The bench is level. It was the first thing I've checked. Also, I measured the angle compared to the base, not to gravity

billym: I haven't given up on Spyderco yet...they're getting a chance to take care of it. I can use the Lansky to fix the bevels, then put the final edge on the blades with the Sharpmaker once it's fixed/replaced. Like backbeveling on the sharpmaker but not with such an aggressive angle.

The reason I'm considering this is that when I was sharpening knives which have harder steel, I noticed that it took A LOT of strokes before I was getting burrs. I never did get any on my Gerber Freeman with the S30V blade...and we're talking about WAY more than the 40 passes recommended by Spiderco. I marked it with a Sharpie and after nearly 100 strokes I'd barely made a dent.

And I can buy a lot of Lansky diamond stones for what the diamond sticks from Spyderco are priced at. I don't like to mix systems because I know the Lansky system's angles aren't exact...but at least they'll be consistent.