New to knives and could use some guidance...

Torogoz

Torogoz

Joined
Oct 23, 2018
Messages
20
Hi,

I currently live and work in Central America and usually get back home to the US once or twice a year. Until recently I’ve had only a SAK and a machete (standard for yard work here).


I decided to get a new knife and have fallen into the vortex, spending a lot of time watching videos and reading A LOT of posts on this forum. I’ll be going to the US for work next week and have the following waiting for me as my first knives as a hobbyist:

-Ontario Rat 2 in D2 (for beater/EDC purposes)

-FF/Massdrop Gent (S35vn) (for when I need something more gentlemanly than Rat 2)

-Ohta FK7 Higo in D2 (because I fell in love with the look and simplicity)

And the following accessories:

-Wiha torx set

-Lansky diamond/ceramic 4 rod turn box

-Strop block (the green one)

Since there is no reliable mail service here, what I bring back with me will be all I have for at least the next 8 months or so. The knives will be EDC but will not see heavy use at all.

My questions:

-Am I set? Is there anything obvious that I’m overlooking that I will need?

-Is the Lansky and strop block sufficient for keeping these knives sharp for a novice? Am I short sighted in buying the Lansky and not the Sharpmaker?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!
 
Welcome!

It looks like you've done your research and will be off to a great start!

Personally, I enjoy the ceramic stones Spyderco makes; the "Doublestuff" series. They are compact and portable but aren't guided. I'm sure the Lansky will be a good starting point though.

I'd say get yourself a small bottle of Tuf-Glide to prevent rust and maybe some blue Loctite and you should be all set!:thumbsup:
 
And the band-aids, don't forget the band-aids.....

I started out with a Lansky set with a basic angle guide on it. The one you have will be fine and start to build the idea of correct angles in your eye and hands. But you will be amazed how far a little regular stropping will take your edge between actual sharpening.
 
The Gent and RAT 2 are fairly similar in size. There’s nothing wrong with that, but if you want to broaden your range size wise, you might consider a RAT 1 instead.

ETA: Personally, I think the Lansky will do a fine job keeping your knives sharp on a budget. If your knife affinity holds, you’ll want to move on at some point...but your initial investment in the Lansky will be modest. I got good results from my Lansky on simple steels for quite some time. Like many, I’ve subsequently gone a little sharpener-crazy.
 
Last edited:
Torogoz said:
Hi,

I currently live and work in Central America and usually get back home to the US once or twice a year. Until recently I’ve had only a SAK and a machete (standard for yard work here).


I decided to get a new knife and have fallen into the vortex, spending a lot of time watching videos and reading A LOT of posts on this forum. I’ll be going to the US for work next week and have the following waiting for me as my first knives as a hobbyist:

-Ontario Rat 2 in D2 (for beater/EDC purposes)

-FF/Massdrop Gent (S35vn) (for when I need something more gentlemanly than Rat 2)

-Ohta FK7 Higo in D2 (because I fell in love with the look and simplicity)

And the following accessories:

-Wiha torx set

-Lansky diamond/ceramic 4 rod turn box

-Strop block (the green one)

Since there is no reliable mail service here, what I bring back with me will be all I have for at least the next 8 months or so. The knives will be EDC but will not see heavy use at all.

My questions:

-Am I set? Is there anything obvious that I’m overlooking that I will need?

-Is the Lansky and strop block sufficient for keeping these knives sharp for a novice? Am I short sighted in buying the Lansky and not the Sharpmaker?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!
Click to expand...

The only thing that I really see you might be missing is a small edc type fixed blade. Sometimes there are tasks where a folder is not the best choice but your machete might be overkill.

I highly recommend you check out something like the White River Backpacker Pro, the Esee Izula, Becker BK14 or the Bradford Guardian 3.5. Those knives cover a range of different prices and maybe you could find one that suit you.
 
Welcome to the forum.

I have a Lansky and a Sharpmaker. The Lansky works well on saber ground knives, but not as well on others. Plus, the setup time. I prefer the Sharpmaker.

Knife-wise, you're set.

Maybe add a hatchet, and a plier-based multi-tool.
 
Welcome Torogoz! The Buck 110 is highly regarded South of the Border. ;)
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Couple of large Opinels. Cheap and great to use for practicing your sharpening skills. Make great gifts when you are done with them.
 
The gent needs a bit of locktite on the pivot.

Many people use the sharpmaker to maintain and another system when you need to knock off material so it's not like it'll take away the usefulness of the lanksy(likewise if you go sharpmaker first and purchasing another system afterwards) if you decide to buy it later on.

Perhaps consider some sort of lubrication. Welcome to the hobby!
 
I think you will have less trouble with the deluxe lansky. But make sure that every thing from the rods to the stones are 100% straight and flat.

I bought the begginer lansky a few years ago. And I had one bad stone and I couldn't figure out what was wrong at first.
 
Thanks, everyone. This is all very helpful. I'll definitely be picking up some LockTite and have already ordered a Esee Azula (venom green at my son's insistence) as an EDC fixed blade to round out the collection on Lapedog's recommendation. I'm also going to pick up some of the other stuff you guys recommended.
 
I would suggest an Aus8 rat model and some silicon carbide bench stones or water stones. Then if you feel. Like you need more edge retention after that then upgrade to s35vn and some diamond stones and diamond paste strops. As the super steels are fairly hard for new people to learn on much harder steels.
 
jimmy1523 said:
The gent needs a bit of locktite on the pivot.

Many people use the sharpmaker to maintain and another system when you need to knock off material so it's not like it'll take away the usefulness of the lanksy(likewise if you go sharpmaker first and purchasing another system afterwards) if you decide to buy it later on.

Perhaps consider some sort of lubrication. Welcome to the hobby!
Click to expand...

We don’t know if he has the guided Lanskey system or the Lanskey turnbox which is basically similar to the sharpmaker.
 
Agree that some sort of diamond paste/spray would be better for the steels you've mentioned. After reading several threads here and understanding carbides a little better, I'm convinced the green/black stick compounds are virtually useless on most steels.
 
I'd add an inexpensive Leatherman or Gerber multitool. Both make some decent ones for $50 or less.
 
I would recommend to someone new that you get a cheap knife or two to practice sharpening. Guided systems like the Lansky have a shallower learning curve than benchstones, but it does take some practice. You wouldn't want to damage or mar a knife you like.

Just my 2 cents.
 
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