WE vs KME vs Lansky

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Fuori

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Oct 13, 2014
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The basic Wicked Edge goes for around $300 and the KME with a lot of accessories hovers around $200. If I'm spending that kind of money is the WE worth the difference or is it just preference?

The KME seems to be basically an updated Lansky where the rod can't shift around, but is the Lansky good enough for most people? Would I be wishing I bought the KME?

The KME diamond setup only goes down to 300. Is that going to be good enough?
 
Haven't used the WE, mostly because of price. But the KME is much better than a Lansky. Go with the KME Diamond setup, and get an extra coarse (100 or 140) to compliment the kit. I got the 100, but really wish I would have gone with the 140 because it's a big jump from that 100 to 300 when you are in the coarse range. If you really like fine edges, you may also want to add a strop or two for CBN emulsions.
 
Is the KME site the only place to buy the 140? None of his dealers or other sites seem to stock them.
 
I just went straight to the kmesharp site for the extras. I'm sure any dealer could order them, but I haven't really seen any of the accessories online either.

I started with a Sharpmaker and got very frustrated because I thought it would be dummy proof with no learning curve. Then picked up an Edge Pro, which really improved my edges exponentially. Then got a KME just because I heard so many good things about it, and I really wanted to try a clamped system without the WE price tag. And I absolutely love it. There is still a place for the others, but the KME is now my first go-to for a full edge sharpening. If I just need a touch-up, the Sharpmaker is perfect. And if a blade is odd shaped or very large, I'll still go for the EP. I'm finding I have a problem with keeping every edge perfect. Until they have a 12 step program for sharpening, I guess I'll just continue down my dark path. ;)
 
Can the KME handle a Junglas? With occasional use will I ever need to replace the diamond stones on the KME?
 
Interesting note on the KME site.

We’ve made a couple changes effective June 1st 2015.

First, the standard ceramic/Arkansas kit has been discontinued. We still offer the set of 4 ceramic/Arkansas stones as an accessory item but not as a separate kit.

Too many people were buying the ceramic kit because it was cheaper, only to find that the stones were not aggressive enough to sharpen today's super steel blades.

The ceramic kit was always intended to be a maintenance kit for keeping blades that were already fairly sharp tuned up.

When people didn’t understand this, it was causing them to be dissatisfied with the sharpener - when in truth, they were simply under-gunned when using only the ceramic stones.

Second, is that the diamond kit now comes with 4 Gold Series diamonds (XC-140, C-300, F-600, and XF-1500) rather than just the 3 it always had before (C, F, XF).

Same story really, the coarse 300 grit stone isn't coarse enough for profiling or re-profiling the harder steels that most knife companies are currently using for their blades.

We've been recommending that everyone add an XC-140 grit diamond for quite a while now and we've decided that the XC-140 grit diamond is a must have item and needs to come standard with the kit.

For the moment, there's only one kit (with the 4 diamond hones) and we're calling it "The KME Precision Knife Sharpening System".

Of course adding another $25 GS diamond to the kit does push the price up a bit to $179.95.

Adding the XC-140 grit diamond gives us the confidence to say: "The KME Precision Knife Sharpening kit comes with everything you need to get from very dull to extremely sharp without needing to buy any accessory stones".

The new 4 stone kit is available for $179.95 on our website - and we’re now offering free shipping on orders over $40. (Previously it was only on orders over $200). So that knocks $12.50 off the total cost.

There are still some of the older 3 stone diamond kits and even some ceramic kits available from other internet dealers but they won't be available for long. Please let us know your thoughts. Thanks very much again, your friends at KME Sharpeners.
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I have all three and I use all of them for different knives. For me sharpening is a hobby and I like to experiment with different styles and systems.
Some people collect knives, I collect sharpening systems :-) I don't know if it helps but here are my 2 cents.

I started my sharpening addiction in the late 70's when I bought my first 3-stone basic Lansky set with the old style clamp. This clamp has the notch for smaller knives and with it, it is perfect for medium size knives as well as traditional and Victorinox pocket knives. As these are the knives I use most, I use it almost on a daily base and for these knives I can get results that are comparable to the WE at a fraction of the cost.

That being said, I would only recommend the Lansky if you can get one with an older type clamp as the newer type clamps without the notch or the newest with rubber inserts suck. In another tread I wrote more about this incl. pictures. Link

The Wicked Edge is the best and most versatile but the basic set is limited and best suitable for larger knives as it can not very well handle smaller and traditional pocket knives.
The basic set comes with 100, 200, 400 and 600 grid stones and these will give you very sharp knives and for most people these are probably better than anything they ever had and all they need but if you are anything like me, you will soon want to buy additional stones / strops to get more refined edges.

I started with the Pro Pack I which I than upgraded with the Pro Pack II upgrade kit, 1200/1600 ceramics, 1.4 micron/.6 micron ceramics and several leather and Balsa strop sets.
The low angle adapter and the new Gen III clamp are next on my list.

The knives I sharpen with the WE are my larger kitchen knives and a few larger tactical knives.

The KME is a wonderful system. It can handle small knives as well as larger knives. It has a permanent place on my desk were it doesn't take up a lot of space and is always at hand. I use it to re-profile my smaller knives, quick touch-ups and all other knives.

Price wise I think it is one of the best systems available and the customer service is second to none. As per June 1st the standard ceramic/Arkansas kit has been discontinued and the diamond kit now comes with 4 Gold Series XC-140, C-300, F-600, and XF-1500 diamond stones and shipping within the US is free so I would certainly recommend to buy it directly from KME as other outlets might still be selling the old configuration.

There are a lot of accessories available at very reasonable prices so it is easy to upgrade the system should you want to. The stone holder also accepts standard 4" stones so you can also use 3rd party stones or for example easily make your own strops. I also sometimes use the stone holder with the Lansky or other clamps.

They are not yet listed on the KME website but I heard from Ron that they have a couple new accessories coming out very soon like aluminum and glass blanks with diamond lapping films and a radius guide rod that produces a convex bevel geometry.

Frans

p.s. I think the KME can very well handle the Junglas and the gold series diamond stones are of great quality will last a long time.
 
Fuori said:
Thank you, Frans! What would the aluminum and glass blanks be used for?
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As backing plates for sandpaper or the diamond lapping film.
I have not used these with the KME yet but with the WE I sometimes use 3000 and 4000 grid sandpaper as well as 1 micron 3M lapping films which I than attach to the ceramics.
WE offers Aluminum and glass backing plates as well but these are not yet available here in the Netherlands.
 
Fuori said:
Interesting note on the KME site.
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...Second, is that the diamond kit now comes with 4 Gold Series diamonds (XC-140, C-300, F-600, and XF-1500) rather than just the 3 it always had before (C, F, XF).

Same story really, the coarse 300 grit stone isn't coarse enough for profiling or re-profiling the harder steels that most knife companies are currently using for their blades.

We've been recommending that everyone add an XC-140 grit diamond for quite a while now and we've decided that the XC-140 grit diamond is a must have item and needs to come standard with the kit...

Adding the XC-140 grit diamond gives us the confidence to say: "The KME Precision Knife Sharpening kit comes with everything you need to get from very dull to extremely sharp without needing to buy any accessory stones".

Just a side note; KME also has a 50 grit (the beast) and 100 grit diamond stone.
 
Outside of the four grits it now comes with what other accessories are needed? There will always be extras that are fun, but I'm only looking for needed right now.
 
Fuori said:
Outside of the four grits it now comes with what other accessories are needed? There will always be extras that are fun, but I'm only looking for needed right now.
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I would recommend the base as that makes it much more convenient to use but you would not need anything else to make your knives insanely sharp.

I started with the Kit that came with the ceramic stones which I later upgraded to the diamond stones.
I have also bought the Pen Knife Pro Jaws for my smallest knives, Two Kangaroo Leather Strops which I use with 5 and 3.5 micron diamond paste.

Here is a picture of a Kissing Crane Hobo knife that I just sharpened with the KME and polished to a mirror finish.

KC Hobo by Frans van de Kamp, on Flickr
 
Fuori said:
Outside of the four grits it now comes with what other accessories are needed? There will always be extras that are fun, but I'm only looking for needed right now.
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I've just stated a fact of availability, not need. My system came with a 100 grit and not a 140. I chose not to purchase the base, not seeing it as a need but added the pen knife jaws and the roo strop. The pen knife jaws would fall into the category of "need" for me because of smaller knives than the standard jaws can facilitate. The kangaroo strop is nice but not a need. I probably will order a 140 as I think it will make my system more versatile. The 100 comes in really handy but I think I'd use the 140 more.
Over all...I'm pleased.
 
fvdk said:
I would recommend the base as that makes it much more convenient to use but you would not need anything else to make your knives insanely sharp.

I started with the Kit that came with the ceramic stones which I later upgraded to the diamond stones.
I have also bought the Pen Knife Pro Jaws for my smallest knives, Two Kangaroo Leather Strops which I use with 5 and 3.5 micron diamond paste.

Here is a picture of a Kissing Crane Hobo knife that I just sharpened with the KME and polished to a mirror finish.
Click to expand...
Nice edge and beautiful picture.
 
Nice kits indeed but I would bet that none of the high-priced systems can get a standard to medium sized knife any sharper than you can with a Lansky that is used correctly with the correct 'stones'.

Disclaimer: I'm also a 'sharpener junkie' and have purchased and used most of the 'systems' out there. They all have their plusses and minuses. Lanskys are not the best choice for large/long blades but you can make them work.
 
kelbro said:
Nice kits indeed but I would bet that none of the high-priced systems can get a standard to medium sized knife any sharper than you can with a Lansky that is used correctly with the correct 'stones'.

Disclaimer: I'm also a 'sharpener junkie' and have purchased and used most of the 'systems' out there. They all have their plusses and minuses. Lanskys are not the best choice for large/long blades but you can make them work.
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That is absolutely true if like you say, "is used correctly". That being said, in my opinion, the Lansky (with the old style clamp) is best suitable for flat ground pocket knives with a blade length of up 4" and the Lansky is still my system of choice for my Victorinox knives and most of my other small traditional knives. Larger knives can of course be done but it wouldn't be the best system for them.

Unfortunately, a lot of people have no idea what they are doing and do not use it correctly as can be seen in most of the videos about the Lansky on Youtube. Any system can be misused of course but it seems to happen more with the Lansky. The new type clamp that does not clamp smaller knives very well so that does not help either. I think Lansky made a big mistake when they changed the clamp and in the process transformed a perfect system into a crappy system.

The WE is arguably the best system on the market but also the most expensive. A Pro Pack II with some additional accessories will easily cost > $ 1000.- and would be best suitable for larger tactical knives and kitchen knifes. Smaller knives can be done especially with the optional low angle adapter but it is not the best system for those.

The KME fits nicely in between both in price and capabilities. Compared to a Lansky diamond set, it is about twice the price but just a fraction of the price of the WE. It can handle smaller knives as well as larger knives and with all the available accessories you can tailor it to all your needs.

I have all three systems as well as a few others which is of course a bit insane but I consider it a hobby and as we all know, hobbies are usually expensive :)
I have no affiliation with any of the brands and have good experience with all of them so I have no reason to recommend one over the other and I can only try to tell what I like and do not like about the various systems but what works very well for me might not work for you and that is why I usually buy it and try it for myself and than keep it or sell it if I do not like it.

What I can also say about the KME is that I have been in contact with them a number of times and I very much appreciate their perfect service. They are a small family owned company and they care about their customers. This might or might not be important to you but like it very much. I have good experience with WE customer service as well so no complaints there either.
 
I realize you can't get the same edge with a system that you can with stones. If I have a Sharpmaker and the KME would I have close to the best of both worlds since the Spyderco flat stones are made of the same material? Essentially, I'm asking if it's better to have the KME and a Sharpmaker or a Sharpmaker and the Spyderco stones?
 
If you ask me, I would say that if you get the KME, there would be no need for the Sharpmaker.

Lots of people seem to like the sharpmaker and it is not up to me to say they are wrong but I do not understand why and I do not like it at all, this is why:

In my opinion the Sharpmaker is just a fancy version of a ceramic steeling rod. It can be useful to straiten an already sharp edge or putting on a micro bevel.
It is pretty much useless to re-profile a blade as that would take for ever and it is also very limited with just the two angle settings. If you really want to sharpen anything with it than there is the cheap solution of wrapping sandpaper around the ceramic rods or to buy the diamond rods. It seems that it is one of those systems that you either love or hate.
 
Sorry, I should have stated that I already own the Sharpmaker. I can't argue with what you said. That's the principle reason I'm shopping for another.
 
I love my KME. Like any new system there is a learning curve but once you get the hang of it you will never go back to anything else. I have the diamond stones and have added 140 grit one for more aggressive work. I recomend added at least one strop with the compound; produces wonderful results. I added a rather radom item to help produce more consistent results. I purchased a carpenters magnetic protractor for 8 dollars. This will allow me to measure the exact angle every time no matter where the blade is in the vise. Good luck with sharpening.......
 
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