As a gear freak and a knives "amateur", I just had to buy different sharpening systems.
The only one I really use is a flat fine stone (from someplace in Belgium), on which I do my best to restore my knives edge.

I also bought, a year or two ago, a Lansky sharpening system : I tried it on some knives, was not satisfied with the sharpening angle, forget it in a corner.

Cleaning shelves at home, I get it out again today and tried it on Doug's RSK : it should work for that knife ! But I don't want to damage it....
Question : what angle would you recommend to sharpen Doug's knife ??
20? ?

TIA
______________________________________________________
(edited ...)
And anyway, how do you know what angle you have with a Lansky sharpener ?
Even if you keep the same reference hole to slide your stone, I guess it varies with the blade width .......
<img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

Hi frenchy,
The tighter the angle, the finer the edge. A "tight" fine edge can be made VERY sharp, VERY fast, but it will wear quickly. A wider angle gives a sturdier edge, but it's tougher to impossible to get a "beyond shaving" edge with a wide angle. Think tight angle = scalpel, wide angle = axe. The right angle depends on the blade you're sharpening and what you'll be using it for. When "holding the bevel" is referred to, it means keeping a consistant angle, no matter what that angle may be. If the angle varies on a given edge as you sharpen it, you get a rounded edge (not good), if the angle remains the same, you get a flat (sharper) edge. This is true whether you're sharpening a scalpel blade (15 degrees) or an axe (I like about 40 degrees). I prefer a bevel of about 30 degrees for a general use pocket knife, and a good diamond hone to touch it up with as needed. Hope this helps.

Troy

Thanks for the info.

I understand the differences in angles (razor vs axe ...).
My questions are :
- how to have a constant angle, at each sharpening session, with a Lansky system, as the position of the clamp on the knife will vary, thus the angle too will vary.
- what is the angle used on Doug's knife, out of the box ?

I don't want to completly redefine a new different angle on the blade, at each sharpening session.....

Pick an easy to remember spot to place the clamp (most of the time, center of blade, from tip to guard, works pretty well, or right behind the nail groove on a folder), if you put it there every time, you'll be close enough to not degrade the existing edge. A millimeter one way or the other shouldn't throw you off enough to matter. While holding an exact angle through the life of the blade would be ideal, very little in life is ideal, and in this case, if you hold the same angle to within a degree or two, you should be able to get a VERY sharp edge if the metal in the blade is worth anything at all. Good luck, and remember... practice, practice, practice...

Troy

well.... as I don't want to ruin my best blades, I will propose to sharpen my co-workers knives.... for a fee ....... <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

You're gettin' the idea <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />.

Frenchy:

You remind me of a Serbian relative who was chief engineer for a shipping company with flags out of Puerto Rico.

His company sold one of their boats to some Arab businessmen and he was assigned to help the buyers crew sail the boat to their home port and then fly back to Puerto Rico.

He approached the buyers Captain and offered to help them save 15% on fuel usage for a $5,000.00 fee. If they would agree, they would only have to pay him when they reached their distination and could verify at least a 15% savings on fuel. They asked him why he didn't do this for the company he worked for and he explained that they were too cheap to appreciate his ability so he never did anything extra for them. The Captain accepted his offer.

He got a hold of the old fuel log book and changed all the figures to reflect usage 20% higher than it really was in the old log book. When they reached port and he pulled out the old log book to compare with the log they kept on their trip, they were overjoyed to see that they had made a 17% savings in fuel usage.

He got his $5,000.00 and flew back to Puerto Rico. I hope they never catch on and I hope your co-workers never catch on. <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Bountyhunter <img src="/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

well, now, let's see ......

I never intended to ask so much ...
just 1 Euro per knife !!
<img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

And they really would get better cutting knives .........

I have no experience with the Lansky sharpener, but I can tell you the RSK Mk1 is edged at 30 degrees. In my experience, most folks "sharpen" their knives too often, remove much too much metal when none or little is required. Mostly all they need is a good steeling.

Mine came sharpened unevenly. It had a larger bevel on one side than the other. I was able to fix it with my Lasky, but is that normal?