I'd like to get good at sharpening quality knives with stones and I've been experimenting with a deluxe lansky stone set. I want a good sharpening solution that can be used in the field...without power. I can get the knives to cut paper (barely), but I cant get them sharp enough to shave hair.

Can anyone that has had good results with Lansky stones share some tips and advice?

Always wanted to sharpen from a stone, but dont know how. I bought the lansky system four or five years ago. It worked, but I didn't really like it. I still have it, but I ended up buying a work sharp. It works better for me, but its electric. I know this doesn't really help you, but just thought I'd let you know I understand where you're coming from.

I get mine to razor sharp with lansky. It's my preferred sharpener. I like it way better than anything else on the market except for the work sharp. But that's electric. The trick, to me, for the lansky is consistency. You have to really hit it hard with a coarse stone to get your angle and work your way all the way to fine or the ceramic stone. It's not rocket science. You aren't doing anytbing wrong. Sometimes I have a blade that just won't get there and it's usually related to quality of the steel. My case knives and victorious sharpen to razors. I've also been touching them up with the same fine stone on the same angle for 20 years now. You'll get there...just be patient.

My dad taught me how to sharpen on a Lansky set 20 years ago. Only stones I'll use.

I have a lansky and it's what I use. It does good enough.

If you really want the sharpest knife you have ever seen, get a wicked edge. They are pretty pricey, but you will get what you pay for.

LBM-Aggie-2014 said:

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I have a lansky and it's what I use. It does good enough.

If you really want the sharpest knife you have ever seen, get a wicked edge. They are pretty pricey, but you will get what you pay for.

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This. Doesn't require power but it's not a small setup even with a carrying case. It's also crazy expensive.

It seems no one has the patience anymore to learn how to put a good edge on a blade. It takes time and patience with the Lansky stones. Consistent angle is the most important factor in my opinion. You can do surgery with it if you will just work on it a little.

I like putting the lansky in my vice and sharpening that way. Seems to be faster and get a bur more consistently.

I've had good luck with the Spyderco Sharpmaker. The rods are at the correct angles and you just have to keep the knife straight up and down. It takes a little practice, but not much. I often use the rods to put a final edge on my knives after using the worksharp.

If you are going to re-profile knives you should get the Diamond rods, it takes a long time to re-profile an edge with the rods thst it comes with.

I have never used the Lansky system so unfortunately I can't compare the two systems.

I have used Lansky sharpeners since ~1985 and worn out at least three conventional and two diamond sets.

Tip number one, the stones have two sides, when one side wears out carefully remove it, flip it over and hot glue it to the handle. I used boiling water, it was too hot and warped the holder so be careful.

Tip number two, lay the stone holder on a flat surface and tighten the thumbscrew securing the guide rod, then tweak the guide rod so it touches the flat surface.

Tip number three, took me twenty years to figure it out, use the thumb screw to set the jaw angle to be parallel to the blade and then a Phillips screwdriver to tighten the clamp and it won't slip as much if at all.

Tip number four, and it has nothing to do with the Lansky. For shaving sharp, strop the blades. There are commercial (expensive) versions but for about five bucks, you can pick up a bag of leather at Hobby Lobby in BCS, similar places in other locations, and a few feet of 1x4, I used Red Oak and glued the leather to the boards. I used four different colors for different rouge on two boards, I believe the rouge was purchased at HD or Lowes.

I've had a Lansky for a few years now and really love it. It does take some experience & little tricks to get your blades from sharp to REALLY sharp.

Like BrazosDog02 said, hit it with the coarsest stone really well, then work your way progressively through to the finest stones in one session. That way you keep the exact same angle throughout.

I also bought the Sapphire Stone that you can get separately from the whole Lansky kits. It's a step beyond the finest stone in the kit, so I use it last to really polish the edge before stropping.

TXNative also has really good tips about aligning the guide rods and stone holders on a flat surface and slightly bending the guide rods to make sure everything is as straight as can be. This just keeps everything on the same, consistent angle throughout, and that is really the key.

Completely agree with TXNative on the strop. You can buy them, or it's easy enough to make your own. I'll strop the blade as a last step in sharpening and routinely hit the strop to touch up the edge as well.

Also, there's lots of videos on youtube for the Lanskys. check those out as well.

The problem I have encountered with the Lansky is that most people do not sharpen enough with the coarse stone. You have to inspect the edge on the blade to make sure that the angle you are setting goes all the way to the cutting edge of the blade. If your cutting edge has a double angle, you are not making the knife sharp. I got a knife from a wedding that had an inconsistent edge. I had to sharpen for 20 min with the coarse stone to completely reset the angle. Once the cutting edge taper is completely shiny (on both sides), you can move on to med and fine stones.