Lansky Knife Sharpening System

Lansky Knife Sharpening System

I picked up a Lansky Deluxe Knife Sharpening system at Academy for $34.00. I had read about this system and wanted to give it a go because I have never really been that good at sharpening knives. Years ago I worked in facility that had a large three inch by twelve 12 inch oiled stone with three sides (course medium and fine). As you rotated a knob, it rotated the next side up and out of an oil bath. I could put a pretty good edge on a pocket knife with that large stone, but with the small stones you buy at most stores, I just could never get a good edge.

Well I recently picked up really nice pocket knife with a VG10 blade and wanted a way to sharpen the knife at home. The Lansky system comes with a knife holder, oil, five stones, and five guide rods for the stones. The guide rods attach to the stones and fit to a slot on the knife holder. The holder has four guide rod slots for various angles (15, 20, 25 and 30 degrees).

The basic idea is that using the guide rods and the holder, you can maintain an exact angle on the edge. You start with the course stone and work down to the extra fine stone. The course stone will leave a very rough edge, but establishes the angle on the blade. If your knife has never been sharpened with the Lansky system, you need to start with the course stone to establish the correct angle on the edge. Once you are down to the fine stone, your edge is already quite sharp, but using the extra fine stone puts an almost mirror finish on the edge. Do a little test on the hair of your arm you’ll see hair just fall off. I have sharpened edges that would shave before, but you could almost feel the edge pulling at the hairs. With the Lansky system, you do not feel the pull, but you see the hair fall. Now that’s razor sharp.