Whice sharpening system to go for. Taidea or Lansky?

“New” to knifes…. Well I have a couple of handfulls of Mora’s and some other knifes but I really never bothered to sharpen them properly.
Now I have a few knifes on order and thought I’d give sharpening some more attention.
A couple of options that has caught my attention at reasonable prices are these two.
I do not want to spend an awful lot of time to becone a master sharpener and these seems fairly simple to operate and learn.
Taidea
Lansky

Not considering the price is one to prefer over the other and why?
If you consider the price and you preffer the Lansky on the first question. Is it worth the difference?

I will probably change my mind a hundred times the next few days so it might not at all be one of these systems.
Simple will be the key word though………

i have the taidea from exduct. my total in EUR was 24.57€. the stones are of high quality, the rest is cheap (very cheap) plastic but the system works well. Doesnt work with small (or thin or short) blades nor with big (or long or thick) ones. Works with medium sized blades only, say a typical Ganzo or Spyderco bestseller. Hardly works with kitchen knifes because they are too big/long/heavy, and doesnt work with Victorinox SAK's. the system is really limited to light-weight medium-sized pocket knives.

important: while i dont appreciate the cheap plastic, i dont regret having bought the Taidea. It is the cheapest sharpening system of its kind and an adequate price match for cheap blades, knives and pocket knives.

if you can afford original Spyderco's, you would buy original sharpening systems, Spyderco Sharpmaker or Lansky. Lansky is made out of metal, not Ch*na plastic.

25€ is a bit much for this cheap Ch*na stuff .. but i couldnt find anything cheaper, similar system ;)

I’ve had Lanskey sharpeners for 20+ years. I almost never use it anymore. I have mastered sharpening fee hand and don’t need them anymore.

My best advice is to get a powerful magnifying lens. With that, you can actually see what the edge is doing. You will see if you are on the right angle or rolling the edge. With the Lanskey, you are flying blind.

Get a diamond stone, a hone steel and a thick piece of leather and you can make your edge razor sharp. If you want a convex edge, some sandpaper, a mouse pad or cardboard and leather will set you up.

It’s worth understanding and learning because it is a skill that will grow for the rest of your life.

@ joa: It might help you mention what kind of knives you are planning to sharpen. I've used a Lansky before and have never been impressed. Actually, I have gotten better results using a Crock-Stick turnbox sharpener. It may be that I just wasn't patient enough with the Lansky...

Of the two , go for the Lansky . The Taidea set I bought is a POS .

Misaligned

Crooked

I moved from the lansky to the apex clone, so far it works faster, you can get the best stones from congress tools for what I read

Taidea is good for the diamond stone. The rest of the body is no good, but then again, four sets of good diamond stone is well worth the price.

The special price is $24 here: http://www.exduct.com/Special-Limited-Products/SP931D-Precision-Sharpener.html

Though if you want a good overall set from the beginning, you might want to look elsewhere.

Here’s a reasonable fixed angle sharpener for $22:
http://www.buyincoins.com/new_en/details/new-knife-sharpener-professional-kitchen-sharpening-system-fix-angle-with-stones-product-19395.html

I have the second one pulsar mentions and is good

Free hand sharpening for me, simple and a nice skill to know.

I use coarse and medium diamond stones that are 8”x 2” if the edge is beat up, then when my edge is beyond shaving sharp I move on to Arkansas novaculite for a final razor sharp edge. I just got done using 400-2000 grit automotive wet/dry sand paper backed by a foam mouse pad to put a nice convex edge on my CPM-3V fixed blade = super tough stuff, the sand paper works good and its cheap.

Never used either of those two but i went and purchased one the EdgePro Apex kits a few years back and ive been happy as Larry with it, the only downside is it needs to be setup on a table so it can be a bit of a hassle to setup etc if you only want to sharpen 1 knife.

I use this system… much cheaper.

LOL!

Paper wheels also work very good with some jewelers rouge, very light touche. scary sharp edge.

+1 for Apex clone

+2

You can buy better stones on eBay, although some cost more than the machine itself.

And if you have a recurve blade you’ll have to grab some 10mm wide stones and mount them yourself.

I grabbed a 120 stone for cutting, and a 3000 stone for final smoothing.

The really nice thing is repeatability. Once you’ve set the angle you can move the blade anywhere along and it’ll cut at exactly the same angle.

I have the Lansky since the early 80’s and use it for my smaller folder knives like the Victorinox SAK’s and the classic congress, trapper and stockman type knives. I also have a Wicked Edge Pro system for my larger knives but if used right, the Lansky can give comparable results.

You can get the Lansky deluxe 5 stone version in Europe for € 41,95 and at that price it is a bargain and far superior to the Taieda.

The best advise I can give to get razor sharp results with these guided systems, is to learn how to find the proper angle (unless you re-profile the knife) and to make sure that you form a burr on both sides with the coarse stone before you proceed to the finer ones.

I have both lansky qnd Gatco where as the lansky stones the plastic is narrow you run the chance of raking your finger across the blade and also the guide rod has a tendency to crack and break the plastic the Gatco has wider plastic on stone so you have less chance of cutting finger on blade and the guide rod is part on plastic backing plate on stone pluse you get a stone that you can use for sharpening serrated blades

I vote for the Lansky hands down. I’ve used mine since the early 90’s, love it. Have used it with the original stones and 2 added diamond stones to sharpen and even re-profile multiple blades including ATS-34 (which is what most of mine are)

I have no idea what someone meant by saying you’re “flying blind” with a Lansky, the guide takes all the guesswork out of it and I honestly belive you could sharpen a knife with if you were blind. The biggest problem most people have with it is they try to saw the hone over the blade using back and forth motion. Not good. Run the hone into the blade then take it away and reposition for another stroke into the blade. Never dragging the hone is the key to scalpel sharpness.

It’s exactly the same as using a freestanding hone by hand, freehand if you will. You only use the knife in one direction…cutting into the hone. The Lansky and it’s copycats are the same way, but in reverse as you have the blade locked down and you’re using the hone for movement.

The Lansky is tough, precise, and will last for years. Mine has. No broken rods, no chipped stone holders, just razor sharp knives for decades.

Sharpening isn’t rocket science.

I would rather have a few good quality arkansas stones, a steel, and a strop, and invest the money in the stones that will last a lifetime rather than these devices.

Water stones are excellent, but are very expensive for basically blocks of clay with abrasive that wears out quickly.

Wet/dry paper and/or 3m abrasive sheets are excellent as well and fast.

I use a steel several times a day, it is the most used sharpening device and always at hand. Some of the ones I have I picked up at the dollar store, and they work fine to maintain an already sharp edge. The Henckels or Chicago Cutlery brands are more aggressive, but the ideal “steel” is a hard, smooth steel bar, or glass rod.

I use all these methods and they all work out the same in the end…a razor sharp blade…

The most important accessory to any sharpening system IMO is a felt marker to gauge your progress. Also a magnifying glass of some sort to inspect the cutting edge.

Any one of the sharpening systems mention above should do the job. It just comes down to preference and how much you're willing to invest, both time and money.