Lansky sharpener

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pheasent89

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Oct 30, 2015
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Who all is in favor of the Lansky sharpening system. About to pull the plug and buy one. should I buy the diamond hones or are the regular hones ok. I am getting this mainly for 2 110s and a 112. also should i get the screw down (holder) i guess you would call it.Is it worth it. Realized I am not very good at keeping a consistent angle on a stone and heard some good things about the Lansky
Thanks
 
I have the conventional stone Lansky and I am a fan. I got the three stone set (coarse, medium fine) then later added the ultra fine and sapphire hones. I hand hold mine but the table mount would be nice.

Vee stick systems are nice for quick touch ups but not for changing an edge angle or fixing a nick.

Some will push you to "just learn free hand." But I struggled with free hand. After several years with the Lansky I found I could learn free hand because the Lansky had taught me what a good edge was like.

My 110 came with a 20 degree bevel on one side and 17 degrees on the other. I converted both to 17, this would have taken forever with vee sticks.
 
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I am still a novice, after a few years of sharpening, so this is just my take.... The Lansky system is a great sharpener, especially if you are sharpening only a few knives, every once in while, and they do not have large 4+ inch blades. I have used one on 30+ knives over the last few years and it definitely gets you to a nice shaving sharp edge. I just have the basic three stone set and I always clamp the guide into my bench vice. I tried holding in hand like the instructions, but it was really cumbersome.

I also have a Sharpmaker that I picked up for next to nothing at a flea market. I have tried a few times to use it and even with reading info and watching videos I was not really satisfied. However, there are so many people that love the Sharpmaker and I feel that if I really wanted to get proficient with it I could.

I also have picked up various stones and ceramic rods and some portable diamond sharpeners over the years and use them occasionally when needed.

Then enters the Worksharp! There is a reason for all the great reviews. I picked it up a couple weeks ago and have sharpened/resharpened every knife I can get my hands on. I just picked up a set of "vintage" kitchen knives today and brought them all back to shaving sharp in about 30minutes! This would have taken me 2+hours with any of the other sharpening options I have. It really is great for everything. I started by using the guide on the first couple knives and went to freehand with everything else. I also sharpened an axe and two hatchets.

Bottom line- If you can swing it you should give the Worksharp a try. If not the Lansky is a good system as long as your knives are not too large.
Hope this helps,
Bruce
 
I have the basic 3 (or is it 4?) stone set, but have not used it in a couple years (it is in Idaho, I'm not) but it works quite well on every knife I used it on.
I recommend them, even if you are "good" at holding an exact angle freehand, the Lansky just makes it easier.
 
I have used one for years, since they first came out (or I first heard of them) so long ago. They originally came with stones as the diamonds weren't developed. I later bought a couple of diamonds. Now I can sharpen anything I want. I can free hand but this system is easy.
 
For traditional knives with the softer steels, I prefer the regular hones because they are not as aggressive as the diamond stones and give a smoother finish.

If there is one strong advise that I can give, it would be to buy one that comes with the old style clamp with a notch (groove) for smaller knives. The current clamp with the rubber inserts sucks and there are lots of complaints about it as can be read in the reviews tab here: https://lansky.com/index.php/products/multi-angle-knife-clamp/

There are generally a couple of used sets with the old style clamp for sale on eBay which would not only give you a better system but usually cheap as well.
Websites often use stock photos which show the old clamp but chances are that they stock the new ones.
 
Thank you also noticing on older threads here that the buck 110 are a 10 - 13 degree angle and the lansky starts at 17 . Just use the 17 I guess?
 
Thank you also noticing on older threads here that the buck 110 are a 10 - 13 degree angle and the lansky starts at 17 . Just use the 17 I guess?
 
pheasent89 said:
Thank you also noticing on older threads here that the buck 110 are a 10 - 13 degree angle and the lansky starts at 17 . Just use the 17 I guess?
Click to expand...

The angle markings on the Lansky are incorrect and lower than indicated. The actual angle also depends on how far the edge sticks out of the clamp.

With a standard Victorinox the actual angle is 13.3 degrees at the 17 degrees setting

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...hnique-for-EDC-newbie?p=14898206#post14898206
 
I have had Lansky systems for a while now. Started off with the stone one and now use the diamond system and love it.
 
Until I obtained a Lansky system I struggled to obtain great edges. I started with stones and graduated to diamond. Mine go from the extra course to the super fine sapphire and leather strop. For the longer knives such as the 120, get an extra clamp. Position the two clamps so the entire blade can be worked on without having to move the clamps. This saves setup aggravation.
 
Since this is the Buck area here a few Bucks all sharpened with my diamond Lansky at the 25 setting. I know what was posted above about what Buck uses for their angle. I don't think all that is that important. I do all the knives I sharpen at the 25 setting and have watched people shave spots off their arm when I give them back the knife. I don't shave my own arm, I might cut a piece of paper.

 
I use the Lansky 17 setting on my 110 and the 20 on a couple of other Buck knives. No idea what the real angle is but the knives cut well.
 
I've got a Lansky 5-stone system arriving from Amazon tomorrow (gift card purchase). Bought it on the recommendation of Pinnah and several others. I don't want to try my questionable freehand skills on my CS 501 or my newly acquired 1978 500.
 
Got my Lansky sharpener in the mail short one medium stone and one thumbscrew. Back to Amazon it will go, once I've received my replacement. A bit disappointing, though.
 
A Lansky in diamond stone is great for Buck steels,I strip a lot of cables at work and use it at least once a week .
 
Been using my Lansky sharpening system for about a week, and feel like I'm finally mastering the technique. Put an edge on my 501 in S30V last night that was at least as good as the factory edge. The trick, it seems, is to limit oneself to 6-10 strokes at a time before turning the blade over and to decrease the pressure as one progresses through the grits. Three to four cycles with the coarse stone until the blade cuts paper well followed by two each with the medium, fine, and extra-fine and a quick strop did the trick. For touch-ups I'll start with the medium stone.

What angle do people use on their Buck blades? I had had better luck with 25° than 20°, but I'm curious about other people's practices.
 
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