Need a good sharpener system...for a beginner

R

rydude87

Joined
Feb 27, 2010
Messages
46
Hi,

So I just got the becker bk2, and have some other knives such as the kershaw nrg 2, kershaw ram, kershaw scallion.

I will be using my becker for when i go camping. I really do not want to mess my becker up by sharpening it.

I was thinking of getting the spyderco sharpmaker, but they do not have a 20 degree angle like on the becker. So i guess I will rule that out?

Which of these would be best especially for the bk2 and my other knives (and knives that I will purchase in the future like a spyderco endura etc)? I do not use my knives that often, maybe weekly or even a little less.

1) DMT Diafold magna guide:


2) or the lanksy system.

On amazon, there are different lanksys system. Which would be good if i don't want to spend much money and dont use my knives 24/7 and dont really edc a blade? What's the difference between these?

Lansky 3 hone :

The universal one :

The deluxe 5 stone one:

The professional one :

Thanks for your help in advance!! I truly appreciate it!
 
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The three Hone Lansky will likely be just fine for you. You can always buy extra stones for it if you need to go with a diamond or extra fine down the road.
I've always been partial to the Spyderco, even though I have both. The Spyderco is just more versatile, and can be used as a flat stone if you ever decide to start sharpening that way.
That's my $.02
 
Get one of these. DMT Aligner Quick Edge Kit

sharpener_147.jpg
 
Honestly, cardboard, mousepad, sandpaper and green compound will do you right in the long-run. If you YouTube mousepad sharpening and cardboard stropping you'll be set for a good, long time.

Also, when Becker says 20 they mean per side so technically the sharpmaker has you covered.

Good luck!
 
I would get the Lansky Deluxe to start out, the Sharpmaker is good but not better, definitely not $20 better. It's nice to throw in a backpack or use as a flat stone with very big blades but it's not faster or more precise for normal jobs on knives. Something that is $25-30 is good to see if you will actually keep using it on a regular basis or if it will sit in a drawer or closet. I get a consistently better edge with a 30 year old version of a Lansky system (LoRay) than I did with the Sharpmaker I had and usually take a Lansky double sided folding diamond paddle on trips.
 
For what it's worth, it's not too hard to find your angle on an unguided stone. Hold the blade perpendicular to the stone (90 degrees) then visually halve the angle to 45 degrees. Halve it again and you're at 22.5 degrees. Then just back the angle down a hair more and you're at 20. You can verify that you're matching the factory bevel by painting your edge with colored permanent marker. If you're uniformly removing the marker from the bevel you're right on target. If you're wearing just one side of the bevel that means you're too far in that direction and need to tilt back towards the colored zone.
 
stampede said:
Honestly, cardboard, mousepad, sandpaper and green compound will do you right in the long-run. If you YouTube mousepad sharpening and cardboard stropping you'll be set for a good, long time.

Also, when Becker says 20 they mean per side so technically the sharpmaker has you covered.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

I agree on both counts. The Sharpmaker, which I have, I like, is easy, and is inexpensive, will do that edge angle.

But a soft-ish substrate (like cardboard or a phonebook), bars of black emery and chrome oxide compound, and a range of wet/dry sandpaper (I use 300, 600, 1000, 1500, and 2000) I find really does the job just more than adequately (unless you are into full length splitting of free-hanging mink pubic hairs). Little bit of a learning curve, but if I can get it, anybody can. If you master it, the range of substrates and abrasives available in a pinch becomes almost infinite.
 
If you think you may want to go freehand in the future, I would go with the DMT Aligner.

You can use the Alingher guild with benchstones once you get the hang of it.

You simply place the guide on the table top. You can't do that with the Lansky system.
 
Oh snap, so if the lansky can only do 20% and not 40% is that still ok?

stampede said:
Honestly, cardboard, mousepad, sandpaper and green compound will do you right in the long-run. If you YouTube mousepad sharpening and cardboard stropping you'll be set for a good, long time.

Also, when Becker says 20 they mean per side so technically the sharpmaker has you covered.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

Thanks for everyone's help. I am deciding between the dmt aligner which is $35, or the lansky 3 hone which is only $25. Is it much better to get the deluxe 5 stone one or the universal lanksy??

What woudl be a good stone to use then if i do it freehand? Any amazon links you could share?
 
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A sharpmaker and leather strop get my edges hair-popping sharp, it's easy to master, it doesn't scratch my blades, it's very portable, and the 30/40 degree options suit me fine. Of course, you can always shim or, otherwise, incline it to adjust the angle (one side at a time). I'm not on expert on everything that's available out there but, after using standard honing stones for 30 years, I'm delighted with the Sharpmaker. I've given it to many of the budding knife-lovers in my family, and it's worked great.
 
Thanks for your help! The only thing is that the sharpmaker is pretty expensive compared to the 3 lansky one or even the dmt ones
 
I have one of the Lansky sets and use it most often. I can free hand sharpen on stones and do a good job but the lansky set really lets me put a shaving sharp edge on a blade which I like.
 
rydude87 said:
Hi,

So I just got the becker bk2, and have some other knives such as the kershaw nrg 2, kershaw ram, kershaw scallion.

I will be using my becker for when i go camping. I really do not want to mess my becker up by sharpening it.

I was thinking of getting the spyderco sharpmaker, but they do not have a 20 degree angle like on the becker. So i guess I will rule that out?

Which of these would be best especially for the bk2 and my other knives (and knives that I will purchase in the future like a spyderco endura etc)? I do not use my knives that often, maybe weekly or even a little less.

1) DMT Diafold magna guide:


2) or the lanksy system.

On amazon, there are different lanksys system. Which would be good if i don't want to spend much money and dont use my knives 24/7 and dont really edc a blade? What's the difference between these?

Lansky 3 hone :

The universal one :

The deluxe 5 stone one:

The professional one :

Thanks for your help in advance!! I truly appreciate it!
Click to expand...


OK, so here is my opinion on the matter. I am sharpening impaired and just now working myself up from the bottom. I banged my head against a wall for many years with various stones and guide-rods, whatever. The thing that I am just now beginning to realize is that my martial arts instructor is right yet again. Everything is founded on basics. Murray Carter's sharpening DVD is a pretty good start. He teaches basic sharpening using Japanese waterstones. The thing to keep in mind is that you will not be able to replicate his skill right away. After watching the DVD and "cerebrally" learning the basics, FIND SOMEONE TO WORK THROUGH ALL THE STEPS WITH YOU! I cant emphasize this enough. It only takes one wrong interpretation of a fundamental step to ruin the whole process and this is usually easily corrected by an experienced eye. Then, once you know HOW to practice, you can do it effectively! Practice builds muscle memory. Just make sure you are practicing correctly.
 
I use a Sharpmaker for 20 degree angles all day long. Beckers work fine? I also use a DMT Aligner (I prefer DMT diamond hones) for hogging away metal to re-profile like I am sitting here doing with my RatManDu right now.
 
I'll vote for the Lansky. I have never used the DMT Aligner, but understand it's pretty good, too. When I started sharpening, a salesman recommended the Lansky 3-stone (regular stones) plus a diamond extra-coarse (for reprofiling), and a pedestal to hold it. That was good advice, and I used it for a long time. I upgraded with the finer stones about a week later. Re: The Sharpmaker, can do a nice job, but many, many knives are not the 'claimed' 20 degrees/side. This can then involve hours of working to reprofile the knife (literally, hours). I don't recommend sandpaper or freehand sharpening unless you are going to practice and keep doing it often enough to stay in practice. The sandpaper also wears out very quickly. The Lansky (or DMT, the Gatco, etc.) will produce good results for beginners and occasional sharpeners. The Lansky lit the fire that has caused me to buy lots of things, including the Edge Pro and Wicked Edge- so be careful-
it can be addictive!!!
Good Sharpening,
Dave
 
I think I may go with the lansky 3 stone (not the diamond) version. Do i need the universal one for serrated blades or the 5 stone one with ultra fine hone? Is that necessary?


Also, after i go camping and use the knife, should i just use the fine stone of the lansky 3 stone?

And, all the lanskys system has the same components right? Is it just the more expensive ones have more stones?

Lastly, How do i find out the angle of the blade (or one side of the blade). Do i just google it? Because I would need to know for sharpening it. What if i forgot the name of the knife i bought?
 
It's easy to figure out the angle of a blade by coloring the edge with a marker and hitting with your sharpener, adjust the angles until it takes off the marker evenly. Then maybe write down the angle used on said knife for later sharpenings.
EDIT: never used one but some sharpening supply stores sell a bevel angle measurement tool, might look into it if you think you'd need something like it
 
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Now dont hold me to this but from the reading I did back when I was going to get the lansky for my son is that the holder can scratch blades and loosen up. Also the stone will eventually wear. So I chose DMT.
 
Hmm IC. Plus the DMT can be used freehand if i start wanting to do freehand eh? And i can bring it camping with me as well right?

So i guess my choices are now the DMT or the lansky. The spyderco seems so expensive at $52 and only can have 2 different angles

Just fyi, i probably wont be using the sharpener all THAT much, as I use my knives on a weekly basis
 
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