if I had to do it now I'd just rub the face against a 120 stone and be done with it. As I recall it was pretty soft metal.

I don't know that the sanding marks had any great effect on the grip, but the fact that the faces made full contact with the blade sure did! I rarely had any further problems except when trying to sharpen a very, very thick blade... I couldn't get the angle of the faces to match the angle of the blade. Other than that, they held tightly to all other knives, large and small.

Stitchawl
 
I'm going to continue freehanding from now on. BladeForum moment today.

I took an Izula that wasn't quite to my liking - still catching on paper cutting. I took the darn Sharpmaker and flipped it upside down and went at it freehand from the diamonds right through to ultrafine rods, then stropped until most of any grind marks were gone and it's so sharp, I was able to cut the paper in wavy designs w/o catching.

I sharpened that way as a kid just fine but once my knives got more expensive, the money turned me into a puss. I've got my confidence back now and will start accumulating some righteous bench stones! :D
 
The only problem I have had with the GATCO clamps slipping is with blades that do not have a flat near the spine to clamp on.
 
stitchawl said:
Sorry... had to be about 15 years ago. I really haven't a clue what grit I used, but if I had to do it now I'd just rub the face against a 120 stone and be done with it. As I recall it was pretty soft metal.

I don't know that the sanding marks had any great effect on the grip, but the fact that the faces made full contact with the blade sure did! I rarely had any further problems except when trying to sharpen a very, very thick blade... I couldn't get the angle of the faces to match the angle of the blade. Other than that, they held tightly to all other knives, large and small.

Stitchawl
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Thanks again. I know what you mean with trying to clamp to a thicker blade. I had the same issue with my Lansky when I sharpened one of mine. It's an A.G. Russell 'Brute' folder, about 4-1/2" closed with a blade about 3" or so. The blade's spine is 3/16" thick, and the blade is a very high hollow grind to a very thin edge. The hollow grind extends to within about 1/16" of the spine, meaning there's very little flat to clamp onto. I moved the clamp all the way back to the tang (it was up against the handle) so it could grip the 1/4" or so of flat available there. Was a challenge in setting it up, but in the end it worked out well...
 
From my experiences, I believe the Lansky system is not worth a crap. There are other option that are better, like DMT stones.

SB
 
I'm a knifemaker and I bought two sets of Lansky systems. The first was the stone set and the second was the diamond set. I gave the stone set away to a friend.

I've tried and tried to get a razor sharp edge on my knives using the Lansky and finally gave up.

Here's what I use: http://www.sharpeningwheels.com/instructions.htm

The only caveat is you must have a buffer or grinder. My first time I was able to get a shaving sharp edge. For me this system is superior and took almost no time to get the hang of. I was able to get the first knife I tried sharp enough to shave the hairs off of my hand.

I've now sharpened about 20 knives and all of them came out beautiful. Be careful with the grit wheel, it can take off a lot of steel very quickly. This is the wheel that takes a slight bit of practice to master.

Just my 2 cents.
 
My style is impetuous. My defense is impregnable and I'm just ferocious.- Mike Tyson
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"I want your heart. I want to eat his children." - Mike Tyson :eek:

Paper Wheels - Knife flies out of hand and sticks in someone's head or in your leg or gut......:eek:
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
I moved the clamp all the way back to the tang (it was up against the handle) so it could grip the 1/4" or so of flat available there. Was a challenge in setting it up, but in the end it worked out well...
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Didn't that result in a noticable change in the angle between the heel and the tip?

cbw
 
cbwx34 said:
Didn't that result in a noticable change in the angle between the heel and the tip?

cbw
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I knew someone would ask about that as soon as I posted that remark. The answer is no, and the reason is that for the dimensions of this blade (about 3" long and 3/4" to 7/8" wide), the difference in angle is negligible. If you think about the 'reach' of the stone & rod, from the point where the rod intersects the upper part of the clamp (at the chosen angle hole) to where the stone contacts the edge of the blade, that span changes only slightly across the length of the blade (I've measured this frequently to satisfy my own curiosity about this). At most, the span might vary by 1/4" or less, even with the clamp mounted all the way back at the tang. And if the the tip of the blade has much of an upsweep to it, that difference is going to be even less. In this case, the distance from the upper arm of the clamp at the guide hole, to the edge of my blade near the tang was probably in the neighborhood of 4-1/2", whereas the span from the guide hole to the tip of the blade was maybe 4-3/4". So 1/4" of extra length in the 'hypotenuse' of the triangle at the tip won't make a visible difference in the angle. The width of the bevel produced, from ricasso to tip, was visibly uniform. I've used both my Lansky and GATCO to reprofile many knives, most with blades of 4" or less in length, and I've learned that the variation in angle is almost moot, especially if the clamp is mounted anywhere near the center of the blade. In the case of a longer blade or a very narrow blade, where I might actually see a variation in bevel width, I'll deliberately mount the clamp near the back anyway, to produce a slightly wider bevel (more acute angle) near the tip. I've come to like it that way...

And, for what it's worth, I don't worry about the actual angle measurement anyway (the markings at the guide holes are completely inaccurate & meaningless). I reprofile my knives at the lowest possible position on the clamp anyway, and that generally gives me a bevel width that suits my tastes (most are around 1/16" or a little wider, depending on the knife). That sets up the edge for easy maintenance using a strop.
 
Hey thanks. I actually meant to say bevel, not angle... sometimes even small changes in the angle can be pretty noticable. But i appreciate the detailed reply.

cbw
 
I used the Lansky system for years and since I've had the sharpmaker I haven't used the Lansky since.
My grips with the Lansky are the overly large and uneven bevels it puts on knives.
Now I don't mind a large bevel if it's even,I can live with that.But when the bevel is uneven,and looks like crap at the tip.I can't stand that.It's a major deal breaker for me.
I don't know if it's me or just a flaw of the clamp system.But every knife I sharpened with that thing has had huge uneven bevels.

Thats why I bought the sharpmaker and haven't looked back since.
No expensive diamond rods for me to do re profiling.Wrap them brown rods with some fine grade 150 and re profile away.:thumbup:
 
The Lansky is fussy to use. No doubt about that. But it will get your knives as sharp as they can be as long as you start by regrinding the bevels to one of the set angles. The Sharpmaker is more of a touch up tool. It is not good for grinding bevels but for touching up knives that aren't too dull. I'm a devotee of polished bevels so the Sharpmaker actually dulls my edges. I have one but no longer use it.

The best manual sharpener I've ever used (I think I've used all of them) is the Edgepro. It is less fussy to use than the Lansky and works faster because it uses waterstones and has infinitely adjustable angles. It maintains a consistent angle throughout the process but it it does it without using a blade clamp. However, It is a lot more expensive than the Lansky.
 
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