Which Lansky/Gatco set?

[Anaxes]

Good afternoon.

I'm familiar with the basic Lansky set, but not the others. Is it work paying the extra for more comprehensive or diamond sets.
Gatco I'm not familiar with, but it seems to be some peoples preference over the Lansky, and I wondered what the benefits might be?.

Thanks for reading.

 

[tomcrx]

Diamond sets are better for harder steels, D2, SV30 etc when you are doing reprofiling. The bigger sets also come with more grits and a triangular stone for serrations

Some people prefer the Gatco because they like the angle choices better

 

[Hard H2O]

I have been very happy with the GATCO Professional kit I have. I added GATCO's extra fine and ultimate finishing hones. It has put a very nice edge on every blade I have worked on except for a couple of very narrow blades.

I then refine with strops loaded with white and red polishing compound.

For the price it is hard to beat the GATCO.

I have the standard stones. They seem to do the job for me. My extra coarse and coarse stones are in need of replacement. They are getting a bit dished out.

I bought one diamond hone to try. I bought the coarse. It didn't seem to cut as well as I had hoped so I went back to the natural stones.

 

[ryanryan12]

The GATCO metal clamp is the best I've used.But he DMT Aligner is better than the GATCO stones and rods.The GATCO rods come loose in the handle of the stones and the angles become different.The DMT system you change stones in the same handle so the angle is always the same

 

[durdru2]

I would favor the DMT aligner as well. I was lucky enough to nab the 2 stone set off amazon during a sale, for about 28 bucks shipped. The coarse-med stones do a fine job of putting a sharp working edge and the setup doubles as a sharpening guide (for benchstones or sharpening on sandpaper). The downside of the DMT is that additional stones are quite ridiculous in cost (15$ for a small stone attachment) and the setup is made of all plastic rather than metal.

I still find it effective, compact, & versatile and would choose it over anything else

 

[razorburn]

My extra coarse and coarse stones are in need of replacement. They are getting a bit dished out. .

Hard H2O,Try using your coarse diamond hone to level those aluminium oxide hones,in your kit that are beginning to get concaved.I've done this to each and every hone that needed leveling.I've found it does no harm to my diamond hone at all and you will definitely will see the results of having flatter hones,next time you sharpen,as I have.

I bought one diamond hone to try. I bought the coarse. It didn't seem to cut as well as I had hoped so I went back to the natural stones.

I had the same experience at first,those diamonds take awhile to breakin.Just frustrating. Give your coarse a second chance,after leveling your hones.

 

[Hard H2O]

The GATCO metal clamp is the best I've used.But he DMT Aligner is better than the GATCO stones and rods.The GATCO rods come loose in the handle of the stones and the angles become different.The DMT system you change stones in the same handle so the angle is always the same

The KME is similar in that you have one stone holder and you change out the stones. You can use any 4" x 1" stone with the KME.

I have not had the problem you mention with my GATCO.

 

[Blues]

The GATCO metal clamp is the best I've used.

I recently tried out the GATCO metal clamp and find that the older plastic/metal version is superior in every way except for the bit of flex due to the nature of the construction.

The jaws on the newer metal clamp are shaped wrong to get a good grip/purchase on smaller blades and the clamp itself is a bit of a pain to get properly aligned during setup.

The old clamp has a finer jaw allowing a more precise, secure fit on a blade and is much easier to align and secure during setup due to a different design.

Now, if they made an all metal clamp with the attributes of the old hybrid clamp I'd be happy.

I use the GATCO clamp with the DMT Diafolds and Magna-Guide when I am looking to do a "precise" rebevel job on a blade. Otherwise, I just freehand with various diamond and ceramic bench stones and smaller hones.

 

[cj65]

Just thought I would throw in my latest learnin with my Lansky. I bought it prior to reading up on this web site with a Bass Pro Shop gift certificate. It is not perfect by all means, but there are reasons I like it.
One is because I spent money on it, so I am going to use it.... Two, I like it because I am no good at free hand sharpening. With the guides, I can make a really nice bevel which looks professional.

The Lansky does have some negative issues:
One-the clamp does not hold the knife for the duration, this is troublesome, have not cut myself yet by attempting to catch knife as it falls out. Two, I would like to try the 17 degree angle to sharpen, but the clamp screw obstructs the grinding strokes, (maybe I am missing something?)

Now for the tech tip with the Lansky. I can get a nice edge at 20 degrees, but not hair popping sharp. Until, I read up and learned about micro beveling. First, I went through all the stones to set a bevel ending with the ultra fine stone at 20 degrees. Next I took the ultra fine stone up to the 30 degree angle, and gently worked the burr back and forth, with really light strokes, (to me this defied logic, and I was skeptical). Even with light pressure, you can feel the edge on the stone only if your profile was true to begin with. At a finger tip check, it felt duller, but once I attempted to shave the hair on the back of my hand, they just started poppin right off! It was a bladeforum moment! This is a milestone for me, thanks for letting me share! Also, I read not to use honing oil, which I did not do. The theory is that the oil catches the dislodged metal and keeps it on the stone, which actually dulls the knife. So I cleaned the oil off of all the stones with dish soap and a bristle scrubber. I am no expert and will not claim this is the best way, but I am much happier with the Lansky now. If only I could figure out the 17 degree thing.... I forgot the name of the author I read on micro beveling, it is right to give him credit, If I can find the book title/author, I will post it.

 

[Hard H2O]

Now for the tech tip with the Lansky. I can get a nice edge at 20 degrees, but not hair popping sharp. Until, I read up and learned about micro beveling. First, I went through all the stones to set a bevel ending with the ultra fine stone at 20 degrees. Next I took the ultra fine stone up to the 30 degree angle, and gently worked the burr back and forth, with really light strokes, (to me this defied logic, and I was skeptical). Even with light pressure, you can feel the edge on the stone only if your profile was true to begin with. At a finger tip check, it felt duller, but once I attempted to shave the hair on the back of my hand, they just started poppin right off! It was a bladeforum moment!

Look into adding a stropping step or two after your finest stone. Might regine the edge even more.

 

[cj65]

Made one last night, glued belt to a piece of pine and will be stroppin this weekend. Thanks

 

[Hard H2O]

Made one last night, glued belt to a piece of pine and will be stroppin this weekend. Thanks

Great. I hope it works for you.

I load the first step in my stropping with white polishing compound and the second with red.

 

[Knife Outlet]

I'm not a big fan of diamond abrasives for knife sharpening. The reason is that the abrasive particles wear down from use and become relatively slow acting after a while. They last forever but they don't cut quickly forever. With water or oil stones, you are always bringing fresh abrasives to the game. Personally, I get better performance from them and I prefer waterstones because they are faster than oil stones.

I have a Lansky system that I bought in 1978. I've replaced the coarser stones but it continues to do a good job. I have faster systems now so I don't use it any longer but I can tell you that it is capable of getting a knife a sharp as it can be.

 

[jimmythebrain]

I have the Gatco 5 stone/hone kit. The extra angle choices over a Lansky are nice...but the stones are softer and coarser in the Gatco Kit. I wound up buying the Lansky kit after I owned the Gatco because the fine Gatco hone is equivalent to the Medium Lansky hone. The Lansky 5 hone kit has a true FINE and Extra Fine hone. I ultimately wind up using the Gatco blade holder for the angles but use the Lansky Hones. If I had to do it again, I would have just bought the Lansky.

 

[cj65]

Thank you Jimmy,
I am now at peace with my Lansky. I bought it, really did not know how to watch for the profile to develop before moving to the next finest stones. I use a little magnifier to make sure I have profiled correctly. I had some green compound from an alltrade chinese knock off type dremel tool, and used it for my strop. It really polished up the blade on my Case 6244. It is a "sharp enough for now." Since making a strop requires a chunk of 2x4, an excuse to use my table and band saw, a trip to the thrift store for a belt for 2 bucks, I plan on making a white and a red one, as per HardH20 mentioned. I just want to thank all who post useful info. It puts a slope to my lernin curve.....

 

[rifon2]

Over the years I've acquired a GATCO diamond system, a DMT Aligner Deluxe system, a Lansky clamp, and of course a Sharpmaker.

I get the best results using the GATCO clamp with the DMT hones and guides.

 

[Blues]

Over the years I've acquired a GATCO diamond system, a DMT Aligner Deluxe system, a Lansky clamp, and of course a Sharpmaker.

I get the best results using the GATCO clamp with the DMT hones and guides.

Precisely. (And in my case, I prefer the "old" GATCO clamp to the newer all metal one. Though I wish that were not the situation.)