All About Pocket Knives

Lansky1 wrote:I’ll start ....

- put a little piece of blue painters tape on the top edge of the knife where it mounts in the jig to prevent those annoying tell tale Lansky scratches.

- watch the inside of your right hand - if you slip, the blade tip is very close to the inside of your wrist

- I have tried all 4 sharpening angles & have settled on using the top hole (30 degrees). It seems to work perfectly for all of my slip joints ... and the best part is I always know which angle to use regardless of what knife I’m re-sharpening

- the standard stones dish out from wear over time - but the diamond stones always stay flat as the diamond sharpening media is bonded to a steel plate. It’s worth it to me to pony up for the diamond set

- I’ve Found the single most important part of the Lansky system is to buy the mounting base so it’s stable - trying to freehand that Lansky clamp is actually quite dangerous.

Much wisdom from Lansky1. I upgraded to the diamond stones, and they took this tool to a whole new level. I just sharpen until I feel the burr, flip, repeat, do this once again, and then move to the next stone and do the same. Then I finish with stropping to get rid of any remaining burr. I have settled on the 25° setting, and it works pretty well for me, but I may try the 30° to see how that performs. One other thing I do; the hole the rod goes through has a lot of slop, so I place my finger over (under is ok, too) the rod, behind the hole to reduce the slop. Taught my son to use it; didn't take him long to get excellent results.

sparkyv wrote:

Lansky1 wrote:I’ll start ....

- put a little piece of blue painters tape on the top edge of the knife where it mounts in the jig to prevent those annoying tell tale Lansky scratches.

- watch the inside of your right hand - if you slip, the blade tip is very close to the inside of your wrist

- I have tried all 4 sharpening angles & have settled on using the top hole (30 degrees). It seems to work perfectly for all of my slip joints ... and the best part is I always know which angle to use regardless of what knife I’m re-sharpening

- the standard stones dish out from wear over time - but the diamond stones always stay flat as the diamond sharpening media is bonded to a steel plate. It’s worth it to me to pony up for the diamond set

- I’ve Found the single most important part of the Lansky system is to buy the mounting base so it’s stable - trying to freehand that Lansky clamp is actually quite dangerous.

Much wisdom from Lansky1. I upgraded to the diamond stones, and they took this tool to a whole new level. I just sharpen until I feel the burr, flip, repeat, do this once again, and then move to the next stone and do the same. Then I finish with stropping to get rid of any remaining burr. I have settled on the 25° setting, and it works pretty well for me, but I may try the 30° to see how that performs. One other thing I do; the hole the rod goes through has a lot of slop, so I place my finger over (under is ok, too) the rod, behind the hole to reduce the slop. Taught my son to use it; didn't take him long to get excellent results.

Nice - glad you like the Lansky. Agree - it's such an easy system to use, doesn't take much experience with it to get excellent results.

I learned something recently when sharpening the very fine point of a wharncliffe. Sometimes, the very tip gets slightly off the line of the rest of the straight edge blade and if you look close, it reflects poorly on the quality of the grind. What I learned when forming the fine tip, is that I now do NOT let the edge of the stone go past the tip of the blade. Sometimes, you can go about halfway out on the stone without feeling like you're losing control of it, but you do lose the guidance the entire face of the stone provides when on the blade, and it goes slightly off straight. Don't let the edge of the stone go past the tip, and your tip grinds will be perfect.

This is my set-up.

I use this Lansky, I find it just great .I don't care for scary sharp just sharp enough to slice paper with my 301 Buck and my Case Trapper lock. ftd

jerryd6818 wrote: ↑Mon Dec 30, 2019 4:52 pm This is my set-up.

Very nice organized set up Jerry - I like what you did there. My setup is basically a stationary drill press table with the Lansky C-clamp mount but the whole area is disorganized and gets messy with oil - I like yours a whole lot better !

I've been using a Gatco for several years. Looks very similar to the Lansky. I just purchased one of these from Amazon. Anxious for it to arrive and see how well it works.

https://www.amazon.com/Work-Sharp-Preci ... den&sr=1-1

I am interested in hearing your report on how this sharpener works. Especially on large blades and small blades which can be a problem for the Lansky.

Mark in PA wrote: ↑Sun Jan 31, 2021 9:41 pm I've been using a Gatco for several years. Looks very similar to the Lansky. I just purchased one of these from Amazon. Anxious for it to arrive and see how well it works.

https://www.amazon.com/Work-Sharp-Preci ... den&sr=1-1

Make sure that you give us a full report when you have used it, looks good and has some good reviews. But always like reviews on AAPK much better, they are always more accurate. But i do like the look of your purchase, well done.

Tips ?

Marker Pen ..
Mark the bevel / cutting edge ..
?????????? Do you want to match the edge ?
How badly damaged / used / rounded is the edge . ( I have seen some horrendous edges )

I love DIAMOND ... There not expensive . but is there any for he Lansky ? ( Havent seen any )
So maybe if the edge is like really FUBAR , you need to put down a new bevel first .

Could even be done free style ... EZE-LAP diamond hone & stone .. Did it this way for a long time ..
Put down a new bevel , then use the Lansky to take it all the way . ( What ever that is )
If you angle is off , just free style it closer . ( That learning / developing / a skill thing )
I use a jewellers eye piece so as to avoid removing too much metal . Check often and be happy .
The better you get at it the less time it takes .
But yeah , number one trick is the marker pen . Shows you where you are removing metal from and where you should be taking it from and where not !
Lansky is great , but not for putting down a new bevel or restoring a badly damaged one .
Seriously time consuming ! Ur probably better off paying some one $10 to put a new bevel on the knife rather than spending hours trying to clean up some ones erroneous ways with the Lansky .

The Lansky is brilliant in it's simplicity and it's ability to maintain a edge and keep an edge in good condition . A knife maintained on a Lansky should last a very long time , as a well maintained edge needs very little work to keep sharp .

At the other end of the spectrum is the "sapphire" stone, which I'm pretty sure is actually ceramic.
Use it for a super final polish ....
Heck, Lansky even has a leather strop!

Seen those !

If there is a diamond option , then certainly worth while to speed up work on those tougher edges ( needing more work ) .
Ceramic - I like ceramic sharpeners as well . Though sometimes they can be the worst option and at other times the best option . ( That double edged sword thing )

For those Lansky users out there who happen to read this, thought you may be interested The Knife Connection has Lanksy products on sale at the moment. So if you need some replacement things or wish to upgrade might be worth a look.