Review - Lansky Deluxe Knife Sharpening System
Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2007 3:40 pm
Well ladies and gents about time we did another review so for your reading pleasure today I present for you the Deluxe Lansky Knife Sharpening System.
In short it is a small kit containing various abrasive stones, from quite coarse down to a very fine stone for final polishing of the sharpened edge. The Kit Includes:
The Deluxe Kit includes:
Extra Coarse Hone
Coarse Hone
Medium Hone
Fine Hone
Ultra-Fine Hone
Patented precision engineered multi-angle, flip over knife clamp
Sharpening hones on color coded, finger grooved safety holders.
One guide rod for each honing stone
specially formulated honing oil
extra long knife clamp screws
Custom molded storage/carrying case to hold all system components
Complete, easy to follow instructions
The Kt is designed to allow anybody from a novice to an experienced knife user to put a consistent and very sharp edge on all knives. From past use I can attest to the fact it does allow you to put a very sharp edge on a very dull blade, but is it going to replace the good old stone? Read on to find out.
Pictured next to a 22-250 round for size comparisson
Product Packaging & Documentation
As illustrated in the photos below the kit does come packaged quite well, it is a relatively sturdy plastic box and is small enough to take along on any hunt. While I wouldn’t recommend taking it along on a stalk etc, it would be a handy tool to have back at camp if your taking a few skins and might need more then just a touchup on the steel.
The instructions provided are very straightforward, and explain quite clearly how to get the best results from the system, the inclusion of many pictures also more clearly illustrates correct positioning of the rods and stones etc.
All in all the product packaging is of a good quality level, and the included instructions definitely make the product easy to use and understand.
Kit Contents in Detail
As previously mentioned the system is advertised as having everything you would need to take a dull knife and have a razor sharp blade by time you are finished. The contents of the kit are:
A universal knife clamp for holding the knives while sharpening, this also includes holes to guide the rods while sharpening. Holes are also labeled so you know what angle your edge will have when completed. There is also the option for an extra long knife clamp screw, to be used on larger knives or knives with thicker backs that may require more clamping force.
Guide rods of which there is one for each individual stone. At first you may not see the point of having a different a guide rod for each stone, but if sharpening more then one knife changing the guides over gets very tedious, and the inclusion of 5 is something you will appreciate.
Honing oil for lubricating both stones and knives while sharpening. Nothing amazing here really, does what it says on the side of the bottle, lubes the stones and prevents clogging, but in saying that I can’t say I have had many problems with sewing machine oil.
Stones
The stones are arguably the most vital part of the kit, without them the rest of the kit is pretty much useless, however in an emergency they could be used alone to put a usable edge on a piece of metal ware.
Extra coarse – 70 grit - black
Says it all really, a very course stone used for reshaping a very dull blade. Doesn’t see much activity on my knives, but if an aggressive change is being made to a blade would save quite a bit of time.
Coarse – 120 grit - red
A much less aggressive stone good for general deburring and smoothing the edges of any chips etc in a blade. Also good if only a minor angle change is being made to your blades. Good for restoring the shape of a well used knife.
Medium – 280 grit – green
A nice grit for general purpose edge reshaping. Probably my most used stone it quickly allows a decent edge to be restored to heavily used blades without creating deep scratches that take a long time on smoother stones to work out. Recommend for general touch up duties, and a good starting point to bring back that fine edge lost on a hunt.
Fine – 600 grit – blue
Used for finishing your sharpened knives and working out and slight grooves etc the coarser stones may have left. After this stone all that is left is a quick hit on the steel and your back in action. Recommended finishing point.
Ultra fine – 1000 grit – yellow
A very fine stone for final polishing of an edge. Personally I can’t feel the difference between this and the fine stone, and as such it has seen very little use as I find it time consuming for no noticeable gain.
Product contents
Product in Action
The basic premise of the Lansky is to clamp your knife into the universal holder and your stones into their guide rods and using a zig zag pattern work your way along the blade, when you come to the end lift the stone up, go back to the starting point and work your way up again. However from the outset we run into a small problem.
The knife holder itself has two screws for adjusting the way the system clamps onto your knife. One of which is a thumb screw, the other, unfortunately is a conventional screw, as such you will need either a small coin or screwdriver to tighten before using the thumb screw for minor adjustments on the fly. Also knives with a thick or tapered back (picture an old timer and the way it is shaped) will also be a bit of a pain to secure. However once the knife is in place it only requires a minor tighten every now and then to hold it securely.
Attaching the guide rods to the stones is really quite simple, and the only thing that must be observed is to ensure the bend of the rod is flush with the stone itself. I found the easiest what to do this is to simply insert the rod and sit the stone on a flat service then tighten the thumb screw to secure the rod.
Pick the angle required for the knife (instructions have a guide + examples) and use the corresponding hole on the holder. You will certainly maintain the same angle along the length of the knife using the holder. Simply work your way along the knife edge, following the instructions given, stepping down the stones as required to get the final edge you desire.
There were a few things I found while using that I wasn’t hugely impressed with, if you slide the stone down to far along the blade I found the guide rod, stone and knife to become wedged together, forcing you to lift the stone out and start again. Happened occasionally while sharpening and while not a huge concern was something niggling that could be improved upon.
I also found that the stones, while of a high quality, were just too small. I can understand trying to get the balance between convenience and speed, however I just didn’t like the feel or speed at which the knives were sharpened because of the stone size. They were comfortable to use, and the molded grips ensuring a secure feel in use.
If one were to follow the guide provided you certainly can end up with a very sharp knife, regardless of your skill level.
Pros & Cons
Pros:
• Well Made
• Easy to use
• Instructions clear and accurate
• Plenty of pictures to clearly explain use
• Simple enough for anyone to use
• Quality components
Cons:
• Size of stones
• Minor problem with guide rods jamming
• Problems securing some blades in holder
Overview
Overall the Lansky Deluxe Knife Sharpening Kit is a quality product. As advertised it will allow a complete novice to put a very sharp edge on most blades they choose. The components were of a high quality as one would expect for the purchase price. Personally as a professionally trained chef I found I could put an edge on a knife much faster and easier with an old fashioned stone but for the average joe wanting to step it up a bit, it would be quite useful and well worth the inclusion on a hunt.
Overall I gave the Lansky a solid 6 out of 10 varmints. It is a quality product, and contains quality components, but I personally found it a tad overpriced. For the beginner just taking an interest in blade ware and wanting a solid consistent edge it comes well recommended but for the experienced user I would advise sticking to a stone.
Lansky Deluxe Knife Sharpening Kit - 6/10 Varmints
Additional Info
RRP $115
http://www.lansky.com
GriMo
In short it is a small kit containing various abrasive stones, from quite coarse down to a very fine stone for final polishing of the sharpened edge. The Kit Includes:
The Deluxe Kit includes:
Extra Coarse Hone
Coarse Hone
Medium Hone
Fine Hone
Ultra-Fine Hone
Patented precision engineered multi-angle, flip over knife clamp
Sharpening hones on color coded, finger grooved safety holders.
One guide rod for each honing stone
specially formulated honing oil
extra long knife clamp screws
Custom molded storage/carrying case to hold all system components
Complete, easy to follow instructions
The Kt is designed to allow anybody from a novice to an experienced knife user to put a consistent and very sharp edge on all knives. From past use I can attest to the fact it does allow you to put a very sharp edge on a very dull blade, but is it going to replace the good old stone? Read on to find out.
Pictured next to a 22-250 round for size comparisson
Product Packaging & Documentation
As illustrated in the photos below the kit does come packaged quite well, it is a relatively sturdy plastic box and is small enough to take along on any hunt. While I wouldn’t recommend taking it along on a stalk etc, it would be a handy tool to have back at camp if your taking a few skins and might need more then just a touchup on the steel.
The instructions provided are very straightforward, and explain quite clearly how to get the best results from the system, the inclusion of many pictures also more clearly illustrates correct positioning of the rods and stones etc.
All in all the product packaging is of a good quality level, and the included instructions definitely make the product easy to use and understand.
Kit Contents in Detail
As previously mentioned the system is advertised as having everything you would need to take a dull knife and have a razor sharp blade by time you are finished. The contents of the kit are:
A universal knife clamp for holding the knives while sharpening, this also includes holes to guide the rods while sharpening. Holes are also labeled so you know what angle your edge will have when completed. There is also the option for an extra long knife clamp screw, to be used on larger knives or knives with thicker backs that may require more clamping force.
Guide rods of which there is one for each individual stone. At first you may not see the point of having a different a guide rod for each stone, but if sharpening more then one knife changing the guides over gets very tedious, and the inclusion of 5 is something you will appreciate.
Honing oil for lubricating both stones and knives while sharpening. Nothing amazing here really, does what it says on the side of the bottle, lubes the stones and prevents clogging, but in saying that I can’t say I have had many problems with sewing machine oil.
Stones
The stones are arguably the most vital part of the kit, without them the rest of the kit is pretty much useless, however in an emergency they could be used alone to put a usable edge on a piece of metal ware.
Extra coarse – 70 grit - black
Says it all really, a very course stone used for reshaping a very dull blade. Doesn’t see much activity on my knives, but if an aggressive change is being made to a blade would save quite a bit of time.
Coarse – 120 grit - red
A much less aggressive stone good for general deburring and smoothing the edges of any chips etc in a blade. Also good if only a minor angle change is being made to your blades. Good for restoring the shape of a well used knife.
Medium – 280 grit – green
A nice grit for general purpose edge reshaping. Probably my most used stone it quickly allows a decent edge to be restored to heavily used blades without creating deep scratches that take a long time on smoother stones to work out. Recommend for general touch up duties, and a good starting point to bring back that fine edge lost on a hunt.
Fine – 600 grit – blue
Used for finishing your sharpened knives and working out and slight grooves etc the coarser stones may have left. After this stone all that is left is a quick hit on the steel and your back in action. Recommended finishing point.
Ultra fine – 1000 grit – yellow
A very fine stone for final polishing of an edge. Personally I can’t feel the difference between this and the fine stone, and as such it has seen very little use as I find it time consuming for no noticeable gain.
Product contents
Product in Action
The basic premise of the Lansky is to clamp your knife into the universal holder and your stones into their guide rods and using a zig zag pattern work your way along the blade, when you come to the end lift the stone up, go back to the starting point and work your way up again. However from the outset we run into a small problem.
The knife holder itself has two screws for adjusting the way the system clamps onto your knife. One of which is a thumb screw, the other, unfortunately is a conventional screw, as such you will need either a small coin or screwdriver to tighten before using the thumb screw for minor adjustments on the fly. Also knives with a thick or tapered back (picture an old timer and the way it is shaped) will also be a bit of a pain to secure. However once the knife is in place it only requires a minor tighten every now and then to hold it securely.
Attaching the guide rods to the stones is really quite simple, and the only thing that must be observed is to ensure the bend of the rod is flush with the stone itself. I found the easiest what to do this is to simply insert the rod and sit the stone on a flat service then tighten the thumb screw to secure the rod.
Pick the angle required for the knife (instructions have a guide + examples) and use the corresponding hole on the holder. You will certainly maintain the same angle along the length of the knife using the holder. Simply work your way along the knife edge, following the instructions given, stepping down the stones as required to get the final edge you desire.
There were a few things I found while using that I wasn’t hugely impressed with, if you slide the stone down to far along the blade I found the guide rod, stone and knife to become wedged together, forcing you to lift the stone out and start again. Happened occasionally while sharpening and while not a huge concern was something niggling that could be improved upon.
I also found that the stones, while of a high quality, were just too small. I can understand trying to get the balance between convenience and speed, however I just didn’t like the feel or speed at which the knives were sharpened because of the stone size. They were comfortable to use, and the molded grips ensuring a secure feel in use.
If one were to follow the guide provided you certainly can end up with a very sharp knife, regardless of your skill level.
Pros & Cons
Pros:
• Well Made
• Easy to use
• Instructions clear and accurate
• Plenty of pictures to clearly explain use
• Simple enough for anyone to use
• Quality components
Cons:
• Size of stones
• Minor problem with guide rods jamming
• Problems securing some blades in holder
Overview
Overall the Lansky Deluxe Knife Sharpening Kit is a quality product. As advertised it will allow a complete novice to put a very sharp edge on most blades they choose. The components were of a high quality as one would expect for the purchase price. Personally as a professionally trained chef I found I could put an edge on a knife much faster and easier with an old fashioned stone but for the average joe wanting to step it up a bit, it would be quite useful and well worth the inclusion on a hunt.
Overall I gave the Lansky a solid 6 out of 10 varmints. It is a quality product, and contains quality components, but I personally found it a tad overpriced. For the beginner just taking an interest in blade ware and wanting a solid consistent edge it comes well recommended but for the experienced user I would advise sticking to a stone.
Lansky Deluxe Knife Sharpening Kit - 6/10 Varmints
Additional Info
RRP $115
http://www.lansky.com
GriMo