Opinions please. I need a general purpose sharpener for a variety of old blades ranging from antique hunting to old machetes and even a kitchen knife or two. These sharpeners seem like the same principle but which is better for the long run. Thanks for the input.
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Lansky vs Sharpmaker Rod sharpeners?
- Thread starter MichaelCS
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I've used a lanskey for years and love it. If you choose lanskey find an old kit with the old clamp much better than the new ones. I wouldn't say you could sharpen a machete on it. But I've had a 12 inch blade on mine before.
I have both.
I started with the lansky & added xfine and polishing stone.
It works well, however I use my sharpmaker much more than the lansky.
With the lansky I would get a beautiful polished blade with crisp bevel lines, but with the sharpmaker I get sharper edges.
I started with the lansky & added xfine and polishing stone.
It works well, however I use my sharpmaker much more than the lansky.
With the lansky I would get a beautiful polished blade with crisp bevel lines, but with the sharpmaker I get sharper edges.
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If you will get rid of the "glint" off the edge with the lanskey and get it cutting sharp with the coarse stone, then sharpen I promise you will become very fond of it. I use a combination of stones from the purple coarse diamond to the black Arkansas with a few other tricks and I can produce a wickedly crazy sharp edge. I have the sapphire stone, and so far I'm not impressed. I may need to break it in like you have to do with the yellow ceramic.
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In a clamped guided system, you might give some thought to using a DMT Aligner Clamp with a full-sized bench stone. Reason I recommend this, is because it'll handle some of the larger blades better than the Lansky with it's dedicated stones. In particular, the larger bench stone will greatly speed big grinding jobs on larger & thicker blades. The Lansky works fine, but it's small hones will always be challenged on big grinding jobs; they can work, but the going will be slow when the sharpening stroke is limited to less than the full length of the 4" hone (x 1/2" wide). On the flipside, the Lansky will usually do better with small blades, especially very small ones as found in traditional pocketknives. DMT's Aligner clamp doesn't handle very small blades well, as the clamp itself will get in the way with small & narrow blades, and won't hold them steadily if attempting to grip these small blades in the very ends of the clamp's jaws.
Once bevels are set to good cutting geometry (30°-40° inclusive) on the clamped system, the Sharpmaker will be great as a maintenance & touch-up sharpener. It would also be very slow, if relying on it alone, to thin the edge on big, thick blades.
I've used two Lansky sets, a Gatco set, and the DMT Aligner with both Dia-Fold hones and benchstones; each has it's pluses and minuses, but the Aligner clamp used with a bench stone has been the best for larger blades, like kitchen knives and hunting (fixed blade) knives. BIG difference in working speed, when coupled with an appropriately aggressive bench stone. Clamps from Lansky and Gatco could also be used with a bench stone, instead of with their dedicated hones & rods, but I've liked the ease of setup with the DMT clamp in particular.
David
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Yep that's a downfall of a lanskey I completely agree.
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Is the OP asking about the Lansky clamp system or their rod systems? I had a SM years ago and found the angles too shallow for my taste. I like my edges a bit more obtuse than many here, though. I like the old turn box rod system by Lansky, but you have to be able to pick one out in person, in order to make sure the angles of the rods are where you want them, as they can vary by several degrees from unit to unit. Lansky's new Master's Edge system solves that with it's molded base. The angles are dead on, and are going to be consistent, since the bases all come from the same mold. It also gives you 17* slots in addition to the 20* and 25* ones, should you prefer a slightly shallower edge bevel. Also, all the old turn box rods, though shorter, fit the slots in the Master's Edge, so you can pick up a set of their diamond rods for more aggressive work (actually, just buy a whole 2 rod diamond turn box, as they're only about $20, and just use the rods in the ME). The ME also comes with a triangular rod with different radii on its edges for serrations. :thumbup:
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Good point. The Lansky clamp system is so firmly embedded in my conciousness (this is what I learned the basics on), I always jump to that assumption. Maybe he'll clarify which he's looking at.
David
Thanks guys, yes it is the rod systems I'm thinking of. At this point it would be my only sharpener, what do you think? I'm leaning a bit toward the new molded Lansky mainly because it is cheaper than the sharpmaker but seems very similar except for the angles.
Ajack60
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With the Lansky there are different stones to add to the basic kit. I have not been able to get use to the Sharpmaker even though it is a good system. I've got basic, diamond and polishing stones for mine. I like the variety of different stones. The drawback is that the angles are in 5 degree increments and you have to hold the rod against the slot to prevent the stone from floating. I also have a KME system and like the one degree increments on that system. It is more costly though but IMO worth the extra cash
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Michael I have some extra stones for the lansky
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I'd think you should be OK with that system (I'm assuming the kit pictured below is what you're considering). These are all very similar, as you'd mentioned. I've 'collected' maybe six or eight of the V-crock systems over almost 25 years' time, some of them are 'no-name' or off-brand, and some can be disappointing. With these, the ceramic rods themselves are the 'make or break' of the system; Lansky's been doing these for a LONG time, so I don't think there's much to worry about. As with any of these kits, most of the value is as a maintenance sharpener, as they'll be slow for heavy grinding tasks. As I'd mentioned earlier, a good bench stone used with an angle guide can fill that gap, after which you'd have enough kit to get a lot of work done.
David
Yes, that's the Lansky I'm thinking of. Now you have me researching the aligned tool. I saw one by Smiths at lowes that looks close to the DMT aligned . Is it equal in quality or would the DMT be worth ordering? I only ask because the lowes is local and on the shelf. Thanks again, no sence in having dull knives.
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I'd get the DMT clamp. I seem to recall seeing some marginal or maybe not-so-positive commentary here on the forum about that Smith's kit (assuming as pictured above). Features are more limited (only 2 angle settings, I believe), and there may be other issues of construction/sturdiness, etc., but I'm not sure.
The DMT clamp can be bought/ordered separately for about $12 or so; don't have to spend the extra money on a whole Aligner kit with hones, if you don't want to. The clamp will work with any bench stone, or even with wet/dry sandpaper on a block or other elevated hard surface, to emulate a stone. Hard to beat it's versatility.
David