Let me start this product review off with a couple of admissions. If I have a sharp knife with a proper edge, I can keep it sharp using a steel to touch it up with. If I have a dull knife or even a sharp knife and think I'm going to take and get it sharp using a stone or some other system, it just isn't happening. I can dull a knife like no-ones business!!
Product Tested: Lansky
1. Very easy to use. There are a few tricks to help you save time and effort to get a PERFECT edge on your knives and I would gladly share those. I wish I would have purchased one of these systems a long time ago!! I had a guy who used to sharpen my knives and he did a very good job, but about 3 years ago he passed away. I finally was forced to figure this out myself. I didn't want to take my knives to some guy with a grinder so he could take all the temper out of the blades and ruin my knives. These things (knives) are expensive and deserve to be treated a little better than that!!
2. After doing just a couple of knives you too will be very good at it and you will be able to get your knives razor sharp with an edge that is just superb. On a blade that has been improperly sharpened for years, or even some of the knew knives with the factory edge which is just garbage, it might take as long as 45-60 minutes to get your knife just perfect. Once you do have the proper edge though and the knife is sharp, getting it back in tip top shape only takes 5 minutes tops to do the next time around!! Touch them up once in a while throughout the year as you use a knife and it makes it one heck of a lot simpler!! Don't wait to sharpen your knives until you could stand on the blade and not even scratch skin with the darn thing.
3. http://lansky.com/index.php/products/std-3-stone-system/ If I knew then what I know now, I would have just purchased the basic 3-stone system and added a couple more stones that they sell individually and I would have been done. Add just a couple more items and you are all set.
http://lansky.com/index.php/products/ultra-fine-hone/ Buy one of the ultra-fine hones. It really does a nice job of putting a very nice mirror like edge/finish on the blade.
http://lansky.com/index.php/products/coarse-diamond-hone/ Oh yes get the coarse Diamond stone to use to save you a ton of time getting those messed up edges to the proper angles on both sides of the blade. Edges that have been sharpened over and over again and never once done properly have all sorts of imperfections that will take a bit of work to take out. On new factory edges, you will be amazed at how off they can be. One side of the blade might be honed at about a 26 degree angle and the other side is at about a 15 degree angle. Often the factory edges are really rough and have a lot of machine marks in the edge.
http://lansky.com/index.php/products/super-c-clamp/ Super C Clamp is a must have!! I strongly suggest you get a Super C Clamp for your kit. It makes it so much easier to use the sharpening system so you don't have to hold it by hand alone. This thing is worth its weight in gold! It's fantastic to just clamp it to a counter, table, bench, or just about anything else that is handy and then sharpen away. You are an idiot if you do not get one of these. I bought just one of the kits at first and was not even half way through my first knife sharpening job when I went back to the store and bought this clamp.
4. Serrated edges. I have never cared for them personally. I just never really saw the need for them. They are a huge pain in the arse to sharpen! Even with the Lansky system and the serrated edge hone that you can purchase, it's still a pain to do. http://lansky.com/index.php/products/medium-serrated-hone/ Yes they can be sharpened but each of those silly ass little grooves has to be sharpened one at a time, and every darn knife brand out there has their own degree of angle they use when they put their version of serrations on their blades. Heck I've even found that one ONE KNIFE, the serrations can be different degrees between the larger and the smaller serrations. If a friend wants you to sharpen his kitchen knives or his hunting knives with serrated edges, just tell him to pound sand! It aint happening! Okay, they really aren't that bad to do, but then you must be one of those people who like it when you hit yourself on the thumb with a hammer when pounding a nail. Do not purchase the serrated hones and then you will not have to sharpen any blades with this damn invention on them. If you do get a serrated hone because you have a couple kitchen knives with this type of edge on them, keep this hone separate and hidden, and only bring it out when you are doing your own kitchen knives. Never let anyone see that you have one and never admit to having one!
5. Once you get the system down for sharpening, you will become possessed and every single kitchen, hunting, and pocket knife in your house will be scary sharp!! It's enjoyable doing this. If you like to reload your own ammunition and you are adept at doing that, then you will also enjoy doing this and you will do an excellent job sharpening your knives as well!!
6. A dull knife is a dangerous knife. Yes that is true and you can really mess yourself up with a dull knife because it is not cutting very good, but don't be fooled as these really sharp knives you now have on hand can really do some amazing stuff!! I've been sharpening my own blades and friends knives now for about 10 months. I have only been to the Now Care clinic twice in that time span. I was doing a friends knife when the tip just caught me ever so slightly. I never felt a thing it was so sharp! Two stitches on the edge of my knuckle and I was good to go. So then I was sharpening another friends knife and I got the other hand. It was just a small flesh wound and only took 3 stitches. Again it was nothing to write home about. Now if this is not a strong endorsement for this product then I don't know one if it bit me on the butt or nicked my finger!!
7. Did I mention that Lansky is USA made Just one more reason to purchase their kits!! You know how I have made a hybrid combination with my stones to make the kit just how I want it, well in talking with Lansky, they are thinking about making it so a person can order them up just like I did without having to mix and match. That might be pretty sweet. One word of caution on all of this is the fact that you will realize after having one kit, that is not enough. You will realize how handy/helpful/wonderful it is to have a kit in your camper (with the Super C Clamp) in addition to one in the home. The camper goes.....................well camping, hunting, fishing, and vacationing, and knives just seem to be a tool that is used in all of this, and it sure is great to have the ability to keep a sharp edge on your equipment. If anyone wants I can post some pictures of knives I have sharpened so you can get a close look at the edge.
David
Product Tested: Lansky
1. Very easy to use. There are a few tricks to help you save time and effort to get a PERFECT edge on your knives and I would gladly share those. I wish I would have purchased one of these systems a long time ago!! I had a guy who used to sharpen my knives and he did a very good job, but about 3 years ago he passed away. I finally was forced to figure this out myself. I didn't want to take my knives to some guy with a grinder so he could take all the temper out of the blades and ruin my knives. These things (knives) are expensive and deserve to be treated a little better than that!!
2. After doing just a couple of knives you too will be very good at it and you will be able to get your knives razor sharp with an edge that is just superb. On a blade that has been improperly sharpened for years, or even some of the knew knives with the factory edge which is just garbage, it might take as long as 45-60 minutes to get your knife just perfect. Once you do have the proper edge though and the knife is sharp, getting it back in tip top shape only takes 5 minutes tops to do the next time around!! Touch them up once in a while throughout the year as you use a knife and it makes it one heck of a lot simpler!! Don't wait to sharpen your knives until you could stand on the blade and not even scratch skin with the darn thing.
3. http://lansky.com/index.php/products/std-3-stone-system/ If I knew then what I know now, I would have just purchased the basic 3-stone system and added a couple more stones that they sell individually and I would have been done. Add just a couple more items and you are all set.
http://lansky.com/index.php/products/ultra-fine-hone/ Buy one of the ultra-fine hones. It really does a nice job of putting a very nice mirror like edge/finish on the blade.
http://lansky.com/index.php/products/coarse-diamond-hone/ Oh yes get the coarse Diamond stone to use to save you a ton of time getting those messed up edges to the proper angles on both sides of the blade. Edges that have been sharpened over and over again and never once done properly have all sorts of imperfections that will take a bit of work to take out. On new factory edges, you will be amazed at how off they can be. One side of the blade might be honed at about a 26 degree angle and the other side is at about a 15 degree angle. Often the factory edges are really rough and have a lot of machine marks in the edge.
http://lansky.com/index.php/products/super-c-clamp/ Super C Clamp is a must have!! I strongly suggest you get a Super C Clamp for your kit. It makes it so much easier to use the sharpening system so you don't have to hold it by hand alone. This thing is worth its weight in gold! It's fantastic to just clamp it to a counter, table, bench, or just about anything else that is handy and then sharpen away. You are an idiot if you do not get one of these. I bought just one of the kits at first and was not even half way through my first knife sharpening job when I went back to the store and bought this clamp.
4. Serrated edges. I have never cared for them personally. I just never really saw the need for them. They are a huge pain in the arse to sharpen! Even with the Lansky system and the serrated edge hone that you can purchase, it's still a pain to do. http://lansky.com/index.php/products/medium-serrated-hone/ Yes they can be sharpened but each of those silly ass little grooves has to be sharpened one at a time, and every darn knife brand out there has their own degree of angle they use when they put their version of serrations on their blades. Heck I've even found that one ONE KNIFE, the serrations can be different degrees between the larger and the smaller serrations. If a friend wants you to sharpen his kitchen knives or his hunting knives with serrated edges, just tell him to pound sand! It aint happening! Okay, they really aren't that bad to do, but then you must be one of those people who like it when you hit yourself on the thumb with a hammer when pounding a nail. Do not purchase the serrated hones and then you will not have to sharpen any blades with this damn invention on them. If you do get a serrated hone because you have a couple kitchen knives with this type of edge on them, keep this hone separate and hidden, and only bring it out when you are doing your own kitchen knives. Never let anyone see that you have one and never admit to having one!
5. Once you get the system down for sharpening, you will become possessed and every single kitchen, hunting, and pocket knife in your house will be scary sharp!! It's enjoyable doing this. If you like to reload your own ammunition and you are adept at doing that, then you will also enjoy doing this and you will do an excellent job sharpening your knives as well!!
6. A dull knife is a dangerous knife. Yes that is true and you can really mess yourself up with a dull knife because it is not cutting very good, but don't be fooled as these really sharp knives you now have on hand can really do some amazing stuff!! I've been sharpening my own blades and friends knives now for about 10 months. I have only been to the Now Care clinic twice in that time span. I was doing a friends knife when the tip just caught me ever so slightly. I never felt a thing it was so sharp! Two stitches on the edge of my knuckle and I was good to go. So then I was sharpening another friends knife and I got the other hand. It was just a small flesh wound and only took 3 stitches. Again it was nothing to write home about. Now if this is not a strong endorsement for this product then I don't know one if it bit me on the butt or nicked my finger!!
7. Did I mention that Lansky is USA made Just one more reason to purchase their kits!! You know how I have made a hybrid combination with my stones to make the kit just how I want it, well in talking with Lansky, they are thinking about making it so a person can order them up just like I did without having to mix and match. That might be pretty sweet. One word of caution on all of this is the fact that you will realize after having one kit, that is not enough. You will realize how handy/helpful/wonderful it is to have a kit in your camper (with the Super C Clamp) in addition to one in the home. The camper goes.....................well camping, hunting, fishing, and vacationing, and knives just seem to be a tool that is used in all of this, and it sure is great to have the ability to keep a sharp edge on your equipment. If anyone wants I can post some pictures of knives I have sharpened so you can get a close look at the edge.
David
