Which angle to use on the Lansky

H

HiCap1

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May 19, 2013
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I have just ordered the Lansky set. I have a collection of EDC knives such as Bench Made, Spyderco. ZT, SAK Buck etc. What angle should I use on the Lansky, the 25 as suggested? I have been maintaining the knives with a Spyderco duckfoot stone and stropping.

HiCap
 
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The Lansky's marked settings are only accurate as measured at the immediate front of the clamp's jaws. Because every blade you sharpen will position the edge further out in front of the clamp (else the clamp would be in the way), the actual edge angle will turn out lower than the marked setting. With the spear blade on a typical SAK, if you leave about 3/8" of the blade's width exposed in front of the clamp, the sharpened angle will be about ~14-15° (per side) when using the '17' setting on the clamp (I measured this on my Lansky, with a Victorinox spear blade in the clamp). Using a higher angle setting (like 25, for your question) will still leave the actual angle somewhat lower, maybe by a couple degrees or more; very wide blades, like a large kitchen chef's knife, will be at a much lower angle than the marked setting implies, assuming there's a lot of the blade's width exposed in front of the clamp's jaws.


David
 
Geometry, eh? Thus, if the clamp is placed half way from each end of the blade, the further the stone is from the center of the blade the less the angle. At least that is so theoretically. But generally speaking, is the 25 setting the best for the assortment of EDC knives I have, for cutting paper, cardboard, taking to the woods and opening packages?

HiCap
 
I have been trying to give someone some lansky stuff on like 4 threads and no one wants it! Its just extra stuff I was gonna pass on to the next fella
 
HiCap1 said:
Geometry, eh? Thus, if the clamp is placed half way from each end of the blade, the further the stone is from the center of the blade the less the angle. At least that is so theoretically. But generally speaking, is the 25 setting the best for the assortment of EDC knives I have, for cutting paper, cardboard, taking to the woods and opening packages?

HiCap
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If it were mine, I'd not go higher than 20°/side (40° inclusive). For EDC use that doesn't involve using blades as a prybar, scraper or screwdriver, or for other really hard use, 30° inclusive (15°/side) is a typical recommendation for many knives, and it would be fine; you'll notice big gains in cutting ease at that angle and lower. Anything up to 40° inclusive (20°/side) would be OK; going above that is going to have a big reduction in cutting performance, even when the apex is crisp.

Manufacturers are almost always ultra-conservative in recommending wider edge angles, like 25°/side. But these days, with decent steel and heat treat, most any modern knife can do much better than that, in going lower, often much lower.


David
 
David, when Lansky advises "25" for EDC, that means 25 degrees inclusive, or 12.5 degrees per side, yes? For example, the SAK I was trying to revive called for 30 degrees, ie 15 degrees per side. Another issue is that the Lansky system is really an approximation, since the distance from the fulcrum changes and the angle changes slightly, but close enough for horse shoes and hand grenades.

HiCap
 
HiCap1 said:
David, when Lansky advises "25" for EDC, that means 25 degrees inclusive, or 12.5 degrees per side, yes? For example, the SAK I was trying to revive called for 30 degrees, ie 15 degrees per side. Another issue is that the Lansky system is really an approximation, since the distance from the fulcrum changes and the angle changes slightly, but close enough for horse shoes and hand grenades.

HiCap
Click to expand...

At the lowest setting ('17'), their clamp is set up for that angle per side, meaning 34° inclusive (this is what I measured & verified with mine). Their clamp doesn't have the capability to do anything lower, such as down to 25° inclusive (12.5°/side), UNLESS the blade is very wide, with the geometry therefore permitting it. Their printed instructions in my kit show an illustration of blade-to-hone, with indicated per-side angles of 17/20/25/30°.


David
 
Here's what I do on my Lansky, take a marksalot and color the blade edge from shoulder to apex. Depending on the thickness of the blade and where you have to set the blade in the clamp, I then lay the stone on the blade to see if visually the angle I chose is close, if so, I'll make a couple of strokes to see if the marksalot is being removed completely. If it is, then I'm good to go. I find that I either have to hold the rod up against the angle slot or down on the angle slot and not allow the stone/rod to drift in the angle slot. For the most part I try to go with the factory grind and keep that angle. You may want to consider the diamond stones as well. They work well if you are re profiling or repairing an edge. The standard stones work well for sharpening and the honing stones are good for a fine smooth edge.
 
It varies deepening on the knife for me.

My Victorinox knives get a 25 degree angle. The blades are softer and roll easily so a 25 degree edge helps strengthen it some for heavier cutting. The blade stock is so thin they cut well even with a thicker blade angle.

I generally only go below 20 degrees on my kitchen knives, they get sharpened at ~17.

20 degrees is a safe bet for most knives, but experience will help you determine the best angle based on the use, type of steel, and blade thickness.
 
I think it's also good to note that the more the tip curves on the knife the steeper the angle. You made me think about this. Just using geometry and logic. The closer in toward the degree marking post the steeper the angle will be, so the tip won't be quite as accute of an angle as the rest of the knife... unless.... you reclamp the tip to be right in front of the clamp. Then it would be closer the the same angle as the rest of the knife. I like a sharp tip! 😁
 
Just match the factory bevel angle ?
Use a marker pen on the edge ..
Then to match ..
You can move the blade in and out on the clamp to adjust angle a certain amount ..

Something like that ...
 
collim1 said:
My Victorinox knives get a 25 degree angle. The blades are softer and roll easily so a 25 degree edge helps strengthen it some for heavier cutting. The blade stock is so thin they cut well even with a thicker blade angle.

I generally only go below 20 degrees on my kitchen knives, they get sharpened at ~17.

20 degrees is a safe bet for most knives, but experience will help you determine the best angle based on the use, type of steel, and blade thickness.
Click to expand...

The factory angle for Victorinox is supposedly 22.5 degrees per side. I sharpen them at 20 degrees per side on a ceramic Spyderco brown medium stone and I have excellent results.

You can get the triangular brown ceramic rods individually as a separate purchase for the Spyderco Sharpmaker, or you can buy them as rectangular pocket stones in 2 different sizes. The Spyderco double stuff also has the same medium brown ceramic on one side. You can also get the Spyderco medium brown ceramic as a bench stone. All of these options are made of the same medium brown ceramic material and they all work great for sharpening a SAK. They're really all you need.
 
Try to match what you already have first. Start with the highest setting and make a pass or two and see how close you are. Once you can match what is already there, then you can get your knives sharp. After that you can change angles and such.
 
I use the 25 degree setting but as others have said I use a Sharpie to color the edge to make sure I am actually sharpening and not reprofiling the edge. With most of my folders I generally only need to use the finest diamond stone to rehone the edge. And since I use and carry mostly 1095 carbon knives like GECs, they sharpen beautifully this way. With most of my knives I have a mental picture of where I put the clamp last time, which is generally as close to the middle of the spine as geometry allows.
 
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