Lansky 5 stone sharpening system tips?

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kershawguy13

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I'm trying to sharpen a Spyderco Tenacious, and I can't get it very sharp. Any tips? Also, what angle should I sharpen it at? Thanks.
 
Use a marker to color the last bevel (the cutting edge). Then try the sharpening stones, starting at the lowest angle, for a few passes (lightly). Hopefully one angle will wipe it off completely, which is the same angle as the knife already has. If you need more info., you can search "marker trick" or "sharpie trick" here.
 
I'm kind of a rookie myself but I have watched several youtube videos and developed a pretty solid system. I pick an angle and sharpen all my knives at the same angle. My personal angle of choice is 20 degrees. I start with the coarsest stone and sharpen one side until I have a burr along the whole edge of the opposite side. Then I flip and do the same thing on the other side. Once you have achieved a burr the length of the blade on both sides then you've achieved your desired angle. Then I just move down the stones running the length of the blade about 5-7 times per side. When I am finished with the ultra fine stone, I have an incredibly sharp knife. Good luck.
 
I find that if I press down moderately on the guide rod while I work the stone on the knife edge, then better angle stability results. Otherwise, the rod may flop around inside the slots too much.

Also, I highly recommend putting blue painter's tape or some kind of tape inside each jaw to protect the knife's finish. Otherwise, you're likely to create deep linear markings in the sides of the knife blade. Another alternative would be to put tape on each side of the knife, leaving only a few mm near the edge open to the sharpening hones.

I hope these tips are helpful.
 
A couple of things that I learned about the lansky. Make a note of where on the blade you set the clamp. it is very important to do it the same way every time, as well as having the clamp halves are parallel. the numbers on the lansky are a guide based on an ideal situation, It depends on how deep the knife is as to what angle you will end up with, so it is possible to make adjustments and find the factory angle if you want, then adjust from there. Do the sharpie thing to find your contact area. Guide the rod as well as the stone, and make sure that you are keeping everything nice and even. nothing should be bending.
 
It operates on the same principal of sharpening as freehand and other systems. Your goal is to create a fully apexed edge that is burr free at a consistent angle. So you should look up some sharpening videos, do a quick search on this forum for sharpening advice and you should be able to find advice and links to various videos, tips, etc and try to absorb all the information as what you do with a guided setup can translate to freehand and vice versa.

With that being said your going to need to reprofile it to fit one of those angles as it's highly unlikely it will work with one of those angles perfectly. Get a sharpie out and mark it up the bevel and proceed to sharpen it with the coarsest stone you have till you remove all the sharpie till the apex, than flip and repeat. Than work your way up the grits. That's the very short version of it, there is actually a lot more to it to get a truely sharp knife but I need to get back to sleep so hopefully someone else will chime in and add in more.

Some advice though pick up the coarsest diamond stone for the lansky it will save you a lot of headaches in the future on your future knives you have to do this to. Fortunately it should be a one time thing per knife per angle, than it's pretty easy from than on as it's already at your desired angle as long as you use the same setting and place it in the same location.
 
Bob6794 said:
It operates on the same principal of sharpening as freehand and other systems. Your goal is to create a fully apexed edge that is burr free at a consistent angle. So you should look up some sharpening videos, do a quick search on this forum for sharpening advice and you should be able to find advice and links to various videos, tips, etc and try to absorb all the information as what you do with a guided setup can translate to freehand and vice versa.

With that being said your going to need to reprofile it to fit one of those angles as it's highly unlikely it will work with one of those angles perfectly. Get a sharpie out and mark it up the bevel and proceed to sharpen it with the coarsest stone you have till you remove all the sharpie till the apex, than flip and repeat. Than work your way up the grits. That's the very short version of it, there is actually a lot more to it to get a truely sharp knife but I need to get back to sleep so hopefully someone else will chime in and add in more.

Some advice though pick up the coarsest diamond stone for the lansky it will save you a lot of headaches in the future on your future knives you have to do this to. Fortunately it should be a one time thing per knife per angle, than it's pretty easy from than on as it's already at your desired angle as long as you use the same setting and place it in the same location.
Click to expand...

I agree with the last paragraph. Paid an extra $15 for the extra coarse diamond stone. Not necessary for lower end steels but still saves time. If you get into the higher end steels it becomes even more helpful.
 
The angle markings on the Lansky clamp are set in reference to the immediate front edge of the clamp (I measured to verify this, on my clamp). Any blade edge which extends beyond the clamp's front edge (and all must, to reach them with the stones) will sharpen up at an angle that's lower (more acute) than the marked setting. For example, a blade edge which is about ~3/8" beyond the clamp's front edge will sharpen up at around ~15° per side when using the '17' marked setting. Wider blades extending further out will sharpen up at angles much lower. All of the clamp's marked angle settings will be affected similarly, with wider blades.

As others have mentioned, a supplementary coarse (or coarser) diamond hone is very helpful, when setting bevels on more wear-resistant steels like S30V and similar.


David
 
Lots of good advice so far. I second the call for a coarse diamond stone.

Personally,I've gotten excellent results with the Lansky kit, but only after a lot of trial and error. If I could give only one tip, it would be to WATCH THE INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEO ON THE WEBSITE, or youtube videos by experienced users. Learn from those who know! It will save you a lot of headache.

The issue of figuring out what angle you're actually using depening on how far the knife extends from the clamp continues to frustrate me. With a pocket knife, it's not such a big deal. If you want to reprofile a big blade, though . . . :grumpy:
 
I use the medium and fine diamond hones when I start sharpening. I've not used the coarse diamond hone and luckily my reprofiling has not needed it.
I also use blue painters tape on the jaws and find it holds well with no movement.
I've replaced the wing screws with set screw for holding the rods to the hones. I get a bit more out of each hone.
I have a guide wire for each hone and leave them on. Once they are level and straight with the hone surface they stay that way though I check them periodically and only now and then make and adjustment.
I keep my diamond and ceramic hones clean by periodically cleaning with Ajax powder and an old toothbrush...I towel them dry then set them on the top of my stereo receiver to dry...lol...takes overnight but they are dry to my standards.
Apply enough pressure to get the job done...some hones require more pressure than others and is also dependent on the knife's needs...don't apply so much pressure that you are bending the wires, they are guides only.
I've placed each knife in the jaws where I feel it will work best then have taken a photo so I know where to place it next time...I had the pics printed at Staples for very little money and the pics sit in my tackle box/sharpening kit box.
 
I've placed each knife in the jaws where I feel it will work best then have taken a photo so I know where to place it next time...I had the pics printed at Staples for very little money and the pics sit in my tackle box/sharpening kit box.[/QUOTE]

Good idea Kai

I had this system for two yrs, used it once and put it away because I thought it was too much trouble
Wrong!
Started using it recently, and now I use it a lot with Sharpmaker maintenance touch ups
I wish I had been using a guided system all along
My hand sharpened knives always had a good edge, but always looked hand sharpened

BTW : That KME guided system looks like a big improvement on the concept, but a lot more $
 
I only ever used the medium diamond, and as it wore in, it became a lot smoother, so I got another one, and would use the new one as a starter, and the older one to refine and finish.
 
Diamonds break in and get smoother. For diamonds you also have to be careful and use light pressure or you risk ripping out the diamonds and making it far less abrasive. Personally I think getting diamonds in different grits would be a better way to go about it than to get them of the same grit because as they break in you will wind up with 2 of the same stone.
 
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