This lansky good to start with?

That is the basic set I started with (minus the serrated hone) many years ago. This set will let you get a "feel" for the Lansky. One other option is the diamond Lansky set which will out last the regular stone set. Cost is the big consideratoin...
 
Well, I really don't want to spend more than I need to... I'd just be sharpening straight edged knives so I don't need to the serrated hone...
 
I just read a couple posts that were pro lansky crock stick whatever that is, is that a good one too (anyone have a link)?
 
from the experience of a buddy, and several forum posts, the diamond Lanskys actually seem to have a much shorter life. I still have my set of regular stones, and it worked okay for a few years, but it has significant limitations. The clamp doesn't work well with blades that don't have straight spines and flats, it can mark up coatings if that would be a concern, the angle changes as you sweep the stone through the belly toward the tip, the angle can change by how you clamp the knife down, the angles are a bit obtuse, the rods can bend (one of mine was bent out of the package), that little bottle of oil can split along the seam and make a mess, there's no reliable adjustment outside of choosing which slot to use, so you'll have to reprofile the edge on just about any knife you sharpen, and I just didn't find it faster to use than freehand with some decent technique.

The crock sticks are like the Spyderco Sharpmaker, only the angles are different
http://www.knivesplus.com/lanskyknifesharpener-lk-lcspr.html
 
The crock sticks are fine grit ceramic rods that fit into a wooden or plastic base and form a V at about a 22 degree angle. They are excellent for final edge polishing and touching up, but for removing more metal they will take forever. I bought a five stone deluxe Lansky kit a few years back, with the conventional material hones from extra coarse to superfine. After I got into buying knives with harder steels, I found that it was MUCH easier to reprofile and sharpen with the diamond hones. I think most people would be much better off to go straight to the diamond hone set, which comes with the coarse, medium and fine grit hones, and a small ceramic crock stick to put the final edge polish on with. The fine and the superfine hones in the deluxe kit I still use, but the diamonds supplanted the rest of the stuff, and I would have actually saved money in the long run had I just purchased the diamond kit to begin with. You can get by with freehand sharpening and good synthetic stones rather cheaply, but the Lansky setup helps maintain a precision bevel to help keep your sharpening jobs from looking so amatuerish. If you shop around, you should be able to get both the diamond Lansky kit and a good Smith's or Lansky crock sticks set for less than $60 total, and you will have something that will sharpen your knives for a very long time without having to add supplemental gear. One other option would be to buy a DMT benchstone; a large diamond benchstone with the opposing sides being coarse and fine diamonds will handle all sharpening needs for many many years, BUT it takes more skill to freehand sharpen than with the guide rod systems. IF you are planning on sharpening knives with hard modern steels that are rockwell C hardnesses greater than about 56-57, I would seriously recommend the diamond hones, regardless of brand. Pretty much anything with D2, ATS 34, 154 CM, VG 10 etc, will be pretty hard. Most 420HC, 1095, 0176C, etc, can sharpen fairly well without the diamonds, but the diamonds give you speed. A lot of people do seem to like conventional stones, but I have really enjoyed the guide rod diamond hones, for both speed and ease of use. EDIT to add, after reading the above post, you can avoid the marking up of the knife with the clamp simply by taping the blade with nothing more than masking tape, saves the mars and grips in the clamp better.
 
I have two lansky kits - one I bought, and one I inherited. Have used a lansky for years. Both are the diamond stones kits. If you use nothing but the lansky to sharpen with, you will wear the medium and fine diamond hones out. both of mine are pretty much gone. So buy the regular kit and get an extra coarse diamond hone to go with it.

Instead of finishing on the lansky, Most of the time I only use it to grind the relief back - and I do most of my touchup work and finishing on a spyderco medium benchstone and a strop.

What I like about the serrated hones is that you can pop them off the plastic deal and use it for a pocket touchup stone. At least that's the best thing I've found to use them for. I don't like serrated blades, don't like sharpening them, so I don't keep any. If I was in the rope slicing biz, I guess I would get one and sharpen it on the flat side with a fine india stone instead of using those serrated hones.

I might add that 95% of my knives have blades shorter than a regular Case trapper - Larger than that, and I'll use a benchstone to sharpen them because. Very small & thin blades on slipjoints - a lot of times I won't use the lansky because it won't go as fine as I want. Kinda depends on the knife. Most folders will go in the clamp alright, but I have two identical clamps and one of them will easily accomodate most pocket knives, while the other one is a PITA.
 
Habit
I bought the Lansky Deluxe to re-bevel a RAT-2. Ontario grinds that knife at well over 40 degrees inclusive, and I wanted it down to 40 or below. So I used the 17degree setting (34 deg inclusive) on the Lansky. It was D2 steel and it ate my lunch....I'm a much bigger man now that I did that chore!!! Ha!

However, once I got the bevel down to 34 degrees, now I use the Spyderco Sharpmaker at the 40 degree setting for a nice little micro-bevel. It's as sharp as I'll ever need it now.

You might like to read my thread in this subforum
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=448786

GL
 
Well, I wouldn't need anything other than something that would keep the knife sharp from time to time (one knife is a Kershaw Leek so whenever the tension spring might break I can send it in for that and they'll sharpen it too, then I'm gonna get a Benchmite II so that 1 I can get sent in and sharpened for like $5 as well, but I want something to keep em sharp with at home), and if for example I could get a good benchstone for like $30ish I wouldn't mind learning to free hand.
 
lansky is fine-
i bought the small one and love it-remember to buy a stand or holder for it
 
_habit_ said:
Well, I wouldn't need anything other than something that would keep the knife sharp from time to time (one knife is a Kershaw Leek so whenever the tension spring might break I can send it in for that and they'll sharpen it too, then I'm gonna get a Benchmite II so that 1 I can get sent in and sharpened for like $5 as well, but I want something to keep em sharp with at home), and if for example I could get a good benchstone for like $30ish I wouldn't mind learning to free hand.
Click to expand...


Bumpagee...
 
hardheart said:
http://www.knivesplus.com/dmtknifesharpener-dmt-d6ef.html
http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDU...ID=cccdaddjmjgdmihcgelceffdfgidgjj.0&MID=9876

if you can get yourself a sheet of glass, stick some wet or dry sandpaper to it with water and you can sharpen through a variety of grits.
Click to expand...


"Use the Fine 25 Micron, 600 Mesh side to put a keen edge on a regularly maintained tool or blade. Use the Extra Fine 9 Micron, 1200 Mesh side to polish and refine a razor edge after sharpening a tool or blade on a coarser grit."


Are you then recommending me the first one?


EDIT: *Head smack* double sided... >_<
 
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