Sharpening systems

L

LilLaz

Joined
Mar 11, 2012
Messages
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Going to be ordering my first knife soon (Either Skyline or Persistence know sure yet). Someone recommended the Lansky sharpening system, and I was wondering if this was my best bet in the $30 price range.
 
I saw enough negative reviews of the Lansky (and many positives!) that I went with the Sharpmaker. I've been really happy with it (and as a novice, no less!).
 
i have lansky and sharpmaker, Sharpmaker gets used all the time, lansky stays in the closet, save the money and get the sharpmaker , then eventually get the uf rods and the diamond rods. I love my sharpmaker and besides the edge pro or wicked edge, It's the best sharpener i've ever used, and is a whole lot cheaper than an EP or WE
 
Allen R. said:
i have lansky and sharpmaker, Sharpmaker gets used all the time, lansky stays in the closet, save the money and get the sharpmaker , then eventually get the uf rods and the diamond rods. I love my sharpmaker and besides the edge pro or wicked edge, It's the best sharpener i've ever used, and is a whole lot cheaper than an EP or WE
Click to expand...
Is this the right one?
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000Q9C4AE
Does this come with everything I need to sharpen, or do I need to buy more things?
 
Allen R. said:
i have lansky and sharpmaker, Sharpmaker gets used all the time, lansky stays in the closet, save the money and get the sharpmaker , then eventually get the uf rods and the diamond rods. I love my sharpmaker and besides the edge pro or wicked edge, It's the best sharpener i've ever used, and is a whole lot cheaper than an EP or WE
Click to expand...

Someone also suggested this:
http://www.amazon.com/Lansky-4-rod-Crock-Sharpener-LCD5D/dp/B000B8FW0E
I saw it was similar to the Sharpmaker.
 
I have both the lansky and sharpmaker. Get the sharpmaker for sure! You don't want the turnbox, it's impossible to keep a point with it.
 
Lansky's guided system works very well IF you want to completely re-bevel a blade. I have it, and use it expressly for such purposes. For day-to-day maintenance, the Sharpmaker does just fine for those tasks. For a brand new knife, that's not a bad way to start out. There are LOTs of options out there, for ways to maintain an already pretty sharp edge.
 
Sharpmaker will do you fine. Unless you want to try freehanding then I'd go with a DMT diamond or water stone. Just don't let the knives get dull and you'll be fine with pretty much what ever you get.
 
LilLaz said:
Someone also suggested this:
http://www.amazon.com/Lansky-4-rod-Crock-Sharpener-LCD5D/dp/B000B8FW0E
I saw it was similar to the Sharpmaker.
Click to expand...

I own this (in fact it's currently my primary sharpening system), and have nothing bad to say about it. As long as you don't let your blades slide off of the rods, you won't round off your tip. For the money, it provides excellent results. This, combined with an old leather belt, and some newspaper wrapped around the base of the Turn Box as a two stage strop, give me hair shaving edges time after time.

I'll be picking up the Lansky guided stone system soon so that I have the ability to reprofile blades as well, which is something that the Turn Box does lack. Together, I'd wager they'd make quite a pair, and will give me plenty of options when it comes to sharpening.
 
You can also avoid rounding or blunting tips by using a tip-to-heel stroke on the rods, instead of the conventional heel-to-tip stroke. Gently place the tip flush to the rod, then stroke away and down, until the heel/ricasso stops against the edge of the rod. When sharpening tips of blades, that's how I usually go about it; I do this on stones too. It's impossible for the tip to slip off this way.
 
can i apply my boyhood sharpening method for chrome/vanadium carbide blade like cpm s30v? my method is to put a few drops of glo metal polish on a slab of smooth glass, put in a few drops of oil, and gently lap the edge for hours until the oil-polish has turned into an oily black crud. please don't smirk. i used to sharpen my home-made knives using "snappable" cutter blades and found i can actually improve on the factory edge.

what about zdp-189?
 
Hello people of the knife,

Had a question I was hoping someone could help me out with. I did not want to start a new thread while this one exists.
I wanted to put in my order for the BK14 at knifecenter. I also wanted to order a guided angle sharpening system.
I'd like to order them together because the cost of international shipping is actually a couple $ more than cost of each.

I was looking at the Lansky Deluxe system with 5 hones. Extra coarse, Coarse, Medium, Fine and Ultra Fine. NOT the diamond version. This is the only guided angle sharpening system available on this website in my price range with this many hones and this is the only website as far as I know that ships regularly to India. (If there are any others please let me know)

http://www2.knifecenter.com/item/LSLKCLX/lansky-deluxe-knife-sharpening-system-

Is it sufficient for my knives? I don't own any super-steels yet. I have a SOG NW Ranger 2.0 in AUS-8, a Kershaw Scamp in 8Cr13MoV (Screwed up edge geometry with a bench stone) and now planning for the BK14 in 1095 CroVan. I also use reconditioned metal-saw blades and some el-cheapo Chinese slip joint folders for EDC. I have no idea what steel they are made of or the hardness. I strop on an old leather belt nailed to a plank with no stropping compounds. Seems to work.

I have read a few negative reviews on the Lansky product but mostly positive. Though I manage to get a decent user edge (push cuts newspaper along the grain but not against) with my current tools, my Smiths' 3-in-1 appears to dull my Scamp and Ranger. It does fine on my cheapo stuff. Any advice on why this happens would be appreciated. I realize I am probably doing something wrong. I also tend to get different edge angles on both sides when I sharpen freehand on my Carborundum Universal stones.

I am a rank novice at this and that's one of the reasons I don't want to spend a packet on high-end knives or systems until I have some level of proficiency with lesser systems and a fair bit more practice at freehand sharpening.

Another theoretical question I have is on the fixed angle on these systems. Wouldn't the angle vary a little with the size of knife?
I mean whatever angle the guide holds the rod at, a wider blade will have the angle decrease a little and a narrower blade will have it increase. One would have top move the clamp for really long blades to apparently. It would stay consistent on both sides anyway, I understand but will this variance be significant?

Advice and recommendations please.

Thank you
Vasu
 
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Vasu,

This kit (Lansky Deluxe) will handle the steels you have mentioned (AUS-8, 8Cr13MoV, 1095 Cro-Van). The 'cheap' knives you mention are a toss-up; I'm sure the steel's hardness or abrasion-resistance won't be a factor with these hones, but it's more a matter of whether those blades will take or hold a decent edge in the first place.

At some future time, IF you feel the need for it, a single supplementary diamond hone in extra-coarse or coarse could also be very useful to speed up re-bevelling on more challenging steels or heavier blades. The small size of the Lansky hones can slow the work down on a very large or thick blade, with lots of metal to be removed.

You are correct in assuming the angle is dependant on blade size. Almost entirely dependant on that, in fact. The positioning of the blade in the clamp will also have some effect; more deeply-set into the clamp will make the angle wider, and further out will make it more acute. If you are concerned about hitting a specific number for your angle, I'd highly recommend measuring it, instead of relying on the marked values on the clamp.
 
Thank you, David,
I saw no replies in the day so I started a new thread for this topic and Robert (midnightflyer) and Kai Winters provided some great guidance as well. I have linked the post here. I have a couple of more questions in there mostly stemming from my inability (Like all others targeted by these systems) to hold a constant edge while freehand sharpening on my bench stone. Any and all advice is highly appreciated :) Thanks again.
Oh and your are spot on about my cheap knives. They don't take a particularly good edge so I usually go at them with a little ceramic stick before almost every use. I have one surprise Chinese slip-joint that was a very lucky find at a flea market for $1.50 that takes a wicked edge and holds it for surprisingly long through all of the light duties a 2 inch blade would perform. The other Chinese folders all suck tho.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/938355-Lansky-Deluxe-Guided-Angle-Sharpening-System



Obsessed with Edges said:
Vasu,

This kit (Lansky Deluxe) will handle the steels you have mentioned (AUS-8, 8Cr13MoV, 1095 Cro-Van). The 'cheap' knives you mention are a toss-up; I'm sure the steel's hardness or abrasion-resistance won't be a factor with these hones, but it's more a matter of whether those blades will take or hold a decent edge in the first place.

At some future time, IF you feel the need for it, a single supplementary diamond hone in extra-coarse or coarse could also be very useful to speed up re-bevelling on more challenging steels or heavier blades. The small size of the Lansky hones can slow the work down on a very large or thick blade, with lots of metal to be removed.

You are correct in assuming the angle is dependant on blade size. Almost entirely dependant on that, in fact. The positioning of the blade in the clamp will also have some effect; more deeply-set into the clamp will make the angle wider, and further out will make it more acute. If you are concerned about hitting a specific number for your angle, I'd highly recommend measuring it, instead of relying on the marked values on the clamp.
Click to expand...
 
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