Lansky vs Spyderco sharpeners. Your recomendations ?

Originally posted by Sergiusz Mitin
Quite naturally it is everyone’s private matter how to evaluate the value between their money and time. But let’s compare comparable things only, please. You are spending your bucks once for diamond rods but you are wasting your time each time using medium rods for the tasks they are not intended for. BTW, do you think they do not wear out, especially at the angles, when reprofiling edges?
Click to expand...

While it's not my goal to be arguementative, you aren't quite accurate about wasting your time each time, you only really waste your time once per knife, although this is still more often than you pay for diamond rods. The reason for this is once you reprofile, matching that profile again is much easier all the following times. However I will concede that my willingness to reprofile on the alumina ceramic stones is probably seriously increasing wear, that's just the way the boat rocks and is a liability i'm willing to accept (for now).

As to Lanskys... I don't quite understand how a Lansky clamp n rod rig would be any good at recurves, I will take the posters' words in support. I will however mention that the great n glorious stones for serrations aren't included in most of Lasnky's "standard" packages.
 
I may be repeating points that have been said earlier but...

I have a Lansky 'clamp n rod' set and from hours of use I've noticed that you have to install each rod into each stone and then adjust the angle of each rod to ensure at the very least they are all identical and straight otherwise each stone is working a new angle... The Gatco system does not have this problem.. Not impossible to hone a razor's edge with Lansky but too much trouble and a hassle if you don't know about this system flaw..

Also after some hours of sharpening I've noticed that all of my blade tips were rounded.. Basically the Lansky stone will rotate about the rod on the tip of the blade.. Another hard lesson to learn..

I am dissapointed with my Lansky and I would suggest looking at www.razoredgesystems.com I haven't used this but its certainly going to be my next 'sharpening' purchase.
 
I like to consider myself a civil person by most folks standards... but I guess we all go astray sometimes.

I'd like to be the first to apologize for the pissing contest this has turned into, it kinda snuck up on us and we lost track of what was important, the original poster. I know that I got caught up in this, that and the other technicality, which sometimes was even based on misinformation. This isn't supposed to be a competition, we were asked for our opinions and i've just come to realize that in my past couple posts i've over-stepped my bounds in a perhaps desperate strike out against the lansky system. Why did I do this? I guess it's mostly because the Lansky never appealed to me and I have a friend of mine who's had little sucess with it (however i'm also pretty sure he doesn't know jack about sharpening), i've been very pleased with the result from my 204 Sharpmaker, it's not as flexible in terms of grit or even angle as the lansky, but it's all i've ever really needed. So hey, if the Lansky appeals to ya go ahead and get it, i'm sure it's a fine system - I maintain my endorsement of the 204 and retract none of my statements that haven't already been addressed with, but I do apologize for the manner in which I handled this post - a sort of bitter political struggle behind the facade of civility over SHARPENING SYSTEMS. I am shamed.
 
Youngcutter,

I thought you did okay. I even started looking at the other sharpening systems, even though I still like my Lansky for the type knives I use.
 
Youngcutter the Lansky is a good system as well as the sharpmaker. If you don't take the time to learn iether system they don't work well, or as well as they can. No matter what system anyone uses speed will not result in the best edge you can get. Any type of sharpening should be done with a little care to get real good edges.
 
In my humble opinion, I prefer the SharpMaker. There are downsides to the SharpMaker though. The medium hones just take too much work to fully reprofile many edges. You also have to work the tip separately from the rest of the knife, which can be a pain when reprofiling. The SharpMaker has many bonuses that outweigh the downfalls though. It’ll sharpen knives of most common sizes, and will easily sharpen stuff other than knives. The setup is simple, so there’s very little to go wrong. The SharpMaker just plain rocks once you’ve gotten the initial profiling done.

I have issues with the Lansky. The rods are very thin, and bend out of shape quite easily. Lansky really should have used thicker or stiffer rods. Their diamond hones also wear out VERY quickly. Then there’s the whole issue of the rather ambiguous angles that are formed, due to the geometry of the system. The Lansky will do recurves without a problem, but large knives are next to impossible.

Now that I think about it, I just hate V-grind edge bevels. I wish that manufacturers would make more full convex grinds, where I wouldn’t even be tempted to use these infernal contraptions. V-grinds bite the big one.

With all that said, I’m preferring to freehand sharpen more and more these days. Many of my knives, especially the hollow ground ones, do not have perfect grinds. When these knives are reprofiled on either of the above systems, the sharpening tends to exacerbate the issue. I get a huge edge bevel at the tip on one side of the blade, and a tiny edge bevel on the other side of the tip. This looks terrible if you ask me, and couldn’t be good for the blade. I can compensate for the knife’s lack of perfection when freehand sharpening.

So at this point in my life, I’m beginning to think that there’s no easy way out. If you want the best results, you have to take the time and learn how to freehand sharpen. If you’d rather shoot for “almost as good” and not spend your life practicing, get a SharpMaker and a set of diamond rods for it. It’s easy and very good.
 
Originally posted by ErikD
... Lansky doesn't have accurate angle markings...
Click to expand...
That's not entirely true. The angle markings is probably exact for a certain blade with a certain blade depth. The edge of the blade, the angle guide and the hone & rod makes a right angle triangle, so if the edge is further into the clamp, then angle made by the hone will change. It's not the case that the angle is not accurate, but it's just the design does not allow you to use the angle guide and put the marked angle on the blade.
As to other people saying that the Lansky won't work well on recurved blade, I would agree because you want the hone to be narrower than the diameter of the recurve, but the 1" stones are usually not enough to work well with recuved blade, but then there are others who would be much more experienced with the system and can probably work with recurved blades too.
I've no experience with the sharpmaker, but I always hear good things about it. I might invest on it one day.
 
V-grinds! Bad! I'd rather hand hone. Both give me no edge but V-grind wears me out. Sharpening by hand only frustrates me.
 
Calyth is right. I had not before thought of what he pointed out.

The only way angle can remain constant as blade width changes is if the height of the blade clamp remains relative to blade width. He is correct. A very narrow blade will increase edge angle. Outstanding Calyth.
 
Thanks.
I think I already figured out the width of the blade that should be sticking out of clamp in order to have the same angle as marked by the clamp on my Gatco.
I'm just a boring person in doing all the trig to figure all that out. :barf:
Update:
Given that the gatco system would be accurate at a certain blade width, I figure the blade has to stick out 1.5 cm (or 19/32") out of the clamp in order for the markings to be close to accurate.
Evidently, blades with the thickness of a typical slipjoint (or ones in multitools) would not make that length no matter how you use it.
It sounds like the sharpmaker is a better choice now.
 
This sure seems like alot of fuss over nothing. I have a big grinder, about a 3 foot diam. wheel that I bought at a garage sale. the guy used to work for the railroad or something...Put on a good pair of goggles and some hearing protection, (gets a little noisy when that shower of sparks starts flying off the blade) fire that puppy up and really lean into it. As long as you wear gloves and keep a bucket of ice water handy, you can reprofile an anvil if you want to. Not to mention, you get all kinds of pretty looking rainbow colors all over the blade. Be more than happy to sharpen anybodies custom knives if you want to send them my way. Just pay the shipping!
 
Originally posted by calyth

That's not entirely true. The angle markings is probably exact for a certain blade with a certain blade depth. The edge of the blade, the angle guide and the hone & rod makes a right angle triangle, so if the edge is further into the clamp, then angle made by the hone will change. It's not the case that the angle is not accurate, but it's just the design does not allow you to use the angle guide and put the marked angle on the blade.


Sure it does. You need to ajust the rod on the hone if you are really anal about having the exact angle that is marked on the hole.
Click to expand...
 
Can't you use a small DMT coarse stone and then jury-rig it to the rods of the Sharpmaker to reprofile the edges faster?
 
Personally, I have both systems, and they're both good.

The Sharpmaker gets those blades very sharp. Downside, is that it requires patience (something that I don't necessarily have in large supply), especially for that initial sharpening when you establish that new 40 degree blade angle.

Because of that reason, I primarily use the Lansky system. It's quick, it's easy, but it won't get the blades quite as sharp. True, the Lansky will sharpen your blades, but for me anyway, it's performance is not up to the same level of sharpness as the Sharpmaker.
 
Very good thread. People always frown upon the Lansky system but it's a very good sharpening system IF you take the time to learn it, (as with all the others). Once learned though, you can sharpen a knife in thirty minutes or less, (including reprofiling), tops and to me the Lansky is the easiest of them all. A caution here, FORGET blades larger than about 4-5 inches and ESPECIALLY if they are thick spined. There are a lot of misnomers about Lanskey's but the biggest one of them all is that you can't get a blade razor or "hair popping" sharp with them. NOT TRUE!

The BEST favor you can do for yourself with a Lansky is get a FINE DIAMOND hone. Cheap and worth MORE than ALL your other Lansky hones.

First of all, the Lansky system is VERY FORGIVING! RELAX and FORGET about the rods being perfectly aligned with the hones. Just get them the best you can. I just put them on my kitchen counter top to align. After the rod is inserted into the hone and IF you do have to BEND, just match them so they look decent, THAT'S GOOD ENOUGH! Don't stress here about perfect aligment! Also, a good tip is to put together all the hones and rods you will use, BEFORE you start sharpening.

Start with the the 25 degree angle hole. Also, start with the FINE DIAMOND hone, (or the coarse hone, IF you're reprofiling). Now here's a GREAT hint I got for Mr. Talmadge. Just give even and firm, (let the stone do the work), pressure to either side of the blade, (your choice here, start either tip to tang or vice-versa), and keep going, no matter how many strokes it takes. When you feel an even burr along the edge on the opposite side, (or bottom), of the blade, it's time to flip it over. THEN REPEAT THE ABOVE! When you feel a burr AGAIN on the opposite side, flip it over once more. Now you are going to COUNT strokes! Do ten, (or twenty or whatever), on the burr side and once again, let the hone do the work and don't bear down too hard. Flip over and do the same on the opposite side, (remember, COUNT STROKES!). Keep this up until you get a sharp edge but always remember to end it on the OPPOSITE side of where you started. To save arm hair here, just lightly touch the edge to your thumb nail and if it bites in and won't scrape over the top, it's SHARP.

Now go to the 30 degree angle hole and REPEAT THE ABOVE! Don't worry, this step will go quickly and you will end up with a durable and desirable convex edge. Believe me, if you've followed all of this, you WILL HAVE a razor sharp AND slightly "toothy" edge. If you're after a highly polished edge, just go to the "extra fine" Lansky stone and VERY LIGHTLY touch each side of the blade about five times.

After you're finished, give all the tools a light going over with a soapy common Scotchbrite green dish pad, rinse and let them dry a few minutes.

I know this all sounds complicated, but it's really very easy and the Lansky is a great sharpening system for small to medium blades.
 
Gene,
There are a lot of misnomers about Lanskey's but the biggest one of them all is that you can't get a blade razor or "hair popping" sharp with them. NOT TRUE!
Click to expand...
Indeed!
Seriously, if you have sharpening hones with suitable grit and know how to use them – I really do not see any reason why you couldn’t obtain required result no matter what kind of sharpener they are used with. Of course staying within this device’s technical abilities...

The biggest source of frustration is the misunderstanding of sharpening process base what sometimes causes to use sharpening devices wrong way or outside their technical limitations. Here you can find nice example...

Read carefully Sharpening FAQ (Joe Talmadge’s work is here, at BladeForums), thing thoroughly on what you are doing but not only how you are doing – and either sharpening device will work nicely for you.

But the best possible – master free hand sharpening. If you will do it the simple and cost efficient DMT Duo-Sharp sharpening plate (one side coarse, another fine) supported with the set of SPYDERCO ceramic ProFiles will be quite enough for each sharpening work.

I have a lot of sharpening devices but these I use the most frequently.
 
So what about the Edge-Pro Professional... :) Pricey.., but awfully good...??


"Hunters seek what they [WANT].., Seekers hunt what they [NEED]"
 
My recommendation:

Use the search engine on obvious words and you'll find a WEALTH of info.

Sharpmaker
203
204
Lansky
DMT
sharpener
sharpen

There is some great stuff out there if you wade through some of the shorter posts...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top