Lansky knife sharpening system

[bruce moulds]

I recently bought a lansky, for no other reason that it was the only system the shop stocked.
I wanted a guided sharpening system, and it seemed a good place to start.
immediately it was obvious that it is not really a thing you take into the mountains backpacking.
I elected to buy the 3 stone system, but went for diamond rather than stone, for the reason that stones wear with work and time, and I hopes that the diamond version would retain flatness.
the instructions say that the diamond hones will wear out with use, so we will have to establish what their life is, and reappraise in time.
sharpening some hunting knives and kithchen knives proved interesting.
the most time spent was with the coarsest hone, as edge angles had to be established first, and this was the quickest way to do that.
then the medium and fine hones did not take long to do their jobs.
I used the hones dry, and maybe should have used water.
some videos of the product suggest honing one side of the blade until a burr forms, and then doing the same number of strokes on the other side.
I did less strokes per side, repeatedly turning over until I felt an edge.
on long blades you need to move the clamp along and do it in sections.
pressing hard will bend the guide rods, but pressing hard is not good practice for sharpening anyway, so this should not be an issue.
the guide rods needed their straightness and angles to be addressed, and this is easily done by placing the hone with rod attached on a flat surface and adjusting until correct.
sharpened knives would shave arm hair and cut paper cleanly and easily.
future sharpenings should not take long as the angle is eatablished and will be repeatable.
this if you clamp the knife the same way each time, which could be an artform in itself.
blades were then honed on a strop.
this removed the minute scratch marks left even by the finest hone.
without a guide I could not guarantee the angle on the strop, so question the results of this process to some degree.
at this stage I got my wife to cut up and desinew some venison backstraps.
this because she would offer an opinion not tainted by the amount of work I had just done.
when asked how the knives cut, she said to my surprise that they were not much different.
I had to trust her judgement, so put the blades on the steel.
an instant cheese and chalk response.
they suddenly started cutting as expected.
so the lansky is impracticle to take to the field,
but a small steel is not.
from what I have read, a properly sharpened knife can be kept going for ages with a steel.
a sheath that carries a steel as well as a knife would be handy here.
lansky makes a leather strop that can fit a guide and be used in the jig like the hones.
if stropping suits your knives this could be worthy of consideration.
I wonder whether harder blades might be more suited to the strop, and softer to the steel?
bruce.

 

[postoak]

The Lansky, Spyderco Make Sharp, and Edge Pro type systems all have the same design flaws and rather than going down that rabbit hole and spending hundreds of dollars to learn that, I would recommend anyone wanting sharp knives to spend $40 for a Harbor Freight bench grinder with sanding belts and leather belts with abrasive compounds. Its fast, too. So fast you won't need to steel your blades. If you do steel, don't do it like they show in movies and TV shows, just slowly run the steel along one side of the blade, going over sections that drag until they don't. Then repeat for the other side.

 

[Ryan]

I own a Lansky, I started with the basic 3 stone and added a course diamond for when I want to put the first edge on a knife I've made. That diamond will take a lot off fast, but I can control it a lot better than using a belt. Then I typically go to the medium and maybe the fine. I use one angle, 25 degrees. Nice and consistent. I will say it is the only thing I'll use for sharpening broadheads. I'll work those with the fine stone to get an smoother, sharper edge than the factory edge. Honestly once I get a knife sharp I use a Spyderco large medium ceramic stone for most maintenance. No oil needed on their ceramics. I also own a smaller pocket sized Spyderco ceramic that is a medium on one side and fine on the other that gets used a lot on pocket knives and thrown in the pack for hunting and camping trips, just in case.

 

[Shootist43]

I've been using a Lansky style system for 40 years on my good carbon steel knives. I use oil and clean the stones frequently. Yes it takes a long time to get the blade angles worked over to whatever one you choose, but after that they are relatively easy to maintain. My stones range from coarse diamond to 1,000 grit, I finish up with a strop. I don't even own a "knife steel." I don't abuse the blades by driving them through bones or cutting down through hair. Over the years I've purchased a lot of Cold Steel Carbon V Master Hunter(s) and SRK(s) to be given to future generations of hunters in my family. Almost all of them had their edges "jacked-up" by their previous owners. Not wanting to spend the time and or energy to sharpen them with a Lansky I purchased a "Work Sharp" with all of the optional belts. The grandkids will be getting a sharp knife, maintaining it will be their problem. IMHO trying to sharpen a good knife in the field is a fools errand, apart from that you simply shouldn't have to. BTW I understand that there are different kinds of "sharp."

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I recently bought a lansky, for no other reason that it was the only system the shop stocked.
I wanted a guided sharpening system, and it seemed a good place to start.
immediately it was obvious that it is not really a thing you take into the mountains backpacking.
I elected to buy the 3 stone system, but went for diamond rather than stone, for the reason that stones wear with work and time, and I hopes that the diamond version would retain flatness.
the instructions say that the diamond hones will wear out with use, so we will have to establish what their life is, and reappraise in time.
sharpening some hunting knives and kithchen knives proved interesting.
the most time spent was with the coarsest hone, as edge angles had to be established first, and this was the quickest way to do that.
then the medium and fine hones did not take long to do their jobs.
I used the hones dry, and maybe should have used water.
some videos of the product suggest honing one side of the blade until a burr forms, and then doing the same number of strokes on the other side.
I did less strokes per side, repeatedly turning over until I felt an edge.
on long blades you need to move the clamp along and do it in sections.
pressing hard will bend the guide rods, but pressing hard is not good practice for sharpening anyway, so this should not be an issue.
the guide rods needed their straightness and angles to be addressed, and this is easily done by placing the hone with rod attached on a flat surface and adjusting until correct.
sharpened knives would shave arm hair and cut paper cleanly and easily.
future sharpenings should not take long as the angle is eatablished and will be repeatable.
this if you clamp the knife the same way each time, which could be an artform in itself.
blades were then honed on a strop.
this removed the minute scratch marks left even by the finest hone.
without a guide I could not guarantee the angle on the strop, so question the results of this process to some degree.
at this stage I got my wife to cut up and desinew some venison backstraps.
this because she would offer an opinion not tainted by the amount of work I had just done.
when asked how the knives cut, she said to my surprise that they were not much different.
I had to trust her judgement, so put the blades on the steel.
an instant cheese and chalk response.
they suddenly started cutting as expected.
so the lansky is impracticle to take to the field,
but a small steel is not.
from what I have read, a properly sharpened knife can be kept going for ages with a steel.
a sheath that carries a steel as well as a knife would be handy here.
lansky makes a leather strop that can fit a guide and be used in the jig like the hones.
if stropping suits your knives this could be worthy of consideration.
I wonder whether harder blades might be more suited to the strop, and softer to the steel?
bruce.

bruce moulds
Your going to laugh at the system I take bush Bruce.

It the Ken Onion knife sharpener. It's the easiest knife sharpener I've ever used, even better than the Nirery as you can adjust the angles.
Mate I can sharpen all my knives from a 12 inch steak knife to my 3 inch Opinel in minutes at any angle I want. I finish with a 10 inch fine diamond oval stick that goes in my hunting pack.
The Ken Onion goes bush with me as I have a 600 watt inverter in my 4x4. My mates knives are usually blunt so I have to sharpen then for them. I think they do it on purpose because they c ant sharpen a knife properly.
Keep safe and well Bruce
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I've been using a Lansky style system for 40 years on my good carbon steel knives. I use oil and clean the stones frequently. Yes it takes a long time to get the blade angles worked over to whatever one you choose, but after that they are relatively easy to maintain. My stones range from coarse diamond to 1,000 grit, I finish up with a strop. I don't even own a "knife steel." I don't abuse the blades by driving them through bones or cutting down through hair. Over the years I've purchased a lot of Cold Steel Carbon V Master Hunter(s) and SRK(s) to be given to future generations of hunters in my family. Almost all of them had their edges "jacked-up" by their previous owners. Not wanting to spend the time and or energy to sharpen them with a Lansky I purchased a "Work Sharp" with all of the optional belts. The grandkids will be getting a sharp knife, maintaining it will be their problem. IMHO trying to sharpen a good knife in the field is a fools errand, apart from that you simply shouldn't have to. BTW I understand that there are different kinds of "sharp."

Shootist43
I love the Ken Onion/ work sharp system Art. Quick and easy and angle adjustment. You can get your knives stupidly sharp with it. Out bush I just carry a fine diamond oval stick for touch ups.
Cheers mate Bob

 

[bruce moulds]

bob,
is ken onion related to john garlic?
seriously such things would be nice, but not in my budget.
bruce.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

bob,
is ken onion related to john garlic?
seriously such things would be nice, but not in my budget.
bruce.

bruce moulds
No not related to John garlic but has a female cousin Ava Leek.
Seriously tho Bruce my lansky 3 stone set cost me 75 dollars 8 years,ago the Ken Onion knife sharpener was 149 dollars.
Cheers mate Bob

 

[Shootist43]

Bob, it is almost scary how much you and I think alike. Cold Steel would have sharpened the knives for free. All I had to do was pay shipping and handling at $15.00 each. Since I have more than 10 that needed sharpening I bought the Ken Onion Work Sharp to save a few bucks. It is a small world we live in.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Bob, it is almost scary how much you and I think alike. Cold Steel would have sharpened the knives for free. All I had to do was pay shipping and handling at $15.00 each. Since I have more than 10 that needed sharpening I bought the Ken Onion Work Sharp to save a few bucks. It is a small world we live in.

Shootist43
You can save me a lot on replies mate, you can write them for me I don't think people would know the difference.
Cheers mate
Art
Sorry
Bob Nelson

 

[Shootist43]

Funny, I could say the same thing!!

 

[Ray B]

I prefer a bench stone for sharpening and this is done at home. When hunting, some of my knife sheaths have pouches that hold a stone, but I can't remember when or even if I have ever used one in the field. Gerber used to make a small portable steel, seems to me the edge was impregnated with diamond dust. It was pinned at one end with a sheath that rotated out of the way. I didn't use it, but a friend spoke very highly of it. There's another thread on AH about sharpening, so I won't belabor it here, but a proper edge should reflect a constant flash of light off its flat, then reflect nothing across the sharp edge until you get to the other side where you again see the flash off of the edge.

 

[Shootist43]

Ray B, I used a bench stone for years. But when the Lansky sharpeners came onto the market which enables one to maintain the same exact angle with every stroke, the writing was on the wall. Using the "jig" proved to be a significant time saver for me. Even today's higher quality stainless steel knives will never hold an edge comparable to that of a properly heat treated high carbon steel knife. JMHO

 

[Tra3]

Bruce,
I use a KME sharpening system which is similar to the lanskey. It takes a while to set an edge, but once set, it gets impressively sharp. It also is easier, and much faster, to reset the edge after it has been done once. I use this same kit to sharpen broadheads too.
I would estimate it takes me 20 minutes to sharpen a typical knife I haven’t yet sharpened. It is only about 6-10 minutes to resharpen. It is possible to make the knife sharp in much less time, but to make it sharp enough to shave with takes more time.

 

[bruce moulds]

actually all these devices have merit.
to a degree it is about budget, preference, and requirement.
the important thing is to have the same angle on each stroke to minimize time taken.
I suspect the actual angle does not matter that much, other than a slightly blunter angle for some jobs and steels and a lower angle for others.
it is just a matter of repeating it.
if money were less of an object for me, the kiwi scary sharp looks very interesting.
using annealed steel and adapting it to files you might even be able to hand make a knife with it, albeit an expensive knife.
it seems to offer excellent rigidity and offers long strokes.
of course if we all did a huge amount of sharpening, the use of jigs would be of less assistance.
bruce.