Armed Polite Society
Main Forums => The Roundtable => Topic started by: Bogie on March 20, 2023, 12:06:19 PM
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So, I bought a few sharp pointy damascus things from Mad Mike... And while they were pointy, they're not all that sharp. But they're still pretty... 1075 steel, folded with nickel...
I hate using whetstones (takes patience, takes time, squirrel!), and I'm a bit of a tool whore... So I picked up a $50 1x30 bench sander at my local China Fright, and ordered a pack of decent belts, including a leather stropping belt, and we're gonna see how this goes... I like one of the little knives I got from him for every day use at work (tends to not be pretty sometimes...), and the 1075 steel should survive that where D2 or other steels would crack or chip... I also have a bunch of other knives that need work... Funny, but the Chicago Cutlery knives that I picked up at Wally World cut MUCH nicer than the Calphalon set...
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I've tried a few other sharpening systems, but I keep going back to my lansky.
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I've tried a few other sharpening systems, but I keep going back to my lansky.
Yep. Lanskey gives me the best edges I've ever been able to set on a knife.
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Big Worksharp fan here. I still use stones occasionally just to keep the skillset up, but the Worksharp is just so much faster that it's my go-to.
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Ken Onion edition Worksharp for the bigger blades, Lansky type for smaller blades.
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Been using a Lansky for 30+ years.
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I have several good stones and have always used stones since my grandpa taught me to sharpen his chisels and planer blades 60 years ago.
But I have considered buying one of the 2x72 belt sanders, mainly for axes and mower blades but also want to do a couple stock removal knives.
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My Dad has one of the Worksharp belt sharpeners. I need to bring a few knives with me and use it.
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Ken Onion edition Worksharp for the bigger blades, Lansky type for smaller blades.
Ken Onion edition Worksharp here, too. Works best for me. I'm hopeless with stones.
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King water stones is my go-to. But my FIL just gave us (among a lot of stuff, mostly crap) a grinder that includes a polishing wheel. A very fine grit polishing compound would put a very sharp edge on an already well sharpened blade.
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Flat bastard, mill file, medium Arkansas, fine arkansas, yellowstone on the back old 1.5" filson belt.
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I've used the same HF 1X30 for a while now. The biggest thing is finding belts that are fine enough. Can't find anything finer than 180 locally, I've mail ordered everything. 600 is about the coarsest I use for sharpening, and only for blades that are really dull. Most of the time I start with a 1000 grit belt that feels like cloth and finish up with the leather belt to strop it.
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I've tried a few other sharpening systems, but I keep going back to my lansky.
X2
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Funny, but the Chicago Cutlery knives that I picked up at Wally World cut MUCH nicer than the Calphalon set...
I have a set of forged Chicago Cutlery knives I bought over 20 years ago, I remember paying $60 for a set of 3 knives then a few more additional knives at $20-50 each. I would actually compare my set against Wusthof or Henckles as either equal or maybe a little nicer.
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Speaking of Worksharp, I don't know how new it is, but I just stumbled upon this Worksharp Precision, which is a manual sharpener. This actually looks pretty neat at half the price of my Ken Onion.
One of the toughest things for me with the band sharpener (as well as stones) is trying to keep an even angle along the full length of the blade. It looks like that would be easy with this one (refer to the video).
https://www.amazon.com/Work-Sharp-Precision-Adjust-Sharpener/dp/B08L72P245
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Speaking of Worksharp, I don't know how new it is, but I just stumbled upon this Worksharp Precision, which is a manual sharpener. This actually looks pretty neat at half the price of my Ken Onion.
One of the toughest things for me with the band sharpener (as well as stones) is trying to keep an even angle along the full length of the blade. It looks like that would be easy with this one (refer to the video).
https://www.amazon.com/Work-Sharp-Precision-Adjust-Sharpener/dp/B08L72P245
Lansky beat them to the party years ago.
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Lansky beat them to the party years ago.
When thinking "Lansky" I always thought of this:
https://www.amazon.com/Lansky-2D2C-Diamond-Ceramic-Four/dp/B008EKY5OA
However, reading the one star reviews on both the Worksharp Precision and the Lansky version, neither of them in practice seem to be as good as they are in concept.
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The Lansky sharpener I tried was maybe one step up from freehand sharpening on a tiny, single-grit whetstone. The idea is fine, but it has small and cheap stones, coarse angle adjustment (which means you'll probably need to reprofile most of your blades - good luck with the stones that are included), and limited sizes/shapes of blades they can effectively sharpen.
If I want to take my time to get a hair-popping blade I'll use my KME. If I just want to get the blades usable again I'll use my Ken Onion Worksharp.
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This is the Lansky system I have. Works great.
https://www.amazon.com/Lansky-Deluxe-5-Stone-Sharpening-System/dp/B000B8IEA4/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1ZIM18MM5R9JA&keywords=lansky+sharpening+system&qid=1679412012&s=sporting-goods&sprefix=lanskey%2Csporting%2C173&sr=1-3
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I've only had a few minutes to play with it, but the one that I picked for EDC is already much better.
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This is the Lansky system I have. Works great.
https://www.amazon.com/Lansky-Deluxe-5-Stone-Sharpening-System/dp/B000B8IEA4/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1ZIM18MM5R9JA&keywords=lansky+sharpening+system&qid=1679412012&s=sporting-goods&sprefix=lanskey%2Csporting%2C173&sr=1-3
I have the same thing, an old guy gave me a base for the T dealio, its a piece of all thread with nuts in a wooden block that holds the knife holder/angle gauge. Easy peasy to sharpen at the table that way.
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This is the Lansky system I have. Works great.
https://www.amazon.com/Lansky-Deluxe-5-Stone-Sharpening-System/dp/B000B8IEA4/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1ZIM18MM5R9JA&keywords=lansky+sharpening+system&qid=1679412012&s=sporting-goods&sprefix=lanskey%2Csporting%2C173&sr=1-3
Same here, except diamond.
https://www.amazon.com/Lansky-4-Stone-Deluxe-Diamond-Sharpening/dp/B000B8L6LS/
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"an old guy gave me a base for the T dealio"
I need to get a base. It's getting harder and harder for me to really sharpen my knives adequately with the arthritis creeping up in my hands...
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For most of the last 40 years, I have used a 2" x 6" double grit "block".
About 15 years ago, I bought a 3-stone set-up on a wood base. The coarse stone is (IIRC) an aluminum oxide with soft and hard Arkansas stones. Most of the knives I have to sharpen are multi-blade pocket knives, single blade folders, and assorted kitchen cutlery. The pocket knives I can get sharp enough to shave the hair off of my arm.
When I have to do my ax, hatchet, or machete, I clamp them in my vise and use the double grit stone on them. They don't need to be much sharper than that as it can allow too much damage to the edge.
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This is the Lansky system I have. Works great.
https://www.amazon.com/Lansky-Deluxe-5-Stone-Sharpening-System/dp/B000B8IEA4/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1ZIM18MM5R9JA&keywords=lansky+sharpening+system&qid=1679412012&s=sporting-goods&sprefix=lanskey%2Csporting%2C173&sr=1-3
Same here. Easy to get my knives "shaving sharp" . . . and after a sharpening session, I've got the bald spots on my forearm to prove it. ;)
The only downside is that the stones ARE small - and after I do a couple of knives, I start to get cricks in my finger joints and have to quit for a while.
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Okay - been playing with this thing...
https://youtu.be/IjZWfEzJjA4
Using 220, 600, and 1000 grit so far, and tomorrow I'll probably do some stropping with the leather belt.
My cold steel Pendleton Hunter had some nicks in the blade, and that is now fixed, and it is damn near shaving sharp again. The little fixed blade that I've been EDCing is much better.
The Calphalon butcher knife I tried to mess with doesn't seem to want to take an edge. I wonder what Chinese bumpers they used for that steel. Some Chicago Cutlery knives I picked up at Wally World were sharper out of the box, and have retained the edge nicely. Same for a set of cheapo "Farberware."
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I suck at sharpening knives. But I have some kitchen knives that I bought 40 years ago and use all the time that are still sharp; I just use a steel on them to hone the edge occasionally and that does it.
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I have a lansky and a sharpmaker. They both work great but my problem is they are too slow especially for abused blades. That manual Worksharp unit looks like a much better version of the lansky. But I just bought a ken onion motorized Worksharp and I will let you know what I think.
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I've got one of the Lansky 5 piece sets, and a Ken Onion Worksharp, plus some waterstones for the chisels.
Each has its place, the waterstones really are just for the chisels, so we'll ignore those.
The Lansky is nice because it puts a flat bevel on the blade, however the angle guide (and the Worksharp Precision will suffer from this as well) is problematic because while it may be a 15 degree angle at the closest point to the clamp holding the blade, as you move further away down the blade the angle will get shallower. I've not taken the time to measure/calculate the difference, but on a large butcher's knife, for example, the difference in angle could be quite significant.
The Ken Onion worksharp is great in that it is fast, accurate, and really does get blades scary sharp. However, it can be tricky to keep a consistent angle throughout the length of the blade especially on longer blades, and most importantly, it can only produce a convex grind. That's good for utilitarian knives, but sometimes you want a different edge geometry. And you really can't get that with the Worksharp.
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The Ken Onion thing is basically just a belt sander with a blade angle guide?
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The Ken Onion thing is basically just a belt sander with a blade angle guide?
Pretty much. Has variable speed "trigger" control and adjustable angle guides. Replacement belts are readily available and fairly inexpensive.
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And... This looks interesting. He's turned the sucker sideways... Looks like an easy rig - gonna do that this week. And I can build an angle guide to use with that...
https://youtu.be/iFt19NJO2MA?t=303
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Well this doohicky eliminates my biggest issue with the Worksharp Ken Onion - https://www.amazon.com/Work-Sharp-WSSAKO81112-Grinder-Attachment/dp/B00J9AADN6/
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What does it actually do? I just bought a Worksharp but I don't know what problem that thing solves.
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Not really solving a problem, it just gives added/different capability.
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"but I don't know what problem that thing solves."
It solves worksharp's cash flow issues by transferring your money to them.
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Yeah, the more I looked at the "add on" the more I realized that it didn't work quite like how I thought it did. still gives a convex grind, I thought the flat platen on the front of it was for doing precise angled flat grinds, but I was wrong.
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Most belt sharpening seems to lend itself to a convex... You can set the a platen under the belt on the China Fright belt sander, and with the addition of an angle guide, you'll approximate flat.