NEW ! Knife Sharpening/Maintenace thread

[Prose]

After buying and using the T4 would you still buy one if in the market or stick with stones?

I really enjoyed my T4 and will likely regret the fact that I sold it... it is a good sharpener capable of getting close to "very sharp."

1 star - not sharp
2 star - sharp enough
3 star - sharp (new edge on good knife)
4 star - very sharp
5 star - extremely sharp

T4 Positives: Quickly attain a 3.5-star edge or near 4-star edge on some knives (It's capable of making a better than new edge on a good knife).

Negatives: Hollow grind edge more pronounced with smaller T4 stone and wasn't as "stroppable." Hollow edge not as durable. Didn't love performance with thin heeled knives, filet knives, skinning knives, or other knives needing the "small knife holder" or very shallow angle. (3 star)

Again. T4 is good, especially for larger knives. I would probably have been content with the T8.

I'm looking for 4.5+ stars and non-hollow grind. I can attain 4.5 with my gatco/lansky and figure that a higher quality violin type will suit my needs. Overall, this is an entirely 1st world problem.

 

[Richard Jones]

It’s what I’ve been doing since I wrote that.

Unfortunately the Lansky seems to change sharpening angle when I go from coarse/medium to fine/extra fine stones. Using my loupe I see the finer stones touch the edge at a shallower angle then they are set up to be. No matter how carefully I set things up I had to manually bend the finer stones downward until they would contact the full face of the edge. This explains why for years I couldn’t get better than a “medium” grit edge sharpness with the Lansky but I still don’t know why it’s happening. Geometrically there is no reason and

Another thing to mention about Lansky - I have mostly their diamond stones now. I replaced the original conventional stones from years ago. Each diamond stone has a couple rough spots and in the loupe I see them create gouge marks that indicate inconsistent roughness on the edge. That makes ascending in fineness really slow and difficult.

So anyway I’m not far from scrapping the whole Lansky system for something of higher quality. But I don’t want a benchtop machine(s) costing hundreds of dollars.

If the thickness of the stone changes, so does the angle. Same thing happens on an Edge Pro. You have to adjust it for each stone. It's easily done, with very little to no error.

 

[dgeesaman]

If the thickness of the stone changes, so does the angle. Same thing happens on an Edge Pro. You have to adjust it for each stone. It's easily done, with very little to no error.

I don’t think that is my issue because I set up each stone with a guide rod each time. I straighten the rods and double check everything against a straight edge or flat surface. Consistently the fine and extra fine take off material on a shallower angle than the others until I tweak the guide rod until I see proper contact in the loupe. It’s a real head scratcher because all of the geometry is right there in plain sight.

 

[servant403]

Im almost embarrassed how much sharpening stuff Ive had. But my favorite is the Edge Pro Professional.

 

[Richard Jones]

I don’t think that is my issue because I set up each stone with a guide rod each time. I straighten the rods and double check everything against a straight edge or flat surface. Consistently the fine and extra fine take off material on a shallower angle than the others until I tweak the guide rod until I see proper contact in the loupe. It’s a real head scratcher because all of the geometry is right there in plain sight.

So just spitballing here, but I would think some type of spacer system to use between the 'L' bend in the rod and the stone body would cure those woes. I've never owned a Lansky, but I assume that there is some play in the rod slot on the guide as well. As you know, it doesn't take much to miss that 'knife edge', altho' that's a good way to convex an edge if that's your goal.

ETA: I see some mods on some websites that address the 'spacer' I mentioned above. To combat this on an Edge Pro Pro you just add a sliding bushing with a thumbscrew and use the actual stone to adjust the spacing. It's simple, fast and keeps the stars aligned, if you do your part....

 

[SKWERLZ]

It’s what I’ve been doing since I wrote that.

Unfortunately the Lansky seems to change sharpening angle when I go from coarse/medium to fine/extra fine stones. Using my loupe I see the finer stones touch the edge at a shallower angle then they are set up to be. No matter how carefully I set things up I had to manually bend the finer stones downward until they would contact the full face of the edge. This explains why for years I couldn’t get better than a “medium” grit edge sharpness with the Lansky but I still don’t know why it’s happening. Geometrically there is no reason and

Another thing to mention about Lansky - I have mostly their diamond stones now. I replaced the original conventional stones from years ago. Each diamond stone has a couple rough spots and in the loupe I see them create gouge marks that indicate inconsistent roughness on the edge. That makes ascending in fineness really slow and difficult.

So anyway I’m not far from scrapping the whole Lansky system for something of higher quality. But I don’t want a benchtop machine(s) costing hundreds of dollars.

I moved from lansky to kme
So much nicer.
You need to adjust for different height stones kme has a neat attachment that makes it easier
I just use an electronic angle finder to set angle of differing stones

 

[dgeesaman]

I moved from lansky to kme
So much nicer.
You need to adjust for different height stones kme has a neat attachment that makes it easier
I just use an electronic angle finder to set angle of differing stones

I’m not clear why that’s needed since I assemble my Lansky stones/ rods on a flat surface and so that the rod is perfectly planar to the stone surface. This usually involves tweaking the L bend in the rod until it lays perfectly flat on the table. As I sharpen I keep the guide rod resting gently in the bottom of the guide slot to avoid flexing and changing angle.

But yeah I’ve been looking at the KME, Edge Pro, and others. I can mostly make the Lansky work but it’s tedious and results could be better.

Any suggestion which will work on knives ranging from a Swiss army small blade to a 10” chefs knife?

Thanks,

David

 

[SKWERLZ]

I’m not clear why that’s needed since I assemble my Lansky stones/ rods on a flat surface and so that the rod is perfectly planar to the stone surface. This usually involves tweaking the L bend in the rod until it lays perfectly flat on the table. As I sharpen I keep the guide rod resting gently in the bottom of the guide slot to avoid flexing and changing angle.

But yeah I’ve been looking at the KME, Edge Pro, and others. I can mostly make the Lansky work but it’s tedious and results could be better.

Any suggestion which will work on knives ranging from a Swiss army small blade to a 10” chefs knife?

Thanks,

David

It’s the different heights of stone face to rod interacting with a fixed point guiding rod, if the stone face to rod height changes the angle changes

You can adjust it with a lansky by changing the rod position in the clamp higher or lower to get the same height (stone face to rod) with every stone.

 

[CharlieNC]

A few days ago I came across a comparison of numerous sharpeners by Project Farm on YouTube, he has hundreds of interesting tests. Anyway he used a sharpness tester, which was a type of u-clip which held a test "wire" which the blade pressed upon, and resting upon a scale the force required to cut through the wire is measured. The Lansky tested very near to the top models which cost much, much more.

 

[Infrequent Shooter]

I bought an older King sharpening stone on ebay. Dirt cheap. I think it is 800 grit, in box. I position it lying flat left to right on my counter top, sitting on a big hand towel. It is situated on the edge of the countertop. I drag the blade along the edge. I have rounded the edges in the process. Makes the equivalent of one long sharpening stick, if you get my drift. When I am finished I wash the metal and stone residue off and let it air dry. It's not perfect but I can make a pretty uniform stroke each time. The angle may not be equal on both sides of the blade, but overall it makes a pretty sharp edge. I like to go to garage sales and buy kitchen knives that no one knows what they have. Old german/french high carbon blades. You can buy a ton of very good no name stainless knives made in Japan. Older ones.

It's amazing how quickly a knife needs touching up when you are using it in the kitchen. I have a german steel that I use quite a bit.

 

[Infrequent Shooter]

Now I'm going to have some fun w/ you guys. A working condition 1909 treadle/pedal powered grinding wheel I acquired & repaired some years back. I use it to sharpen splitting wedges, mauls & axes I don't really love. This apx. 150View attachment 1314268 grit wheel helped me profile an old truck spring into a rather large knife. mikeinct

Extremely hard to find.

 

[servant403]

I watched that Project Farm comparison. The Lansky is a very serviceable sharpener for the price. I owned one for a long time. Every system has a learning curve. If the Project Farm guys used each one for a while the scores would change. I guarantee it. The systems that clamp the blade are the easiest to use for good results right away for most people. Once I started using the Edge Pro I strugggled abit. But now the edges I get are better than my KME or my Lansky by a lot. I actually think some of it has to do with the quality of the stones too. But I am just better with the machine now.
Most people swear by the relative ease they have getting awesome results with a Wicked Edge. And I dont doubt it. Whatever system you get practice with it and you will get better results. Dont give up on any system too quick. You can make most of them work.

 

[dgeesaman]

I got my new KME deluxe kit and right out of the box I was getting wickedly sharp blades using the same techniques and attention to detail I used with my Lansky. For me, the KME is head and shoulders above my Lansky.

Anyone want to buy a Lansky kit with diamond stones and accessories? If it’s user error it should be a tremendous bargain.

 

[LVLAaron]

For less than 50 bucks you can get a knock off Edge Pro. Best money you'll ever spend.

If you like expensive things... Get a wicked edge system.


Keep a small fine stone in your bag for touch ups.

 

[SKWERLZ]

I got my new KME deluxe kit and right out of the box I was getting wickedly sharp blades using the same techniques and attention to detail I used with my Lansky. For me, the KME is head and shoulders above my Lansky.

Anyone want to buy a Lansky kit with diamond stones and accessories? If it’s user error it should be a tremendous bargain.

It is so much better isn’t it?
I made that same leap!
In the kme I use diamond for the rough stuff and stones after, not as fast but a really clean edge.

Then I have a fine stone and strop at work, that really made a difference keeping edge tuned up instead of it wearing it down to crap.
Edge Lasts so much longer now.

That stone also does wonders on the HSS form tools and bits at work.

 

[Prose]

Ended up getting a hapstone R2 with diamond matrix stones. Don't think it gets much better

 

[servant403]

Ended up getting a hapstone R2 with diamond matrix stones. Don't think it gets much better

Thats a nice looking system. The clamp adjustability looks very useful.
Im having my Edge Pro Professional upgraded right now with the new table with the magnets. After I learned how to use it I didnt miss the clamp system of my KME that much. But I still use it for small knives and some broadheads. The Edge Pro really shines with large chefs knives. The stone and blade can be kept in the center of the table and you move the blade along. But now as I get older I have neuropathies and my hands aren't as steady. So I thought the magnets would be benficial to me. I have some diamond Matrix stones coming also. Cant wait to try them.

 

[servant403]

For less than 50 bucks you can get a knock off Edge Pro. Best money you'll ever spend.

If you like expensive things... Get a wicked edge system.


Keep a small fine stone in your bag for touch ups.

Ive seen those before. How the stones that come with them? The Edge Pro aluminum oxide stones are fairly cheap and very serviceable until you get to some of these really hard steels.

 

[Richard Jones]

Thats a nice looking system. The clamp adjustability looks very useful.
Im having my Edge Pro Professional upgraded right now with the new table with the magnets. After I learned how to use it I didnt miss the clamp system of my KME that much. But I still use it for small knives and some broadheads. The Edge Pro really shines with large chefs knives. The stone and blade can be kept in the center of the table and you move the blade along. But now as I get older I have neuropathies and my hands aren't as steady. So I thought the magnets would be benficial to me. I have some diamond Matrix stones coming also. Cant wait to try them.

Where are you getting the magnetic table for the Pro model?

 

[DiffEQ]

Old stones plus ones I pick up from garage sales.
A nice big Arkansas, some finer carbide, then porcelain.
Spit for lube, push the edge first, away from me.
Its how grandpa taught me.