[FMtango]

I had nothing better to do than to sit here with my lansky sharpener and hone the blades again today. I found out how difficult it is to get a good edge
on a knife with that tungsten carbide coating.That took me about 30 minutes of work to get it done.I find that the 3 to 6 inch blades work best in the Lansky but my KA-BAR is another matter. I can make it work but I just cannot get the angle of the edge good enough to get it right.

I dont want to use any thing that will mess up the finish of the blade and when you go filing and grinding on the knife I think it just defeats the intentional purpose of that knife. So, in retrospect, do any one of you know a better way to put an edge on my KA-BAR with out grinding on it?

 

[M14sRock]

I suggest you start with a cheap knife and learn to use a good Arkansas stone. Patience is the key, and practice makes perfect.

For a quick touch up, try one of the Ultimate Edge diamond steels.

 

[Franciscomv]

The Lansky system, like all similar sharpening gadgets, has a lot of limitations. It will work fine on some blade sizes and shapes, but it is a pain in the butt to use with others.

The angle guides are great as long as the manufacturer of the knife you're trying to sharpen happened to grind the edge bevel at that exact same angle. Otherwise you'll need to work a lot to reprofile the edge to fit the sharpener.

Recurves, hawkbills, convex ground blades, large blades (over 6") or very small ones are challenging to sharpen on the Lansky.

IMHO, there's no substitute to freehand sharpening. Learn that skill and a simple set of stones is all you'll need no matter what you need to sharpen. Start practicing with cheap knives until you get the hang of it, after a while you'll be able to do it by "feel" and you'll be free from those complicated and bulky sharpening jigs.

 

[Poink88]

As stated, I like free hand but prefer diamond hones than stone. The flat surface don't deform and lasts a lot longer. This will help you maintain your angle which is the most critical part.

Amazingly, the cheap HarborFreight ones (though far from the best) works just fine.

 

[Neophyte1]

Mucked up

It would be nice to have had the Lansky system; web; and folks that actually knew how to properly sharpen around before I messed up some good working knives.
Even with the Lansky; (in the beginning) I messed up some good sharpening moments learning about angles.
Going on the Internet helped me lots (Crazy Sharp) type vids. These folks are wow weeee involved. I doubt I'll reach anything close to what they call sharp; the information really filled in many questions that I have had and have. I still use the Lansky system; yes with it's limitations; ending up with fewer butchered sharpenings moments. (notice my butchered)