Will a Lansky kit sharpen hard steels?

Atakdog

Atakdog

Joined
Sep 3, 2012
Messages
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I have a Spyderco Sharpmaker and am looking for a better system. The Sharpmaker is good for soft and medium hardness steels, but for hard steels like S35VN it takes long enough my hand gets tired and I can't get a constant angle. I don't have the money for something like an Edge Pro, so it looks like Lansky is the best choice.
My question is, will the basic 5 stone kit sharpen hard steels like S35VN, or will I have to spend extra to get the kit with diamond stones?

Also, is Lansky the best constant angle sharpener for under about $100?
 
I prefer the GATCO versus the other rod guided systems in that price range. The GATCO might be even a bit cheaper than the Lansky.

I have added the extra fine and the ultimate finishing hones alog with a stropping step.

Good Luck.
 
Ceramic and diamond sharpeners are supposed to sharpen any steel, though it may take an inordinate amount of time. The Lansky system is a bit clumsy for my taste, but if you don't mind taking the time to clamp everything down and check the angles, yeah, it ought to work. The diamond stones may wear more quickly and if you like the Sharpmaker, you can opt for the diamond rods available through Amazon. Me, I don't like super steels because I don't like fussing with hassles of sharpening the blades. People may bad mouth the AUS8 and VG-10 steels, but just a few swipes and they're done for well over a week! And I love the knives themselves. Super steels cost more money and, in fact, are priced as though they are precious metals. And if they are fixed blades and are full tang, you end up paying for all the steel that is part of the knife and is not used for cutting.

I remember reading about someone on this forum who went on an extensive cross country trip in some badlands I think in South or Mesoamerica. He took a Byrd Cara Cara with him and, if I recall correctly, it served him very well. I have a Byrd Cara Cara and I know did right by me back before I retired. Not a speck of super steel in the whole knife and it was great.

Sorry for my rant, but like I said, Spyderco says its stones will cut any steel. It not only has diamond rods for quick cutting of steel, but very fine rods to put a mirror finish on blades once they've been sharpened. Anyway, I'd love to hear your verdict once you've found the perfect system...or even a workable system.
 
The steel isn't "harder" than other steels, rather the composition of the blade is more wear resistant than other steels. Compared to something like VG-10 or AUS-8, S30V or S35VN is going to take noticeably longer to sharpen.

The cheapest solution would be to pick up a couple different grits of sand paper. Lay it down on a piece of wood, or wrap it around the Sharpmaker rods.

I'd recommend picking up a DMT coarse/fine diamond stone and learning to freehand sharpen. Diamonds work great for pretty much everything.
 
Atakdog said:
I have a Spyderco Sharpmaker and am looking for a better system. The Sharpmaker is good for soft and medium hardness steels, but for hard steels like S35VN it takes long enough my hand gets tired and I can't get a constant angle. I don't have the money for something like an Edge Pro, so it looks like Lansky is the best choice.
My question is, will the basic 5 stone kit sharpen hard steels like S35VN, or will I have to spend extra to get the kit with diamond stones?

Also, is Lansky the best constant angle sharpener for under about $100?
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The diamond kit will do it. The standard kit, at the very least, will be a LOT slower. There's also a real possibility of dishing the standard hones on steels like these. I did it to two of my standard hones on an S30V blade.

Whether the Lanksy is 'best' or not, for the money, is somewhat subjective. I've been happy with my Lansky diamond kit. If your blades are relatively large (blade widths > 3/4" or so), such as found on 'modern' tactical-style knives, you might look into the DMT Aligner & Magna-Guide kit, using DMT's Dia-Fold hones. The Lansky's clamp works better with smaller blades in particular, such as those found on more 'traditional' pocketknives.

The Spyderco Sharpmaker's ceramics can 'work' on any steel. But 'work', in this case, means they'll refine and/or polish. They're not very aggressive, though, which means they'll be very, very slow on jobs requiring the removal of a lot of blade steel. That's where a true 'coarse' or 'extra-coarse' diamond hone will make all the difference. Spyderco doesn't have one coarse enough; their diamond rods for the SM are relatively 'fine', by diamond hone standards.
 
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I tried sandpaper, but Since the blade I am sharpening is a black coated dagger style with very obtuse grinds, it basically tore off the coating, and didn't even do much to the edge.
I don't think I will be upgrading my Sharpmaker, as I want a more controlled angle.
 
Atakdog said:
I tried sandpaper, but Since the blade I am sharpening is a black coated dagger style with very obtuse grinds, it basically tore off the coating, and didn't even do much to the edge.
I don't think I will be upgrading my Sharpmaker, as I want a more controlled angle.
Click to expand...

The wet/dry sandpaper is kind of a toss-up on very abrasion-resistant steels with abundant vanadium carbides. Sometimes it seems to work, but other times not as well. I've noticed this difference even between two different makers using the same type of steel, like S30V. I think just a small difference in heat treat, between different maker's 'recipes', can make the difference. I've started to settle into using diamond primarily, on these types of steels.
 
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