Swiss Army on Wicked Edge and/or Lansky

[wodahs]

Hey all - new to the forum. I recently started researching knife sharpening and will have a bunch of questions. I like to research my questions first so will hopefully get some advice when I run into brick walls. After a bit of research, the 2 systems I'm probably going to land on are the Lansky (just for portability like keeping in tackle box or car) & Wicked Edge (for home use). But that isn't the point of this post...

Question: I have a few swiss army knives and some of them have a large number of features (14+) making the handles fairly large/thick.
1) Are these 2 systems capable of sharpening the smaller and larger blades that are common in swiss army knives - or will the handles get in the way?
2) Also are the blades to small for the clamps to hold such that the stones would clear the vice?
3) Specifically for the wicked edge - will the low angle adapter work for these knives?
4) Finally - the swiss army website states that these knives should be sharpened at angles between 15-20 dps - anyone know what the factory dps is?

Thanks!

 

[kreisler]

I'm watching tennis right now and am typing on my phone so let's keep my comments short and sweet.

in short, wicked edge and Iansky are NOT the way to go for SAK. I'll let others explain why, the technicals. in fact , i doht own either system. for SAK the #1 recommendation is either 204MF or 204-freehanding .
keep in mind that sak blades are thin (and soft omfg) and the metal gets consumed fast with any guided rod sharpening system. even if you could sharpen sak on those systems, in practice, in reality, you woht do it. you can let me just tell you that that's the case and you simply take my words, trust and believe them, or you doht believe me and have the need to re-experience the situation yourself for you to learn and accept. go ahead then, i doht mind. accept my "i told you so" in future tho.
also search youtube <swiss army lansky> or <victorinox wicked edge> and show us the results you got lol.

oki back to tennis. by.
kreisl out.
and welcom on the forum

 

[Twindog]

You can make the Wicked Edge system work for thin blades, although it may take some tinkering to make it work on narrow, thin blades.

However, what's the point? SAK blades are thin and soft. You can sharpen them quickly and easily on a regular stone or on a much cheaper system like the Sharpmaker the Worksharp guided system (non motorized).

And welcome to the forum.

 

[wodahs]

K kreisler & T Twindog thanks for the welcomes!

yeah that’s my point - not really much on the internet or videos for using either of these on SAK - for the reasons I suspect you guys mentioned. My main use of sharpening won’t be the SAKs so don’t want to buy something just for that. Sharpening the SAK would be a nice to have not a must have. The sharp maker has some pretty good reviews but I feel like it is a pricey system - especially if you add the diamond and extra fine rods! The lansky master’s edge seems like a similar product and more budget friendly - but not much info on the internet compared to sharpmaker. You mention that there is a way to use the lansky controlled angle or wicked edge with some tinkering- wonder what that would be and if the hassle is worth it.

thanks again!

 

[Old Biker]

4) Finally - the swiss army website states that these knives should be sharpened at angles between 15-20 dps - anyone know what the factory dps is?

Thanks!

I just measured 6 Victorinox, 3 Victorinox from the Delemont factory, and 4 Wenger knives. 5 of the 6 Victorinox knives measured right on 20 dps. The sixth one was 20 dps on one side and 15 dps on the other. Two of the Delemont knives were 19 dps and the third was 18 dps. All of those knives still had their factory edge. All of the Wenger knives were acquired used. Two appear to still have their factory edge. They measure 15 dps on one side and 17 dps on the other. The other two show obvious signs of use and measure 23 to 25 dps. Thses were measured using the Gritomatic Goniometer.

O.B.

 

[wodahs]

I just measured 6 Victorinox, 3 Victorinox from the Delemont factory, and 4 Wenger knives. 5 of the 6 Victorinox knives measured right on 20 dps. The sixth one was 20 dps on one side and 15 dps on the other. Two of the Delemont knives were 19 dps and the third was 18 dps. All of those knives still had their factory edge. All of the Wenger knives were acquired used. Two appear to still have their factory edge. They measure 15 dps on one side and 17 dps on the other. The other two show obvious signs of use and measure 23 to 25 dps. Thses were measured using the Gritomatic Goniometer.

O.B.

thanks for responding to that part of my question! Sounds like the blades in the SAK will likely be 20 dps. Oh and cool tool - didn’t know something like that existed.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

I've used either/both of a Lansky and a DMT Aligner clamp (with 'Magna-Guide' and DMT Diafolds) to put a new edge on a Victorinox SAK's blade. IT CAN WORK. Some iterations of Lansky's clamps do better than others, with the small-blade notch milled into the front edge of the clamp making the difference. I sharpened mine at the 20 dps setting, when I used it. And it worked out just fine.

Part of what makes it potentially easier with SAKs from Victorinox is, their blade grinds are already nice & thin overall. So, no matter what rig is used, it won't take a lot of time or work to completely reprofile the edge on a Vic SAK. They're easy to sharpen, no matter what is used.

 

[Alberta Ed]

Freehand sharpening works well on thin/soft blades like SAKs. Don't worry too much about the angle, just keep close to the original grind.

 

[000Robert]

I'll never tell anyone not to buy a WE. But you will also need the Low Angle Adapter to sharpen the smaller blades and blades with very acute grind angles.

 

[marchone]

Hi W wodahs , I have the Lansky Deluxe kit. Its shortcomings include clamp wiggle with distal tapered blades, and a short reach for longer knives.

I’ll vouch for the Sharpmaker and a Wicked Edge WE130-based system. The WE for profiling and the Sharpmaker for touch-ups.

I recently acquired a Wicked Edge Pro-Pack III. With only a couple of knives sharpened on it so far it’s the bee’s knees.

It’s expensive, but more than worth it to me when I consider how much money I have in all of my knives from production blades and collabs to mid-techs and customs.

 

[c7m2p3]

K kreisler & T Twindog thanks for the welcomes!

yeah that’s my point - not really much on the internet or videos for using either of these on SAK - for the reasons I suspect you guys mentioned. My main use of sharpening won’t be the SAKs so don’t want to buy something just for that. Sharpening the SAK would be a nice to have not a must have. The sharp maker has some pretty good reviews but I feel like it is a pricey system - especially if you add the diamond and extra fine rods! The lansky master’s edge seems like a similar product and more budget friendly - but not much info on the internet compared to sharpmaker. You mention that there is a way to use the lansky controlled angle or wicked edge with some tinkering- wonder what that would be and if the hassle is worth it.

thanks again!

If you are looking to just have something around to touch up the soft steel of SAKs, there is a far cheaper Lansky Turnbox cermic system for less than half what a sharpmaker costs. The angles are going to be a bit more obtuse there but you get ceramic rods that will be more than hard enough to put an edge on the soft steel traditional SAKs use.

 

[000Robert]

Hi W wodahs , I have the Lansky Deluxe kit. Its shortcomings include clamp wiggle with distal tapered blades, and a short reach for longer knives.

I’ll vouch for the Sharpmaker and a Wicked Edge WE130-based system. The WE for profiling and the Sharpmaker for touch-ups.

I recently acquired a Wicked Edge Pro-Pack III. With only a couple of knives sharpened on it so far it’s the bee’s knees.

It’s expensive, but more than worth it to me when I consider how much money I have in all of my knives from production blades and collabs to mid-techs and customs.

I'm glad you love your WE130. I love mine also!

 

[Glenn Goodlett]

I use a Tormek Small knife jig on a Wicked Edge for small thin knives.

 

[115Italian]

I have a lansky guided sharpening system. The clamp has a notch for small blades. I’ve sharpened my sak solo blade and floral blade. As for the real tiny blade in a sak multi stack, it may be too small for the clamp.