I'm not an expert on any type of cutlery but if I want to use a knife, then naturally I want it to be sharp. After all, it's the dull knives that are most likely to cut you, if you're not careful. Your video has taught me a great amount about general knife sharpening and filled in a lot of the grey areas that I have been unfamiliar with. I appreciate the time and effort you have put into sharing this very useful lesson. Thank you, Ed
I'm really pleased with this! It works like a charm ru-vid.comUgkxDcr-y2Pf6xdnrFHrSP7dl9kpKaCozcSQ Takes less time than my old electric sharpener because it can take more off the knife faster, and then it smooths out nicely with the finer grit polisher. I don't know how long it will last before the grit wears away, but I wouldn't mind having to replace it every once in a while.
I bought one, and it does an amazing job sharpening my knifes! Thank you for introducing this to me! The new ones have a less curved serrated ceramic portion, and the diamond rod has magnets that hold it in place. It's a great sharpener, so thanks for telling us.
Jeff, Thank you so much, My dad died March 4th, one year ago. I recently Decided to look for an elusive Mystery left behind, a large cardboard box filled to the brim with pocket knifes, about a foot tall, wide, and long. I still have not found it, but I did find scraps that he left in his toolbox. I have been sharpening with both, and you have very much so helped me. I'd say you have one more subscriber for sure:) PS, I have an uncle in the Woodworking industry named Jeff, funny right?
I've had a sharpener like the one in your video for a bit. I thought I was doing it wrong, but then saw you do it and went to try it out and it works. I was actually thinking about replacing my Chef's Knife. I've been having a hard time cutting tomatoes. But not no more. Just literally tried this whole thing out and it works.
This was my first sharpener! I figured the fixed angle would be a fool proof intro to sharpening and even now I got something great for serrations/the back pack. Love it! Nice to hear another good opinion on it.
Awsome video! You thoroughly explained the most important points about using a tool like this which shows the benefit and drawbacks for using the product. A very well made instructional video. Thank you very much!
Thanks for the video and the explanations Jeff. I was nearly sick when you were dulling that knife, makes finger nails down a blackboard sound like a symphony. I dislike the pull through sharpeners but like you said, in an emergency they serve a purpose.
You are putting way too much downward force on that carbide friend. Knife sharpening even with a designed sharpener is about smoothness. Being overly aggressive with anything is usually a bad idea.
Have one of these and love it, especially for the price. I never sharpened my serrated knives till I got this. Amazing what a sharpened serrated will do versus a dull one.
This is great. I use it on kitchen knives at work. If put good edges on them, my collegues will have messed them up until I use it next time so its not worth my time doing a good job. And since I dont own the knives I dont really care if they get chewed up a bit as long as they will cut my lunch, vegetable, bread etc.. I bought some cheap clones aswell, clearly a proper metal construction Lansky is a better investment. Newer Blade medics have a magnet that lock the diamond rod in place.
I have no idea why, but this is the first video I've watched of yours in a few months, and I feel "at home" for the first time in a long while. For real, haha.
Old Vid.. But just got one of these and helped a lot. The new Lansky's have a magnet each end to keep the diamond rod in place. Feels a little strange as it pulls the blade to the diamond rod. Good vid. Thanks!
The current version no longer has the diamond rod clip in, it has neodymium magnets, both to hold it closed and also in the open position which makes it even easier to use.
Thank you for this great and in depth review of the knife sharpener.I have been looking to purchase anl knife sharpener for a couple days now, and was going back and forth among the different models that chef’s choice have available - the Lansky used to be my favorite.Thank you for all the work you put into this.
Great video! Too long for the non-knife fanatics but I loved it! I have to admit I found myself looking away when you dulled the blade; I just couldn't watch.Thanks for taking the time to show the particals in the magnifiying glass.
I was always taught that, when sharpening a knife, to remove as little-as-possible of the blade. I learned that lesson over 40 years ago. IMO, you were being *much too aggressive* when using the carbide side of the tool. Too much pressure, and too little technique. You removed far more metal than needed to obtain a working/functional blade edge. I do agree, that watching the "dulling" of the tool... Well, it was painful to watch...
*If you're headed to a vacation rental where the kitchen is likely stocked with battered **MyBest.Kitchen** and abused kitchen utensils, take one of these along so you can have sharper knives for preparing your family meals.*
No, Tanner.... Regardless of the brand/quality of the tool... I always cringe when a tool is abused such a fashion. However!... This abuse was (somewhat) justified, as the blade's edge was resurrected..
Great video. Carbide sharpeners aren't always the best. But they are useful. I used a Smiths Pocket Pal to get a really nasty chip out of one of my knives and it worked great.
Tip. Ounces do not mean anything to anyone outside the USA. Metric is the future system. NASA's historical use of both the US customary (imperial) and metric systems led to a costly mistake with the Mars Climate Orbiter. In the early 1990s, NASA decided to switch to the metric system for new projects.
Thanks, I'm learning to sharpen things and have the blade medic, your tutorial taught me how to use it. I had no idea it was 20 degrees on both sides. When you're pulling it through the ceramic, does it matter if you're pulling it perfectly horizontally or can it also be pulled through at an angle, with the tip down? Practising on an old kitchen knife before putting an edge back on a very old half serrated spyderco so I want to learn it right. Any advice appreciated!
My opinion on the carbide sharpeners is that it largely depends on how much pressure you put on the knife. If there's a folded over nick in the blade then you can use the carbide to take off the folded over nicks or whatever.
The carbide side isn't actually abrasive , so it doesn't work like a coarse stone. It's basically a very hard edge that bites into the steel, like when turning something on a lathe or milling.
Oh... Oh god. I never thought I'd be able to full abject horror over someone abusing a cheap Chinese Wal-Mart Winchester knife, but... Watching that makes nails on a chalkboard sound pleasant.
You're spreading false information about the carbide, you're putting way too much pressure on it which is why it's so difficult to pull through and why it's taking so much steel off. Plus the edge was completely fucked. Check out Sharpens Best, pretty sure all those are carbide and he sharpened a butter knife with it and made it shaving sharp.
Alexander Moffitt *Once you get the desired edge with the carbide is when you are supposed to clean it up with the ceramic. Any professional knife maker will tell you this. This whole video is wrong. Js....*
The sharpens best guy is also an idiot that talked about "friction heating up the metal so much he could smell it" without a hint of awareness you can mess up the temper of steel by heating it up while grinding on it. It's been established for a long time among people that actually know knives how needlessly destructive to a blade carbide is and he's a con-man pettling his carbide sharpener to non-knife people who don't know any better.
I love my lansky tactical sharpening rod i only use the carbide bit because i cant keep a steady angle so a tip i found out for all you carbide users out there if you are just doing touch ups just use the weight of the knife and strop it very well
I bought a Smith's sharpener that appeared to be similar, then followed up with the Lansky. Head and shoulders the Lansky is the better tool. Great review.
Interesting. I still think pocket stones make more sense for me, but that option does create the annoying problem of needing different ones for different purposes. Currently I carry a Lansky triangular medium ceramic stick, which will do most of what I need it to, but I still lack something for really dull edges I might encounter and something to really refine my edges. That said, I'm still pretty comfortable knowing that when I start to consider a knife dull, that rod /will/ sharpen it without too much trouble.
I just bought one of these and just got done using it and to be honest I am not too satisfied. It did sharpen the knives however not too sharp they wont slice paper. Am I expecting too much from this kind of sharpener? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Very nice and detailed video. cutlery lover!! bro i used to watch youre videos of balisongs when i was like 16 so probably 9 years ago!! crazy time flies! i am now getting BACK into balisongs since i was 18 and here i am back on youre videos. insane lol thanks bubba!
I've just ordered a sunnyi pocket sharpener very similar to the lansky hope it works as good as yours handy when bushcrafting etc. Like the videos well put across
Hold the sharpener with the thumb and forefinger. Pull with very little pressure. In your case 40 to 50 LIGHT passes. If you are seeing those honking big strips of metal, you are pushing too hard!
I was gifted a Lansky benchtop guided sharpener and one of these was in the kit. I have removed the ceramic piece and keep it in my pocket for when I need to refinish an edge. Very handy. The rest is a bit scary though. The one I have had a problem with the ceramic piece being loose in the frame of the unit. I couldn't make it tight enough, so removed it. The long file might be handy in a pinch to clean up a chainsaw blade. I recently cleaned the unit up and swapped the angle carbide and ceramic angle pieces to see if it might actually sharpen something. I've only ever used those v-cut things to play with using knives that I'm happy to destroy edges on. They be scary things lol. Hehe.
I bought this and it did an excellent job on my Old Hickory butcher and other kitchen knives, but sadly it is very easy to mark up the blades of your knives if you aren't careful. I cannot recommend this for your good blades, but it is useful for the kitchen. I have several knives that wound up with a mark along the length of the blade, because it is very easy to to touch the sides of the sharpening groove. Of course, practice could improve performance, but for me this sharpener will not go near any blades I want to keep in new condition.
Great review, again. I've had the Smith's version for years. I need to get this one too, but keep forgetting to add one to my orders. I really liked that you explained the carbine section. I already knew it, but a lot of folks don't. I think I've use the carbide on one or two really badly chipped knives. I agree, stay away from the carbine unless it is an emergency. Then not on a real good, expensive knife.
I got mine a few days ago. The diamond tapered bit stays folded with a second magnet now. Also the diamond taper has a bit of wiggle straight out the bat, well at least with mine. Still works great though.
If spydercos come from the factory that way why does the sharpmaker have 30° and 40° slots. On the manual it always says to finish with the 40 and use the 30 to remove around the bevel?
Hi! I'm not good at English,just tell me, is this a normal sharpener or not? I have here four or five folding knives from AUS-8,a pair of hunting knives from X12MF, and a dagger from 95X18. Strongly knives do not blunt, I correct during. Is such a sharpener suitable for this? We have it made in China costs $ 23.
thanks for the review man im completely new to knife sharpening and i grabbed one of these off amazon but i wasn't entirely sure how to use it properly.
Yep- I watched it again- GREAT review. I can suggest this though- when you do the paper cut test it seems there is a grain in paper? So- if you cut length wise ( the long side of the sheet) it will cut smooth but on the short side it will rip. Might be wrong but it ALWAYS happens when I do it. :) Again cutlerylover- GREAT review Sean
Great review. I have this sharpener. It really is a neat tool for use in the field or someplace else when you don't have your usual sharpening setup. That carbide sharpener though...i tested it once and saw actual slivers of metal come off the blade. I learned to stay away from them that way. I use the other tools though and 2+ years on, the tool is perfectly fine. Great quality stuff. I also have their constant angle sharpener and that works like magic.
Hey, thanks for the very helpful review. Going to order one on Amazon. I am generally nervous about sharpening blades, so mine are generally dull. This makes it look fairly easy.
I use it upside-down. I hold the knife in my lefthand horizontal with knife edge up and I pull the sharpener over the blade so no striking the knife tip on a hard syrface.
Cool little thing. Impossible to find in Australia, unless you want to pay four times the price. I've been trying to order some from Amazon, along with other stuff, but Amazon does not ship those. This one, the pocket pal, the accusharp one, the camilus one, nothing. Other sellers do, but the shipping fee goes through the roof. I'll keep dreaming of getting one.
eBay Australia has ones similar to this but not the same brand, it's in Australia so it's free shipping and arrives quick I saw a few on there for under 10 bucks
I like the Camulis one better. It has the same features,and the added bonus of fixed integral torx bits in common knife screw sizes. It's also a bit longer for a better fit for the hand.
I'm looking for a REALLY good, easy sharpener for garden tools (secateurs, hedge cutters, scissors, etc.). One that can get in to sharpen hedge trimmers. I have bought hand held sharpeners "similar" to this Blade Medic one, but cannot get my gardening tools sharp with those (the Spear & Jackson 6 in 1, for example)!! I am a lady, and have no access to complicated sharpening methods. I am in the U.K. and to take the tools to an ironmonger for sharpening is very expensive (may as well buy a new tool). I don't need such specialised sharpening as you guys are needing (you must have some fantastic knives!). This was a REALLY interesting video, really detailed and so well done. Any suggestions of which sharpener to buy for my purpose please folks? Would this Blade Medic do the job?
For very dull knives…1. Carbide to get a coarse bevel 2. Onto the diamond taper 3. Ceramic v to smooth the diamonded edge 4. Ceramic strip to hone the bevel to smooth and sharp. If your knive isn’t dull, avoid the carbide altogether……just my opinion
Lansky worn about not use often diamond sharpener, why obviusly can wear out. Lanky say to use often the ceramics bar sharpener ...and carbide V only for vey weared blade . The new model have 2 neodimium magnets to block the diamond sharpener in open and close position. The most importan thingh to sharpen is the abilyty and sensibility of the person than sharpen. These thing work very well. But the only way to make a razor sharp edge is the ceramic bar...both the V sharpener (carbide and ceramic) dont make a razor edge...they make a decent edge.
A touch no heavier than the weight of the blade works best with the tungsten V sharpeners in general. It takes longer, but takes less metal and gives a keener edge.
How do you clean the small ceramic and carbide sharpener? What is a good cleaning agent for that and how do you clean the small part of those? I just got my Lansky and was wondering how to clean them when I was using the small ceramic sharpener and noticed it was turning black due to particles of knife. Thank you in advance.
If you ever use the carbide on a blade that you like, don't tilt the blade. It'll take off an even larger chunk than shown here. It can still happen with the ceramic, but since you don't use as much force as with the carbide it's not so prevalent.
