ZDP vs Lansky

Moxy

Moxy

Joined
Oct 30, 2011
Messages
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I just got my lansky sharpener today and all I can say is, for the money you can't beat it. I like it alot better than my sharp maker. The sharpening process itself goes pretty quick, but the reprofiling process took a while. I took the bevel of one of my Sanvik leeks down to 17deg per side. Yeah I know thats probably too sharp for that steel but it was just an experiment. With the extra course (70) stone it took a good 35-45 minutes to get the bevel even on both sides. I did take my time making sure I met the apex on both sides evenly all across the blade. Once that was done progressing through the finer stones only took another 10 minutes or so. The thing is stupid sharp now. So my extra course stone did most of the work and it took a while with just 14c28n.

My question is would it even be up to the task of reprofiling a ZDP-189 blade? I have a ZDP blade that could use a makeover. I did not opt for the diamond stones because from the reviews I've seen the diamond dust just rubs off after a while rendering it useless. For those that have the system, have you ever had success sharpening ZDP or any other super steel with the ceramic stones? Or did use use diamond?

-Tony
 
Diamond hones only wear out IF too much pressure is used (this is known with any diamond hone, not just Lansky). And they work much more effectively at lighter pressure anyway. Use them with light pressure; let the grit do the work, and they'll last a long time. And used with a little water (or water + dish detergent, like Dawn/Ivory/etc.), they'll likely last even longer.

You'll likely want/need at least one diamond hone in coarse/XC for the ZDP blade. It'll speed up the process of re-bevelling. The standard Lansky hones work OK in the intermediate and finishing stages, but are usually very slow on the more wear-resistant steels (ZDP, S30V, D2, etc.). I wore out two of my standard Lansky hones, from the 'Deluxe' 5-stone kit, on an S30V re-bevelling job (which I then finished with a supplementary diamond hone; I'm lucky I had it). After that job, I bought a Lansky diamond kit, and it's still doing just fine. ;)


David
 
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Hmm... maybe I should have just went with the diamond kit in the first place.

What do you think of the sapphire hone? I bought it and didn't notice much difference from the extra fine hone.
 
Moxy said:
Hmm... maybe I should have just went with the diamond kit in the first place.

What do you think of the sapphire hone? I bought it and didn't notice much difference from the extra fine hone.
Click to expand...

I don't have the Sapphire hone, but your experience sounds similar to others' who've commented here about it. I still sometimes use the Fine/UF ceramics from my older 'Deluxe' kit, and I've been happy with them. It may be, at the very fine finishing stages, the performance of the Sapphire is more dependant on fully minimizing the scratch patterns from previous coarser hones. It's not uncommon to have less-than-perfect results at the finest stage, if the work done with prior hones wasn't 100%. Super-fine polishing hones always have difficulty removing any of the more coarse scratches, so the prior hones must be utilized to their fullest.

I still think you'd do OK with just one supplementary diamond hone. A coarse/XC diamond can do the heavy grinding for re-bevelling jobs, and then the standard hones should work well enough in the following stages. I used mine ('Deluxe' kit + 1 diamond hone) this way, before I bought my full diamond kit, and didn't have any major issues.


David
 
If you ever want to master freehand get some Shapton Stones. They cut better than any stone available. They are what I consider a high tech Japanese Water stone, but they are splash and go, no soaking required and they don't clog and I much prefer them over diamond stones. I sharpen very acute angle Japanese Chef knives and prefer Hitachi White number 2, which is one of the purest, finest grained steels in existence with virtually no sulphur or other impurities in it.
 
I too started with the Deluxe kit but bought the coarse and fine diamond hones. I really like using the diamond hones. I use all the hones, including the Arkansas stones when doing a premium sharpening on my favorite knives...I sharpen my knives differently depending on the work they will do.
I have the both of the ceramic hones, including the sapphire and find it just gives it a bit shinier a polish over the find ceramic hone.

I especially like the ease to reprofile an edge using the Lansky. I have a HK Plan D knife that I used repeatedly every day at work. I initially used the 25 degree bevel and found it very useful but today...bad ice storm kept me indoors all day...I reprofiled it to the 20 using the coarse and fine diamond, medium and fine arkansas stones...it took maybe 45 minutes and I'm looking forward to seeing if I notice a difference when I return to work after the holidays.

I never used the coarse arkansas stone so I glued a piece of leather to it and it is now a very nice strop. It works great and is a useful hone plus I did not have to decide if I wanted to buy their leather hone.

Something else I've recently done is to buy a set of "wires" so every hone has its' own wire and I don't have to go through the pain in the arse of moving the wires from hone to hone. I use a fishing tackle box with the dividers removed from one tray to hold the hones and wires...works great.
 
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