Sharpmaker or Lansky Sharpening systems ?

P

Perfectionist

Joined
Jul 30, 2004
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Which of the two above is best for Multi tools and occasional knives .....

I keep hearing great things about the Sharpmaker but dont wanna spend that much just to sharpen my Leatherman !!!

Is the Lansky a cheaper alternative that works just as well ???
 
Asking that question is just like the whole sebenza thing, or Kerry vs. Bush.

You will get several different answers. I've heard good and bad things about both.

I don't own a sharpmaker, and have never even handled one, but I do own a Lansky.

So I will only speak about the Lansky. It's great for reprofiling the bevels in blades. Very precise in keeping the correct angles. (even I can't screw it up)

I buy alot of used knives that have been...ummm...used, and abused, and the Lansky is great for those. I don't like it for quick honing, cause I have to get it set up and such. and working with real small blades is sometimes tough to impossible with the blade clamp.

The diamond stones work nice, and I have the bench attachment plate which makes life easier. I will say that I haven't looked at these new, since I have owned mine for years, so I don't know how price compares.

But IMHO, the Lansky is great!

Hope that helps a little. Good luck.

Glenn
 
Well said glennbad , i use mine on all my multitools and knives and it gets them shaving sharp.


Dunc
 
I have both and greatly prefer the Sharpmaker especially when augmented with the diamond tri-angle hones.

The Lansky is useful but doesn't produce the fine edge (for me) that the Sharpmaker does, and it's too flexible both in the stone guide rods and the clamp.

I've clamped my Lansky in a vise using a 90-degree aluminum angle bracket to reinforce the clamp and two spring-loaded clamps holding a paint stir-stick on the back plate, and it still flexes and wobbles. :(

The Lansky is a good re-profiling tool for some knives but for the fine edge it's the Sharpmaker for me.
 
I've used both. I started with the Lansky, then sold it and bought a sharpmaker.

Lansky: easy to use, inexpensive, efficient, great for reprofiling, longer to set up

Sharpmaker: easy to use, bit more expensive, efficient, not so good for reprofiling, quick to set up.

Since I sharpen a lot, I prefer the sharpmaker. It really makes a difference when sharpening multiple knives, by not having to clamp each knife. Also, for reprofiling, I wrap sandpaper around the rods, which extends it's use.

If you're only sharpening 1 knife or tool in a session, then the Lansky will work just fine.

There was a lot of discussion here a few years ago on whether to use the Lansky oil or not. The consensus seemed to be that using the stones dry was OK. I used the oil on mine and it was messy.

Guy
 
If you win the lottery you should try the diamond tri-angle hones. They do a nice reprofiling job right to the 204's angles, which is really handy.
 
I started with the Lansky, but it never held the blades well enough, and then there was the set up time...I eventually bent the clamp trying to sharpen small/odd shaped blades.

I switched to the sharpmaker and am happy. It's true that the s'maker stones are too fine for big jobs, but wrapping coarse sandpaper (mentioned above) around the rods speeds things up significantly. Or you can do the profile freehand and use the s'maker for the final edge (or micro-edge) bevel.
 
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