Lansky sharpener w/storage auction win!

EDC Gear for Flashlight Carriers
1

I bought a storage auction several years ago and stored a few of the items that I had no use for (or just didn’t know what the item was for).

Fast forward to present day…I have been looking for a sharpener and recently looked through the old auction storage box…and there I saw the Lansky Sharpening System, just laying there, waiting to be utilized! I recognized the Lansky name because of the knife posts I read about here on BLF. Sweet!

So, I’m fixin’ to use it. Any tips to getting the best edge from the Lansky Sharpener? What angle do you sharpen your folding pocket knives at?

2

25º should be fine for pocket knives. I use the next degree down for my kitchen knives.

Keep in mind pocket knife sharpening angles vary between companies so you may have to alter the stock angle. For example my Scallion had 23º…its 25 now.

3

The angle varies by knife model and brand. Personally, if I’m sharpening something for the first time, I put a Sharpie mark on the edge and try a couple of slots until the Sharpie comes off all at the same time. What I mean is that if the angle is wrong, you’ll only hit the top or bottom of the edge and you’ll see that there is still Sharpie there after a few passes.

Once you have the found the best slot, which like Fishmaniac alluded to, might not perfectly match the factory angle, record it somewhere for future reference and sharpen away. Stropping when you are done helps a lot too. This can be done on the narrow edge of a piece of cardboard if you don’t have a real strop available.

If you have time, you might want to check this out.

4

Excellent…thanks for the tips.

5

I find that the absolute best way to get that razor edge is not the easiest. I’m anal, so for me it’s not a choice. Push the stone into the blade, never drag it back down! (dragging back will roll the edge if you’re even close to having it sharp, can clog the stone even when you’re not close) Every single stroke the blade starts at the top of the stone (up there where the guide slides through the block) and you push, with medium to light pressure, maintaining that same pressure the length of the stroke. A single stroke only moves laterally about a half inch, overlap and do it again and again towards the tip. Flip and repeat. It started out of boredom, but I count the strokes and keep them the same on each side. I now believe that helps ensure the same angle on each side of the blade for the ultimate edge.

I also like to hold the guide rod against one side when sharpening left, the other side when I flip the blade…this is just to keep the guide from wandering in the slot and ensure the exact same stroke every time. The hard way. I also use diamond stones first, then the medium and fine natural stones followed by a leather strop saturated with polish, but not with wet polish left on it.

Also, when flipping, grab the handle of the knife and flip the entire system…grabbing the Lansky hone and flipping it can have the knife slip out and…well, you don’t want that to happen with a razor sharp knife!

I recently hit my Enlan Bee 04 for the first time, one side was pretty close to the 25º angle, the other side was considerably off. This made that first run take quite a while, but now it’ll be easy to keep sharp.

Another good point is to select the obvious place to attach the sharpener to the blade. Lining it up so that it’s easy to attach it in the same place when you come back to touch it up next time.

My high end blades, a couple of my favorites, I’ve sharpened to 20º then did a 25º for a double bevel, pretty wicked sharp! 20º damages easier if you try to use it for general cutting purposes and you’ll end up with nicks in the edge that you have to spend a lot of time fixing.

My experience, YMMV!

Good luck, be careful, enjoy the results!

Can you see the double bevel on the AFCK?

6

Those are nice Benchmade 800S and 140S DBCstm. What are the blade steel? ATS-34 or 154CM or M2?

7

The AFCK is ATS-34 from about 14 years ago. The Nimravus Cub is M2 Tool Steel. Both get seriously wicked sharp on the Lansky hone.

8

Excellent point. When I’m close to getting it sharp, I do just that making sure to alternate sides with every stroke.