lansky troubles?

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kyle840

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Jul 14, 2009
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have been sharpening benchmade 550 using my lansky sharpening system.
i have an extra course diamond stone. i go from this to a regular course stone, to med to fine to super saphire. problem is the edge has barely visible bevels in it. it this from the big jump in extra course diamond to regular course stone?
before i got the diamond stone for it i was able to get this knife extremely sharp, it just took a few hours to get a burr and then remove it.
 
If you didn't change angles or something.Then go back to what was working for you before and start there.Something may come to you.DM
 
only problem with that was it took so long and i was hoping to shave a lot of time off of my sharpening time.
 
I've gotten great results using these 3 Lansky stones in order, lubricated with water (not oil):

Medium diamond stone (orange holder)
Fine hone (blue holder with purple stone)
Ultra-fine hone (yellow holder with white ceramic stone)
Very light stropping on leather to finish.

The medium diamond hone is plenty fast in removing metal. I've never felt the need to use a coarse or extra-course diamond hone. I just finished sharpening a Queen Country Cousin Sod Buster (in D2) last night, and the medium diamond grit made quick work of it. Lubricating with water makes cleaning up the stones much easier, with a green Scotch-Brite type pad and some Comet cleanser.
 
Regarding the bevels: I'm guessing this is caused by different angles. Either you used different holes (the angle holes on the mount), or the depth you inserted the rods into the different stones was different. Either of those sound likely?

About the time: It took you several *hours* to raise a burr each time you sharpened? As long as I'm not doing a crazy reprofile (from like 30 degrees down to say 12), I've never had it take more than maybe 15 minutes to form a burr on my medium silicon carbide stone.

Finally, do you have any dishing on any of your stones? Dishing (a carved out middle section on the stone) would also change the approach angle and cause multiple bevels.

Brian.
 
Your stones could be caked up with metal. Clean them with Bar Keeper's friend, and the stones will cut like new again. Inserting rods to consistent depths is also important.
 
i apologize for my incorrect wording.
what i have are slight serrations in the edge that are visible, thought it was a burr at first but it is not. i insert the rods at consistent depth using a flat surface and bending if they are off a little. i use the 17 degree hole and finish with the 20 degree on the fine stone and then saphire.
where do i find barkeepers friend? my coarse stone is deffinately caked up pretty good.
 
Serrations. The edge seems to be slightly saw toothed? Without a picture, that sounds like chipping to me, but something tells me I'm misunderstanding your description. A picture would truly be worth a thousand words here.

Barkeeper's friend is nearly identical to Bon Ami. They are both powdered cleansers that are very fine and won't scratch stainless steel; that's what they are used to clean mostly. A grocery store will probably have one or the other.

I'm still head scratching over the condition of your blade...

Brian.
 
i have bon ami so i will try that to clean the stone.

yes exactly, the edge is very very slightly saw toothed, almost looks like there are tiny just barely visible chips in the edge. i do not have a camera capable of capturing this.
 
I found Bar Keeper's Friend at Ralphs. Look at your grocery store aisle where the dish soap is sold. It will be with Comet or some similar abrasives. The difference in BKF is the acid in the powder. I think Bon Ami has it too. Look on the label for an acid reference, I think it is Oxalic acid, or similar, that is what helps to dissolve the metal and free it from the stones so you scrub it with a stiff bristle brush. Good luck on your edge quest. If it no longer becomes fun for you, put it down for awhile and come back to it later.
 
I know what you are talking about it is from the extra course stone it is super agressive and leaves a crazy rough edge you need more time with a regular couse stone after the extra couse diamond ,I only use the extra couse diamond for new knives/reprofiling ,it is way more course than the regular extra course stone .
 
bon ami doesn't seem to work much better than the baking soda i was using, i will search for bar keepers friend at the grocery store.
i think i will order the medium diamond hone from them and see if that helps solve this problem.
thanks for all of the help.
 
Once you find the BKF, make a paste with one part water, and one part BKF. Lay the Lansky stone in the paste stone down for about 15 min. Then scrub with a stiff short bristle brush vigorously. Be careful not to fling that solution into your eyes. If the caking is real bad, it may take 2 cycles to get the metal off. If you use oil (I stopped using oil) brake cleaner or Lacquer thinner will help dissolve the oil off, and help to de gum in other ways as well. It is best to clean Lansky stones after each use, then it is just a quick scrub. When sharpening, I would spend most of my time 50% with the aggressive coarse stone, and then divide the other 50% between the progressively finer stones, resulting in a polished edge. I would always make sure I felt a burr all the way across the edge, before I preceeded to the next step. The first mistake I made, (took me awhile to figure it out) is that I was progressing to the next step without raising a burr. Also, not keeping my stones clean. Since the Lansky stones are small in area, you want to keep them as clean as possible for an enjoyable productive sharpening experience. Remember, it is supposed to be fun. This is a hobby.
 
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