A Lansky tutorial

MSCantrell

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Mar 12, 2005
Messages
1,213
Tutorial: Using the Lansky ® Sharpening Kit Effectively


The Lansky kit was my first introduction to sharp knives. I grew up in a dull-knives-only household. We squished our food apart, or reached for the serrated knives to shred things apart. I think I can honestly say I never experienced a sharp knife until college. Now don’t laugh, you’ve all visited places like my house.

Then I decided I wanted to own a pocket knife. Well that’s not exactly accurate. I decided that very early on, but my parents weren’t too excited about it. They never said, “NO, YOU SHALL NOT OWN A POCKET KNIFE,” but they did make that face that says ‘I don’t really like talking about this so I’m going to ignore it till you go away.”

So in college I remembered that I wanted to own a knife, but now no one was looking! So off I go to Ace Hardware and shell out thirteen hard-earned dollars for a Schrade SP3. Plastic handled lockback, combo-edge... to this day I’d call it a pretty good knife. Used it and used it hard all summer long, mostly cutting string for the string trimmer (I was oddjobbing around, and apparently I was the best string trimmer operator in all of Columbia, TN). Never sharpened it. How would I? I had only ever used those pull-through scraping sharpeners! So it got duller and duller until it was hardly useful anymore, a perfectly normal thing for a knife to do in my experience.

Then, for Christmas break between semesters, I went back home to Texas. I got to thinking about gifts. About knives. About sharp knives. So I hopped online and started searching for knife sharpeners. Reviews, testing, ratings, that sort of thing. Discovered Bladeforums. Man, I didn’t know what I got myself into. But I digress. I read here that the Lansky kit was fine at $25 or the Sharpmaker was good at $40. Choice was easy: can I spare $25 for something I don’t necessarily need? Yeah, I guess, probably. How about $40? Not a chance.

Off I go to the Cheaper Than Dirt store on the north side of Fort Worth, and purchase a brand new Lansky kit. Brought it back home, opened ‘er up, and started sharpening like a madman. After reading the booklet, I thought, “Yeah, I’d like strong, durable edges on my knives. I’ll sharpen at 25 degrees per side.” Now believe it or not, I was pretty pleased! These knives cut things! On my Schrade SP3, I decided to kick it up a notch and sharpen at 20 deg per side. Holy crap. I owned a knife that could honest-to-goodness shave arm hairs off. Not pull them out or scrape them off, but really cut them. Where I come from, that’s positively MYTHICAL.

For a year or so, I never touched the 17 hole. The instructions say that’s for x-acto blades. No good for pocket knives. When I finally tried it, it became obvious that 17 is the right way to go virtually every time.

But I was asked to write an explanation of how I use the Lansky kit. I decided to go one step further and make a tutorial out of it, in case anyone else has the same question and is too shy to ask. Without further ado, here’s the technique.

First, this is the basic kit. Three hones, coarse (red), medium (green), and fine (blue). One clamp, with holes labeled 30, 25, 20, and 17. Three rods, all identical, and one bottle of oil.
LanskySharpeningtutorial001.jpg


One question not addressed in the instructions is how do put the rod into the hone? I lay them both flat on the table, then screw it tight. That means the surface of the stone is in line with the rod. Note that you may have to tweak the rods a little- if the elbow isn’t 90 degrees, naturally, it won’t line up.
LanskySharpeningtutorial002.jpg


Then clamp the blade into the aluminum clamp. For small blades like this Victorinox Secretary, I slide the spine in just to the cutout area. This leaves room for the hone to reach the edge, over the clamp itself. You’ll see what I mean in a moment.
LanskySharpeningtutorial005.jpg


One problem you can run into is that the hone won’t hit the edge. Either the rod bumps the red knob as shown below, or the hone hits the aluminum clamp itself. Notice how the clamp is clamped. Nice, even distance between the upper half and the lower half. Looks good, but causes problems, as you can see.
LanskySharpeningtutorial007.jpg


The solution? Just spread them a little farther apart. If you can see in the picture, now the hone hits the edge and the rod no longer hits the knob. To do this, first you loosen the red knob. Then you unscrew the metal screw, probably a half turn. Maybe just a quarter turn. Then you retighten the red knob. Easy as that.
LanskySharpeningtutorial.jpg


Next, a dollop of oil on the hone. How much is a dollop? About this much.
LanskySharpeningtutorial011.jpg
 
Sharpen with a pushing motion. Probably about 10 strokes each side on a knife this size. Roughly 5 strokes per inch, I suppose. Go back and forth a few times. Depending on how dull your knife is, it could be quite a few times. But it’s somewhat important to continue the back-and-forth alternation, because if you sharpen just one side of the blade till you get a burr, it will be uneven, off-centered.
LanskySharpeningtutorial012.jpg


When you’ve got a burr, you’ll know it. Wipe the oil off, and there will be a nice rough thing along the entire length of the edge. If, by chance, it doesn’t extend over then length of the edge, flip, sharpen the burred side until the burr moves to the opposite side, and spend a little extra time on the section of the blade that had no burr before. Got it? Under a bright light you can see your burr plain as day.
LanskySharpeningtutorial015.jpg


We went through that process with the coarse (red) hone. Now we’ve got a fat burr along the entire length of the blade. It’s time to switch to the medium hone. Just like before, lay it flat on the table, so the surface of the stone lines up with the rod.
LanskySharpeningtutorial016.jpg


Another dollop of oil.
LanskySharpeningtutorial017.jpg


Sharpen with a pushing motion.
LanskySharpeningtutorial018.jpg


Repeat the same burring process. Flip the burr back and forth a couple of times. Say, I don’t know, six times from front to back. Again, you flip the burr over by sharpening the side that the burr is currently on. You should have a slightly smaller burr than before, but still easily visible.

Switch to the fine hone.
LanskySharpeningtutorial019.jpg


Flip the burr with your fine hone. But now the technique changes. As you flip from side to side, at each pass you should sharpen with less and less pressure. After three or four flips, you’ll have a very small burr, barely visible under bright light.
LanskySharpeningtutorial022.jpg


Continue a couple more flips. You should barely be touching the stone to the edge. No more weight than what the stone itself weighs. Flip, flip, flip. Pretty soon, you won’t be able to feel or see a burr. Look proudly on your sharp knife! At 17 degrees per side, and with a good burr formed and removed, you can be quite confident that the knife will easily shave arm hairs off.
LanskySharpeningtutorial025.jpg


BUT! If you want to go one step further, you can. You can gain a tiny bit more cutting power by stropping the knife on denim. It polishes the edge just a little. Drag the knife spine-first-edge-trailing lightly on your blue jeans.
LanskySharpeningtutorial023.jpg


Your best bet, and what really will add another level of sharpness, is stropping with rouge or other abrasive compound. This is red rouge on cardboard. By carefully stropping (again, spine-first-edge-trailing) at roughly the same angle at which the knife was sharpened, now your knife that was just shaving arm hairs off, can be sharp enough to catch those hairs above the skin and pop them off. That’s “hair-poppin’ sharpness.”
LanskySharpeningtutorial027.jpg


I hope this has been an informative and enjoyable read. A sharp knife is one of life's nicest little pleasures- good, clean fun for everyone. The Lansky kit is a great, affordable way for anybody to participate in that fun!

Mike Cantrell
Mscantrell at gmail.com
 
Great advice, now lets talk about that bandaid on your left hand? LOL Just kiddin, all us knife knuts have them bandaids with in a arms reach.
 
Great tutorial! Nice pics. Thnx for sharing:thumbup:
 
Hi Mike,
Thanks for the info. Great pics, nicely done. I was going to ask about the band aid but somebody beat me to it.Going to give it another try today. By the way I did believe them about the 17 degree stuff !

If I have any problems I hope I can E-mail you again. I've tried and trued to get this system to work right. I am looking for that hair popping sharpness

You'll be hearing from me on how i made out !

Eric,
beakman3@aol.com
 
when you are stropping, are you dragging the blade back and forth with the edge trailing. or pulling the knife down (or to the right if looking at the last picture)??

do you know if you can get red rouge at walmart (good ole wally mart)?

did you use cardboard for a reason or would red rouge on almost anything not abrasive work?

lastly would skipping the jean step and going straight to the red rouge get the same sharpness? or do you combine them for a better effect?

thanks for this tutorial! it was extremely informative and very consise. reps!
 
when you are stropping, are you dragging the blade back and forth with the edge trailing. or pulling the knife down (or to the right if looking at the last picture)??

do you know if you can get red rouge at walmart (good ole wally mart)?

did you use cardboard for a reason or would red rouge on almost anything not abrasive work?

lastly would skipping the jean step and going straight to the red rouge get the same sharpness? or do you combine them for a better effect?

thanks for this tutorial! it was extremely informative and very consise. reps!

Jon, you drag the blade back and forth with the edge trailing, Also, you can find red rouge at Sears, at least I found it at my local store. They also have blue rouge which is even finer to help polish the edge even more. A nice thick piece of leather can also be used instead of the cardboard, but either will work :)
 
did you use cardboard for a reason or would red rouge on almost anything not abrasive work?

Thanks for the kind words. Powells has answered a couple of these questions, but I'll fill in what's left. Cardboard is actually used because it is mildly abrasive, as is leather (Think of Cliff Stamp's cutting tests- he and others are alway talking about edge retention on cardboard. IIRC, it's because there's some clay or sand type grit mixed into cardboard.), which helps position the rouge to abrade the metal of the knife. Usually leather is considered the "right" material for a strop. I use cardboard because it's good enough and practically free.
lastly would skipping the jean step and going straight to the red rouge get the same sharpness? or do you combine them for a better effect?
Yep! I should probably go back and edit that section. Jeans stropping and rouge stropping were supposed to be alternative endings. One is available anytime, anywhere, the other is better but needs extra equipment. Some people do just fine with neither! I'd say try each, try both, try neither, and then weigh the benefit against the time cost.
For me, it's cardboard every sharpening, and a couple of times between sharpenings. It works to restore a slightly dulled edge (it's abrasive, remember), so if it only takes a very small amount of metal removal to reach sharpness again, rouge will get you there.
Keep at it, it works!
Mike
mscantrell at gmail.com
 
I've got this kit. So the 17 degree is the way to go huh? I wasn't going to use it because of the instructions. Hmmmmm..... I'll take your advice and go try it right now. Thanks!
 
The 17 degree angle isnt for every knife. Clamp the blade in the lansky and see which angle suits the knife the best. I feel that 25 and 30 are typical of most blades I sharpen. Use the 17 angle on a really small blade and you wont even be hitting the edge. You'll be dragging your lansky stones across the aluminum guide, gumming up the stone. You'll hit the guide more than you will the knife. The 17 works on some blades,(worked beautifully on Mr. Cantrell's SAK) not all.

Heres a few pics on how I use mine. Not to step on Mr. Cantrell's toes or anything (great tutorial), just trying to help too:

000_1528.jpg


000_1529.jpg


now to strop the edge.

000_1532.jpg
 
That's an important point, psycho! Some blades are just too small for the 17 hole. I had a Schrade medium stockman a while back, and the main blade, the turkish clip, was too narrow. Couldn't get the stone on it using the 17 hole, no matter how I tried. If I had to guess, I'd say the minimum blade width to use the 17 hole is around 5/16" or so.
 
That's an important point, psycho! Some blades are just too small for the 17 hole. I had a Schrade medium stockman a while back, and the main blade, the turkish clip, was too narrow. Couldn't get the stone on it using the 17 hole, no matter how I tried. If I had to guess, I'd say the minimum blade width to use the 17 hole is around 5/16" or so.

I just clamp the blade tightly in the guide, and use the angle best suited for the original edge bevel on the knife. I've been sharpening freehand for years, and I can see how the stone lays across the edge, and my trained eye tells me if it's the right angle for the particular blade.

I just dont even pay attention to the angles on the Lansky. People pay too much attention to angles and not enough attention to the knife. I've noticed that in every thread concerning sharpening.

Anyway, the Lansky really is frustrating for some knives. I'll admit, the Lansky will drive you insane on some knives, and is not the best method for sharpening. I have a tiny Case stockman that absolutely will not clamp into the guide at all. If you do manage to clamp the little bastard in there, the full flat grind on the blades make the blade slip back and forth terribly. This is also true for blades with rounded spines. It will not stay straight. Looks somethin like this.

lansky34567.jpg
 
Hey man great thread! I have a Lansky Deluxe Diamond, glad to see I have been using it correctly :)
 
Thanks for this thread! The Lansky instructions are as hopelessly written and drawn as the instructions for most other things.

But now, I know exactly what to do.
 
awesome post. is there anything like this for the spyderco kit? I'm trying to decide between the two and seeing them both in use would help me decide
 
awesome post. is there anything like this for the spyderco kit? I'm trying to decide between the two and seeing them both in use would help me decide

It comes with a DVD and instruction book, both of which are done quite well, at least in my opinion. I kind of doubt that anybody has bothered with a tutorial, since it's fairly well instructed to begin with.
 
This is a great post. What advantages are there to the Lansky Diamond over the regular Lansky?
 
I use my Lanskey for almost everything. Last night I reprofiled my Becker BK7, and Howling Rat to 17 degrees each side using the extra course stone that I got for only $3.99. I then ended with the medium and fine stones at 25 degees on the Becker to give it a secondary bevel. I think I'll finish the Howling Rat with a 20 degree seconary edge today.

I've used Lanskey's diamond hone in the past, and the xtra course is good to reprofile large knives, but the diamonds don't last so long, and they cost around $13 each. I now prefer the stones. They last a long time and cut well, but do need oil to unclog them, which is messy and takes extra time. The the diamonds are nice 'cause they unclog with water (easier), but they don't seem to hold up well. The diamonds fall off after the hard use that I like to give them, and they become smooth. I really like this xtra course stone. It seems to hold up very well, is cheap and does a fast job of taking down steel. I've had the Spyderco Sharpmaker, but don't use it in favor of the Lanskey. The only thing I don't use the Lansey for is Moras, where I can hold the large flat scandi bevel onto large DMT diamond hones, finishing with stropping.

I always move the clamp along the spine to maintain a consistant angle. Although the angle does change depending upon where it's clamped and the shape of the spine/knife, so I have to flexible. Sometimes I clamp the front end tighter, effectvely raising the holes, or sometimes I clamp the thumbscrew tighter effectively lowering the holes to get the desired angle. At most I've actually used a different hole (25 versus 20) for one section (usually the tip) to raise an even wire edge or remove it.

I've sharpened lopers with my Lanskey with excellent results, in fact I need to do a pair today. :D I'm also going after my hedge shears with my Lanskey soon.

I love my Lanskey set-up.
 
MSCantrell:
Thankyou for the clear presention. I purchased the Lansky when it had a screw to tighten the jaws.
A question I have not been able to find answer: How do the amazing folks at Randall sharpen their knives. My first two were a matched set of #1 & #2, 8" [against advice of Bo Randall who suggested 7" [grin] in 1967. I tried his instructions on test knives first [to this day I measure 3 times, cut once, and still am off!]
Settled on medium & hard 8" slab Arkansas stones. Old dealer told me to use rolled up newspaper for strop. Worked but I converged on a piece of leather hide rubbed with jewelers rouge. Note in passing I have only had to stop them
3 to 4 times in the last 39 years to keep edge.

My question actual pertains to my latest acquisition: 11" Sasquatch. How did the knife maker sharpen the 'french curve' blade? Not that I shall be doing it but like all the brethren on this site "we have inquiring minds and want to know". Many thanks to any answer.
 
MSCantrell:
Thankyou for the clear presention. I purchased the Lansky when it had a screw to tighten the jaws.
A question I have not been able to find answer: How do the amazing folks at Randall sharpen their knives. My first two were a matched set of #1 & #2, 8" [against advice of Bo Randall who suggested 7" [grin] in 1967. I tried his instructions on test knives first [to this day I measure 3 times, cut once, and still am off!]
Settled on medium & hard 8" slab Arkansas stones. Old dealer told me to use rolled up newspaper for strop. Worked but I converged on a piece of leather hide rubbed with jewelers rouge. Note in passing I have only had to stop them
3 to 4 times in the last 39 years to keep edge.

My question actual pertains to my latest acquisition: 11" Sasquatch. How did the knife maker sharpen the 'french curve' blade? Not that I shall be doing it but like all the brethren on this site "we have inquiring minds and want to know". Many thanks to any answer.This is great site. Why did I not hear about it sooner?
 
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