/ revhiker www.amazon.com... I show you how to put a super sharp edge on your knife with the Lansky 5 Stone Kit and a homemade strop. I also discuss edge geometry and what type of edge is best for your needs.
I had the Lansky system for years before RU-vid and could never get a sharp knife. Your video points out the mistakes I was making. Good video, thanks!
Maybe you said this but make sure the rods are parallel with the stones by placing the stones on a flat surface stone side down with the rods loosely in place. Then tighten the thumbscrews and check for the rods being the same height as the stone surface and parallel. I have had to adjust almost all of mine by bending them slighty. This should help maintain consistency from stone to stone. Also make sure the blade isn't canted in the clamp, I just eyeball it to make sure. Hope this helps. I've been using the lanky for many years and think it's a great system. Enjoyed your video, keep them coming.
You just pointed out one of it's major failures and still call it a great system🙄 Besides the fact that it is a slightly more affordable system it is terrible! Poor quality, poor setup, hard to get consistent results and takes a ton of time to get a reasonable result😏
Talk about timely! After more than 45 years of sharpening with plain Arkansas stones and diamond hones more recently, my Lansky system was delivered yesterday! I thought you were using diamond hones there for a minute, before you put the oil on. Nice to see that it is so easy to use! I haven't put mine together and sharpened anything with it yet, but I'm looking forward to it now. I also got the sapphire stone to go with the set. Just a tip with those stones, if you find you get one so clogged with filings that you can't get them out, take some water, a little dishwashing detergent and an old toothbrush and give them a good scrubbing. That will take a lot of the filings out. Alternately, you could use any petroleum based solvent to do the same thing, but the soap and water is cheaper and more environmentally friendly, if you are concerned about things like that.
Hey man great vid,pretty much the same method I use with the lansky.a little tip... (take it with a grain of salt) if you take the clamp about 3-4mm past the benchmade logo you'll get a more even angle from hilt to tip
The thing with lansky is you gotta clamp the knife in the same spot every time otherwise you're grinding a different bevel every time, the closer the clamp towards the cutting edge the steeper the angle. Rarely the 20 degree hole will give you a 20 degree edge.
This system is probably the worse sharpening system on the market. Poor quality, poor setup and taking a lot of time and pain to get a reasonable result.
The first time you run a knife on the Lansky jig the bevel angles are not likely to match any of the jig angles so you're looking at re-profiling the blade to match the jig. That's the major problem with the Lansky. It can take a long time depending on the blade geometry and hardness but if you get it dialed in it'll be easier next time you sharpen so long as you position the knife in the clamp in the exact same position.
Tin Man I believe your right. i just commented asking for advice. i bought a couple extra coarse diamond hones and let me tell you its can take the metal off a thousand times faster. but i would always end up with a couple imperfections i could feel and kind of see after i was done and tried out on a piece of paper. and then i do it all again and it comes out better. so it must be that initial reprofiling that is making it tricky. thanks
Great content. Very knowledgeable. Just gotta turn on auto focus to show us your work my friend. Would of loved to see that razor sharp edge you put all that work into.
I've been using a bench stone and I suck at it, lol... I bought a Esee LS and nothing, took to show and this guy had a belt system. I could shave with it now! SO I may try this, Thanks brother...
OH ITS SHAPE NOW! But understood. I've heard of just using the window of your vehicle too..!? I watch the video of that $700 system. It's nice and all I 's I did that as a small business, but no.. I just want what works! Mark...
Hoobilly Indiana I'm sure it's sharp...the problem with the convex is that you always have to use a belt after that unless you want to reprofile. I have always wanted to buy the wicked edge system and do it as a side job
Thanks. I know a lot of RU-vidrs say the same thing about getting lost in the video. Thanks for the well wishes. I'm healing nicely...well ahead of the Dr's schedule
Hi! Thanks for this. It's not surprising that you are getting ink left on the tip of the blade. If I understand the Lanksy system the 20 degree is measured using the tangent between the 'opposite' (the side with all the slots on) and the 'adjacent' (the side with the clamp). But as the stone sweeps to the tip the adjacent is getting longer. This changes the grind angle - so you're grinding at 20 degrees at the base of the blade but at a lower angle at the tip. Which is why there's ink left, perhaps? Presumably at the factory the knife has been ground at a constant angle. This will be more extreme the longer the blade length. What's more there will be an inaccuracy for a particularly deep blade...I'm not sure it matters...perhaps it's a good idea to have the blunter angle closer to the base of the blade (for heavy work) with a shallower edge at the tip for fine work? In which case no need to worry about leaving ink on the tip? No criticism here, I've learned a lot from watching this;
+Bob_the_Bomb the tips is usually thicker because of the grind on many knives. The ink is at the edge, not the top of the bevel. If I leave ink there, it means the stones arent actually touching the edge, and Im not sharpening that part, only removing material above the edge. I see what youre saying, I think I didnt do a good enough job explaining where the ink was. Glad you enjoyed the video...thanks for watching!
+RevHiker thanks! Yes indeed if your stone is now at (say) 19 degrees because of the longer adjacent, your stone will grind above the bevel and leave ink at the edge, until it has ground the bevel down to 19 degrees, when it will then be able to come in contact with the ink...or are we just saying the same thing? :)
The edges produced by these fixed angle systems are pretty nice. I just use a ceramic rod the same way one would use a steel hone. If you're careful, you can get an edge that will shave hair, but it's not as pretty. I don't shave with them, though. 😊
I have the 4 "stone" Lansky set and I'm not impressed. The angle changes as you move from perpendicular to the clamp to the ends of the blade and I when I tried the 17 degree slot I ended up grinding the clamp itself on one side and the tightening screw when flipped over.
You have it too close to the cutting edge. You want about 5/8" of blade protruding from the end of the clamp. To fix deviations in edge grind measure from the hole you're using to the tip and heel and move the clamp to get them even. After that measure from the hole to the belly if you're within an 1/8" of the tip and heel it'll be next to unnoticeable. Lastly don't count strokes per side. Sharpen one side until you bring a burr up from tip to heel on the opposite side. Do the same for the other side then start alternating sides to remove the burr.
Great instructional video, thank you! Interestingly, you’re the first person I’ve seen using the Lansky system holding your knife rather than the clamp. Any thoughts? Thx
The problem with the lansky is that the angle holes are just reference. With most of my knives, the angle holes are 4 to 6 degrees off. To sharpen my 940 at a true 20, i have to have the rod in the 25-degree hole. So these knives with the 20-degree angle you like so much are probably actually 16 or 17. I discovered this with my spyderco lil native when i was just getting into higher end knives and sharpening. I sharpened it in the 17 hole, and my bevel was just huge, so i got an angel cube, and sure enough, no matter how i clamped it, it was at 11 and 12 degrees. But there's no way to compensate bc if i go to the 20 hole, then the angle is 15, and if i went to 25, it was 20. There's no real way of getting a 17 with thag knife.I use my kme or free hand now, but i thought I'd point it out. Maybe you can get an angle cube and check for yourself
Just came across this by accident. Good video and well presented (no music to distract from voice), a picky person (not me), could say you use the same cloth to wipe each stone but surely that can leave particles of courser grit on finer stones? Realized a couple of things I was doing wrong so thank you very much.
Thanks for the video, I just got the more basic 3 stone Lansky set. Could you describe how to re-flatten the stones when they get uneven? you mention glass, but could you give a few details please? regards from UK!
I own the DMT system. Had and sold the Lansky system, Spyde sharp maker, and the Worx sharp. My best fix - got a 2nd Benchmade and I send one in for their service/spa treatment when needed and use the other one for awhile, lol! I am a fair sharpener....nothing great, but its just not my thing that's all. I watch the vids, try it some....but God just gave me other talents I guess. But...it was a good vid. For sure
Hi Drew I'm sorry to bother you but I've been subscribed to you for a while and you definitely seem like an honest person now I just got my first expensive knife and I want to get a sharpening system but up until a couple months ago I've only owned knives from the gas station and just cheaper and knives well long story short I don't know how to sharpen a knife and I don't have a lot of money and I was looking at these Lansky sharpening systems and I know that you sharpen knives I think this is a professionally and I'll probably never be able to afford a really nice systems but I was hoping you can help me out and if you don't have time I totally understand thank you and again I'm sorry to bother you
Oh, it's no bother....and I'm not Drew :) Congrats, on the new knife purchase. They are a lot fun, eh? I've owned a lot of different sharpening systems. Drew is teaching it correctly. For a beginner and someone that wants to have a real nice blade edge, I would go with the Lansky System. Amazon has a Lansky kit for $22, then buy the Yellow hone and Strop for $10 a piece. It's not that hard to sharpen a knife to a "stupid" sharp edge, but I would practice on the gas station knife first. Be patient, don't race through the process, and, when you have sharpened up the inexpensive knife, sharpen your expensive one. It's a great hobby and there are tons of RU-vid videos on the Lansky system. This video is pretty great. Keep your passes the same on each side, 20 degrees is a good working angle, and strop. You'll do fine and when your knife passes through paper with almost no effort, you will feel like a Samurai with a folding katana in your pocket.
Every review I can find of this Lansky system is only sharpening pocket knives .... what about chefs knives - does it work on 8 or 10" blades and bigger ... or is it not suitable for such sizes
Advice?? I watched your video before i got this system and basically i do it exactly like you do except i have the aluminum stand. i do everything right and maybe its because im doing major reprofiling and havent sharpened a knife yet that i already got to the correct angle but i always seem to get the tiniest of imperfections that i can feel after when i do the sharpening tests on paper. then i look super close and see a tiny reflection in the light. i also have my homemade strop (which i actually made really nice and spent hours on) but i use the leather hone that i bought with it and i get a mirror polish on the entire bevel that way and know that im on the exact angle. Anyway do you think its because im doing major reprofiling (i got a couple extra coarse diamond ones to do it and its 10000 times faster) and its just too much metal coming off to be perfect? like maybe when i go to sharpen the same knife and can start at the 280 stone it might come out perfect? i end up redoing the knife that has the tiny burr or chip or whatever it is and then ot comes out good. im thinking that's what's going on. because trust me i make sure im not hitting the edge as i go towards pull the rod and flip the clamp (wich i did alot in the beginning and learned quick that i was putting nicks in the blade lol). its frustrating getting 99.9999999% of the edge mint and that tiny nick just ruins it. Any thoughts??
i have a decent Lansky system, with a couple mre and different stones to you. i use both diamond and the stones. i have found that by pinning the rod to the side of the angle hole, usually by my thumb, my stone doesn't move up or down, or left and right like yours. you will not get a constant edge if the rod can move.
I can still get an edge that will whittle hair without pinning the rod, and thats more than good for me...but Ill give your technique a try when I sharpen up my next knife. Thanks for the tip.
I'm very interested in purchasing Lansky System. How long does it take start to finish to Sharpen my EDC? Roughly. Also did everything but strope come with kit?
Hey bro, first time commenting, just want to thank you off top!! I've watched probably almost all your vids several times, gleaning lots of helpful info and also causing me to think outside the box on some diy's, keep up the good work! Quick ?, do you have a preference over the lansky deluxe vs the deluxe diamond version?
Every review I can find of this Lansky system is only sharpening pocket knives .... what about chefs knives - does it work on 8 or 10" blades and bigger ... or is it not suitable for such sizes
Just got this kit and the bench stand. I want to start out on a very dull Kershaw Dividend. What stone do you recommend stating with? Also are you applying pressure on both strokes?
I once owned a very "fancy" machete-esque camp knife, and I used a lanky, repositioning it every little bit, to sharpen it, just to make a pretty edge. It worked great.
Great video! One of the comments mentioned that you purchased a new system. Would you still recommend this system? Also, I'm trying to find something that would work well for my Benchmade 940, and hopefully not require any re-profiling right away if the same bevel angles aren't available on the Lansky. I'm unsure of what the factory Benchmade angles are for back-bevel and micro-bevel. Do you use one angle all the way through? Thanks!
xderiwx the lansky is still a good system that will def get a good edge. The factory always has a slight variation, but they are close to 20deg. I don't do microbevels, just a straight angle
I recently bought a CS SRK SK5, and I'm wondering what angle I should use. I bought the deluxe system so I have the 5 stones. should I start off with the 1000? because the blade is sturdy and cuts hair but it can't cut paper fluently. amazing video btw. I would really appreciate some help.
77Knives sure. I think 20deg is a great place. You'll have to see what angle the knife is at to see where to start with the grits. It depends how much shoulder needs to come off. If the edge isn't close to 20, you'll need to start low. If it seems like 20 exactly, you can maybe start with 600 or 1000
I have Wusthof kitchen knives, which have an edge angle of 14 degrees per side. I see the smallest angle on the Lansky is 17 degrees, which makes me nervous about using it on my Wushof blades. Would it make them really dull, or even mess up the blade, or can a 17 degree angle be used to sharpen a knife with a 14 degree edge?
Wusthof makes an incredible knife (as you know). They are hard steel and hold an edge well. A Lansky would reprofile the edge to 17*, which is crazy sharp. 14* is sharper still. Chefs, usually, use whetstones or steels. They take some practice to use well. Many chefs get them professionally sharpened a couple times a year, too. It is decision that you would have to make, those knives are beautiful and expensive. However, stropping will keep the angle and refine the edge. 14* is as sharp as a straight razor. Barbers strop their razors every day. Lansky's are great, but I'd be nervous about reprofiling it. In fact, it's just my opinion, I wouldn't reprofile it. 17* (20*) is crazy sharp and would work well in the any kitchen, Wusthof is the Rolls Royce of chef knives. www.wusthof.com/knife-skills/honing-vs.-sharpening
Hi Drew, awesome vid! Thanks! Just one question: is ist possible to sharpen the Osbourne 940 with the Lansky? I suppose it could be hard to fix the blade in the clamp!?
You can use it on super steel...but it definitely is time consuming for for say s90v. It does lrettywell on s30v type steels, but the stones will dish out
@@cnodorft82 they will be concave from wear in the center and wont be flat... they will be shaped more like a dish. They would need to be leveled. Springing for the diamonds will cost more,but will require less maintenance, and get the job done faster. They will last a long time. Probably worth the investment.
so you dont use any compound on the strop. I see others use different colored compounds. so what is theh compound for and why do some use and not use it?
the compound is useful and helps in polishing faster. I don't use it because I don't have any and I'm cheap haha. The leather works for me. takes a bit longer, but works.
what about my dumb tanto edge? I wish I didn't buy my knife with the tanto but now I have it im unsure. It is just a pocket knife under 4 inches long and about 1 inch wide. any idea for that type of edge?
TJ Jones you just have to treat it like 2 blades almost. Sharpen the tanto and the main part separately. The tip will almost def have a wider bevel. Just comes with the territory.
Thanks I didn't know where to clamp it to do the edge but I guess I can just keep it clamped in the normal area and work the edge? Thanks a lot for the feed back!
Every review I can find of this Lansky system is only sharpening pocket knives .... what about chefs knives - does it work on 8 or 10" blades and bigger ... or is it not suitable for such sizes
As of now, the only knife I have has a convex edge, so I keep that sharp with a strop. But I'm considering getting a Tops knives D.A.R.T. It's about a 7inch blade with a good size recurve. Would this system work on it?
I saw Lansky advertising rounded stones for curved blades. I'm trying to sharpen my CS SRK in SK5 and its 6inch its kind of troublesome but I think you might be able to pull it off sharpening your knife with the rounded stones.
i have this sharpening system coming Monday. i also got the strop option seeing as i have strops i made but never know if im doing the perfect angle. i ordered the aluminum stand too, any reason you didnt get it or dont use it?
+David Weirauch the honing solution is water based. Water will work...the honing solution just makes it glide a bit easier and floats the particles a bit better because of the slightly higher viscosity
Why does it happen, that after sharpening my knife, the belly of the blade is hair popping sharp and is more even than the straight part of the knife. It is really sharp too, but not as sharp as the belly of it. I use the same technique same pressure and same everything. Thank you!
It could be your stones. Are they worn down? If you look down them and there is a belly in the stone, you may have to flatten it. It can affect sharpness by changing how the stone contacts the blade. It may be that you have to remove a bit more material from the blade as well on the straight part to reprofile it.
Thank you! My lansky is brand new. That knife was the second one i reprofiled. I checked the bevel of the blade again, and it seems like it has a double bevel, so you must be right that I didn't removed enough material. Furthermore the bevel on the straiht part seemst to have a higher degree because of the double bevel and the width of it. I will work on it the get the perfect edge. Thanks for your advice!
Every review I can find of this Lansky system is only sharpening pocket knives .... what about chefs knives - does it work on 8 or 10" blades and bigger ... or is it not suitable for such sizes
Rick Hughes I’ve seen a few videos where they tell you if you are doing a 8 or 10” chefs knife you just do one half first then move the knife down the clamp and do the other half. I think I remember seeing a video of someone saying the sharpening system can do 4-5 inches at a swipe so anything over 10” gets tricky. Hope this helped. Don’t have the system yet (newish knife guy here) myself but I’m doing my sharpening system homework and this seems like a great one.
The Lasky system is great. Everyone seems to have forgotten it though. Wicked Edge is nice but the cost is rediculous unless make knives or you sharpen them for a living. IMHO.
jonny cola kinda depends on what you're using it for. A good all around angle is 20. It's pretty durable and still slices very nicely. If you want a pure slicer and it will mostly be lighter work, you can go lower.
Every review I can find of this Lansky system is only sharpening pocket knives .... what about chefs knives - does it work on 8 or 10" blades and bigger ... or is it not suitable for such sizes
I mean not really, you shouldnt be afraid to put a new bevel on the knife when sharpening it... Lansky system garuntees a perfectly symmetrical bevel relative to the knife axis
I just watched a video from lansky themselves saying DO NOT put the solution on the sharpener. It will clog the stone. She said the oil comes with all their products, but only use it on other stone like Arkansas stone. Again not used on this system.
Congrats you just turned a simple diy to a confusing mess. I bet you got contraption and hour long vid on how to pour water in a cup. Confucius once said why overcomplicate just simply educate .
Useless video ..2 minutes in and nothing but his sewer hole rattling ..quit your yapping and make a video ..nobody wants to hear your mouth or smell that funky ass breath ..thumbs down
i will like to try the system , do you suggest the Lansky Deluxe Diamond Knife Sharpening System o the Lansky Deluxe Knife Sharpening System-Knife Sharpener 5 Hones
