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Sharpmaker or Lansky
- Thread starter Nfd538
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- Aug 3, 2013
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I have both, and also have extra coarse diamonds for both sets. I've found that I get much sharper, better looking edges with the lansky, as it's a fixed angle system, but it takes much longer. For me, the sharpmaker is mostly for really quick touchups.
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If you decide on the lansky, I would recommend the 5-stone deluxe kit and an extra coarse diamond stone for it. If you want crazy mirror edges, you can also get strops and compounds.
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- Apr 7, 2014
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- 866
Reprofiling is best done on a Lansky, IMO. Much easier to grind metal away.
That said, I believe the Sharpmaker to be the superior sharpening tool for most cases, and I think you could get away with using one here since the damage isn't too bad. Perhaps pick up a couple diamond rods to assist with grinding past the damage before moving on to the typical ceramic rods.
Nfd538
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I might do that.
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The standard Sharpmaker setup is great for maintaning an edge but you'll need the Diamond or CBN rods if you want to repair or repro file an edge. (CBN's better, IMO)
Even so, a Lansky diamond system would do it better and, for the money, offers more flexibility.
I've used Lansky's basic system for years and it worked okay. But, with modern steels, you should go with a diamond system and, for the money, the DMT Deluxe Aligner system is better than Lansky's.
Even so, a Lansky diamond system would do it better and, for the money, offers more flexibility.
I've used Lansky's basic system for years and it worked okay. But, with modern steels, you should go with a diamond system and, for the money, the DMT Deluxe Aligner system is better than Lansky's.
In the lower-to-mid priced equipment, I like the DMT Aligner first (Lansky second choice) for general-purpose sharpening. The marker trick is necessary for reasonably-timed sharpening. The Sharpmaker is great for maintaining the edge- far better than a sharpening steel. The diamond rods are really a sloppy fit in the SM.. I think that introduces a problem that is nonexistent with the Aligner or Lansky for serious grinding. I have never tried the CBN rods, but I wonder if they are a sloppy fit too.
Lots of different advice and options available. It mostly comes down to personal preference, I own the DMT Aligner, Spyderco Sharpmaker (diamond and UF rods too), and some benchstones and all of these will get the job done and what has been mentioned already.
If this is all overwhelming in options and advice in what to get may I offer a different option, a Lansky Turn Box with diamond rods which can be picked up for around $20. The diamond rods are only 600grit if I remember correctly and the preset angles are 20 & 25 DPS compared to the 15 & 20 DPS on the Sharpmaker and is a bit more limited in a lot of ways but it works on the same principal and will still get you a stupidly sharp knife if you do your job right. And to be honest I think the only people who will realistically complain about the lack of a lower acute angle option are people who are very obsessed with getting a sharp knife (myself included) and I doubt most would notice the difference. The other downside is it probably take you a little bit longer to sharpen than if you had a Sharpmaker with diamond or CBN rods (they both are quite comparable in performance) but that has an upfront cost of about $100.
But I imagine you could probably do what we do with the Sharpmaker and wrap some wet or dry sandpaper around it and sharpen in an edge trailing motion when you want something more coarse or put a sharpening stone on it and rubber band it there and I think a 4in DMT Aligner XC or XXC stone would definitely solve any metal removal problems. Though it may take a small amount of additional work to removal the XXC scratch pattern if you wanted to with the included diamond rod, I would be surprise if that took more than a few minutes. And same thing can be said of the sharpmaker in these modifications.
[video=youtube;GOxPjpztXwI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOxPjpztXwI[/video]
Basically wanted to give you a cheaper alternative to get your feet wet so you have an idea of what you like before investing a lot into something you don't like using while still giving you something that work good. In the video the person is showing the one with the ceramic rods not the diamond and white ceramic rods. But information is still quite useful and well worth watching along with various videos from this person.
If this is all overwhelming in options and advice in what to get may I offer a different option, a Lansky Turn Box with diamond rods which can be picked up for around $20. The diamond rods are only 600grit if I remember correctly and the preset angles are 20 & 25 DPS compared to the 15 & 20 DPS on the Sharpmaker and is a bit more limited in a lot of ways but it works on the same principal and will still get you a stupidly sharp knife if you do your job right. And to be honest I think the only people who will realistically complain about the lack of a lower acute angle option are people who are very obsessed with getting a sharp knife (myself included) and I doubt most would notice the difference. The other downside is it probably take you a little bit longer to sharpen than if you had a Sharpmaker with diamond or CBN rods (they both are quite comparable in performance) but that has an upfront cost of about $100.
But I imagine you could probably do what we do with the Sharpmaker and wrap some wet or dry sandpaper around it and sharpen in an edge trailing motion when you want something more coarse or put a sharpening stone on it and rubber band it there and I think a 4in DMT Aligner XC or XXC stone would definitely solve any metal removal problems. Though it may take a small amount of additional work to removal the XXC scratch pattern if you wanted to with the included diamond rod, I would be surprise if that took more than a few minutes. And same thing can be said of the sharpmaker in these modifications.
[video=youtube;GOxPjpztXwI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOxPjpztXwI[/video]
Basically wanted to give you a cheaper alternative to get your feet wet so you have an idea of what you like before investing a lot into something you don't like using while still giving you something that work good. In the video the person is showing the one with the ceramic rods not the diamond and white ceramic rods. But information is still quite useful and well worth watching along with various videos from this person.
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- Apr 7, 2014
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Great idea. It took me a few years to learn what I liked and what worked best for my use cases. In the end, a simple and cheap Smith's Tri-Hone was the best way for me to learn.
I'm very partial to most of Spyderco's great sharpening tools>> however I will admit that I haven't totally mastered the GOLDENSTONE yet but I'm sure it's a great sharpening tool for many types of knife edges.
This one isn't even close I would get the Spyderco 204 Sharpmaker in a nanosecond>> however there is one caviat that can't be overlooked when getting a 204 Sharpmaker>> I very highly recommend also getting the Diamond 204 rods and the Ultra-Fine 204 stones as well>> because in my opinion the system just isn't complete without those optional extra stones.
For a kit type sharpener I haven't found anything I even like as well as I do the 204 Sharpmaker but again get the extra stones for it and do watch the DVD instructional video that comes with it because Sal really shows some really great tips on using it.
I have owned some of Lansky's sharpening equipment in the past but I've always liked Spyderco's much better overall.
This one isn't even close I would get the Spyderco 204 Sharpmaker in a nanosecond>> however there is one caviat that can't be overlooked when getting a 204 Sharpmaker>> I very highly recommend also getting the Diamond 204 rods and the Ultra-Fine 204 stones as well>> because in my opinion the system just isn't complete without those optional extra stones.
For a kit type sharpener I haven't found anything I even like as well as I do the 204 Sharpmaker but again get the extra stones for it and do watch the DVD instructional video that comes with it because Sal really shows some really great tips on using it.
I have owned some of Lansky's sharpening equipment in the past but I've always liked Spyderco's much better overall.
Things happen when you use knives and they occasionally get damaged. It's really no big deal just repair it and move on. I know I have personally damaged the edge of some of my knives and while it sucks it's a tool and sometimes the more acute edges I put on my blades don't like the rougher tasks I might end up doing maybe a few times a year and when those occasions arise you sometimes don't have the luxury of grabbing a different knife suited for it.
And if you do get the Sharpmaker get the diamond/cbn rods before the ultra fines, you thank yourself latter in how much quicker it is to reprofile to the correct angles. And in my opinion the ultra fines are not required anyway as all the higher grit stones do is give you a different cutting characteristic and doesn't make it sharper. Short version the coarser edges make a "toothy" edge and works better in slicing applications, the more "polished" or refined edges work better in push cutting applications. If you do your job on even the diamonds and produce a fully apexed burr free edge you have an extremely sharp knife all that will happen in moving up the grits is changing the behavior in how it cuts. The ultra fine rods are neat if you want the more polished edge but to be honest I would never feel the need to own it unless you actually had a real need to have a more polished edge or just wanted to see what it was about.
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I own a sharpmaker with standard stones. I would like to get the diamond and UF stones in the future but for now the standard stones work nice to maintain an edge. I also have an edge pro which I use to re-profile and in general I just like the edge pro better even for touchups and general sharpening. I don't want to muddy up the waters here but can I suggest that the sharpmaker with the extra stones (diamond and UF) will run around $150 new. The edge pro apex I will run around $165 new. You will only get the 220 and 400 grit stones with the Apex I but this will be all you need to get by. You can always add more stones to it in the future. That would be my suggestion. I am a fan of the sharpmaker in general, just not for repairing damaged edges. Just my 2 cents.