Question about the lanskey sharpening system

[charlesh1028]

Hello all. I was thinking about getting the Lanskey sharpening system and had a few questions on how to use it. How thin should I bring the knife edge down to before using this to put the final edge on? Should I grind the knife edge to this desired thickness before or after heat treat before using the Lanskey system? Sorry if the questions are confusing. Thanks for the info

 

[Ryan J]

I'll chime in since no one else has. I use a kme and it's a similar system. As you learn you may find the lansky has some short comings. But I grind my edge down with a fine belt at low speed until it's completely appexed, that is that I've formed a burr, then finish it out on the kme to make it uniform.

And you never want to have it sharp before heat treat. Depending on the steel you want to leave it a certain thickness. Here's a mods advice on that:

Shallow hardening carbon steels, 1095,W-1,W-2, and low manganese steel - .040-.050

Deeper hardening carbon steels, steel with more manganese, and higher alloy steels - .030-.040

Air hardening steels with plate quench -.010-.020

 

[charlesh1028]

I'll chime in since no one else has. I use a kme and it's a similar system. As you learn you may find the lansky has some short comings. But I grind my edge down with a fine belt at low speed until it's completely appexed, that is that I've formed a burr, then finish it out on the kme to make it uniform.

And you never want to have it sharp before heat treat. Depending on the steel you want to leave it a certain thickness. Here's a mods advice on that:

Shallow hardening carbon steels, 1095,W-1,W-2, and low manganese steel - .040-.050

Deeper hardening carbon steels, steel with more manganese, and higher alloy steels - .030-.040

Air hardening steels with plate quench -.010-.020

This more then helped out! I appreciate you taking time to answer. Thanks a bunch.

 

[Yugami]

I have the kit with extra course and extra fine stones. I didn't trust myself grinding more than the primary bevel so I used the extra course stone to our the actual edge on. Wasn't fast but wasn't too slow either.

Take your time and be gentle. The stones don't need a lot of pressure to work and extra pressure makes the edge worse.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

I use Lansky stones as hand held stones for working plunges, guard shoulders and such ... never for sharpening.

I have two or three Lansky's systems and accessories sitting around the shops. I don't use them at all for sharpening, because they are inherently dangerous. I don't give them away or sell them for the same reason.

Moving a tiny stone over a blade that sticks out in the air with your fingers just millimeters above the edge is asking for a cut. Your brain concentrates all of its attention on the stone, not the sharp edge. Cuts are easy when you are looking elsewhere when sharp things are sticking out. Additionally, the task divides your attention, with one hand trying to hold and control the knife and the other trying to control the stone.


I far prefer having the blade in my fingers and having control of it with both hands as I sharpen. My brain knows where it is all the time and knows where the sharp part is. Control is simple, and both my hands are always behind the edge.

I have used a few systems that hold the blade in a clamp and the stones are placed in a cradle. The whole blade is moved on the arm. These are OK if you feel the need to have a fixed angle to the edge. They still have an inherent problem because you are in front of the edge, not behind it.

I don't see why anyone can't learn to sharpen free-hand. People put far too much stock in a specific angle and a jig to attain it. The edge being sharp and at a suitable angle to do the task the knife is designed for is what you are shooting for. That is best gained with practice and training your eye to recognize what different angles look like. A bonus is that you generally get a slightly convexed edge when hand sharpening, and this is a stronger edge.

To back this brain talk up, watch a togishi sharpen a sword. He holds the super sharp blade in his bare hands, often with no cloth or padding, and rapidly moves it up and down the water stones. The blade becomes an extension of his hands, and his brain controls it as easily as it controls his fingers when writing. Even though he is intently staring at the spot where the stone and blade are interacting, his brain knows where the tip and tang are just as well as it knows where his ears are ( even though he can't see them. Cuts are rare.

 

[sharpdentist]

I have sharpened on KME with diamond to razor sharp, I have used wet stones,and also the spyderco sharpmaker.
The system I like most is by far the cheappest one on the market: sandpaper over mouse-pad.It creates excellent convex edges, and can be easily repeated .I use the KME on zdp189 or other extremely hard metals to eliminate the angle along the bevel before moving to the sandpaper.There are several youtube uploads about this way of sharpening.Try it.