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Lansky deluxe 5 stone sharpening system

4K views 17 replies 8 participants last post by  Earl 007 
#1 · (Edited)
I bought this on Amazon for less than $40. I also purchased a leather strop for it for $10 and a base for $7.69. Delivery is scheduled for tomorrow. Here are some links:

https://www.amazon.com/Lansky-Deluxe-5-Stone-Sharpening-System/dp/B07NS7YXQ6
https://www.amazon.com/Lansky-Leather-Stropping-Polishing-Hone/dp/B07CHQB8SV
https://www.amazon.com/Lansky-Universal-Mount-LM009/dp/B07BS7WGNM

My current sharpeners keep my kitchen knives sharp, but not as sharp as I’d like, so I was in the market for a replacement. In doing some research, I came across this video which outlines how to dial in the Lansky sharpener for almost any desired sharpening angle:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZH0ZOjcOZss

which I thought was an interesting, and useful, idea, so I wrote a Google spreadsheet to implement the calculations and make it easy to dial in any angle the Lansky can accomodate. If anybody is interested, I’ll share a link to the spreadsheet, just pm me.

I’ll post an update this weekend to give you my impressions of the sharpener. I’m looking forward to being able to shave with my 8” chef’s knife. If you already own the sharpener, I’d appreciate any tips you might have to offer.
 
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#2 ·
I've tried the lansky and a couple others of the same ilk but finely broke down and bought the KME which is a couple orders of magnitude better. For kitchen knives I generaly use a Ken Onion Work sharp with the blade grinder, much faster especially when doing a lot of knives. I frequently do several sets of kitchen knives a week and fast is better but only when the result is good which in this case it is.
 
#3 ·
I've had the Lansky for many years. Mine came with only 4 stones, but the base was included. You'll find that patience is a virtue but the results are worth it.

It looks like the Ken Onion machine would be faster, but the Lansky is sort of theraputic in a zen kind of way.
 
#4 ·
Using the Lansky system I brought the whole of a machete to shaving sharpness.
Used the second hole up keeping the guide rod pressure somewhat consistent on the top side of the hole.
When changing stones I lay the stone and rod on a flat surface while tightening the wing nut.
It did not require the extra steps that are pointed out in the video.


I like the Lansky, only draw back is it's time consuming.
 
#6 ·
Had friends that used the Lansky & had the sharpest blades I have seen. You can shave with them.
I had one years ago & being very impatient, shelved it. Bought umteen different ones since then.
Wonder how does the Work sharp compare to the Syderco as far as results?
 
#7 · (Edited)
I sharpened my first knife tonight, a 3" stamped steel paring knife. It was a partial success, sharp enough to cut paper, but not sharp enough to shave hair off my arm. I'm practicing with the cheap knives in the knife drawer before I move on to the good knives in the knife block. There's a bit of a learning curve, but I could see definite improvement by the time I got done with the first knife. Next up, another paring knife, then I'm going to do a stamped 8" santoku. When I do that one, I'll aim for a true 15 degree edge angle.
 
#9 · (Edited)
Blade Vehicle door Bumper Tool Knife


The santoku came out the same as the other two, will cut paper, but won’t shave the hair off my arm. Here’s my take after sharpening 3 knives. Setting the santoku for 15 degrees was easy using my spreadsheet, I just selected 15 degrees as my desired angle and input the blade thickness, 0.071 inches and it calculated the extension of the blade from the fixture as 1.09” using the 20 degree slot, which I confirmed with my angle guage before beginning to sharpen.
The Lansky 5 hone system will put a paper cutting edge on a knife with a medium level of effort. If you want a hair popping edge, I think it would take a lot more effort. It is one of those Pareto’s rule things, you can get an 80% edge with 20% of the effort, but if you want a really sharp edge, be prepared to work on it for quite awhile.
It is awkward to use on large knives because it will only sharpen 4” or so at a time, and when the clamp is moved out on the blade, the sharpener base wants to overturn, so it requires an extra effort to hold it up. So, I’m going to keep it for those (rare) situations where I want an edge set at something other than 15 degrees, but for day to day sharpening and maintenance, I think I’m going to get the electric sharpener recommended by Cook’s Illustrated, the Chef’s Choice 15 trizor xv.
 
#10 ·
If one learns how to repeatedly keep the same angle on a stone, something our grandfathers could do through practice/necessity on the farm tools, one can then get knives to shaving sharp.

The Spyderco sharpmaker I presently have owned for 30 years, has sharpened thousands of knives from 2"-larger and up to 11+" bowie/kitchen knives. I can sharpen 5 knives from butter knife to razor blade sharp in the time it takes to set up the Lansky.

Had a Lansky once, too damned slow to set up for each knife.
 
#13 ·
If one learns how to repeatedly keep the same angle on a stone, something our grandfathers could do through practice/necessity on the farm tools, one can then get knives to shaving sharp.

The Spyderco sharpmaker I presently have owned for 30 years, has sharpened thousands of knives from 2"-larger and up to 11+" bowie/kitchen knives. I can sharpen 5 knives from butter knife to razor blade sharp in the time it takes to set up the Lansky.

Had a Lansky once, too damned slow to set up for each knife.
I learned that while still in third grade, and have been making all my knives shaving sharp ever since. The best I can describe it to someone wanting to learn is to hold the knife at the angle where they can feel the most drag against the blade when moving it across the stone/diamond hone/whatever, and repeat it exactly the same on the other side.
 
#16 ·
The Chef’s Choice 15 trizor xv works great, the knives come out very sharp. I've no problems cutting very thin slices of paper or shaving hair off my arm. Also, it is easy to use and very quick.
 
#18 ·
My grandad showed me at age 9 how to keep my pocket knife razor sharp. An set of three sharpening stones is all you need you use the coarse stone to break the scale then a few passes on medium then finish with the fine, if the knife already has edge it really doesn't take that much time after you have done it a few times.
 
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