Guided angle sharpening systems with FFG spyderco blades?

[metaphoricalsimile]

I'm wanting to pick up a guided angle sharpener, but since a lot of spyderco knives (including the ones I own) don't have flat spots on the blade to clamp onto, I could see some clamps not doing a good job holding the knife at a fixed angle. Do y'all have experience with these and could tell me which ones work well and which don't? I'm thinking of picking up the Lansky system in particular, but would love to hear about other systems as well.

[I_like_knives]

The Lansky can be clamped onto FFG blades. Rather than the two pieces of the device being parallel, you can spread the one end out so that the whole thing tapers and follows the flats of the blade.... if that makes sense.

However, the numbered slots will now be at different position relative to a straight and parallel clamped position. They are now a bit further from center. Not a big deal, as they are just kind of ball park figures anyhow. Other variables can effect the accuracy of those indicated angles as well. Just gotta play with it until it is set up how you want.

[Evil D]

Edge Pro. It doesn't use a clamp. Your angle will be slightly different due to the blade laying on the angle of the blade grind (as in, the edge won't be parallel to the sharpening table) but you can adjust your angle to compensate and use an angle cube to counter this. I avoid clamp based sharpeners at all costs.

[Bolster]

I've had good success with the Lansky. I also own the Edge Pro which, as Evil says, uses no clamp. It also works well for FFG blades, especially larger ones. The other two popular choices are the KME and the WickedEdge. [Edit: Forgot Hapstone] The KME and WE are both clamp system like the Lansky, but larger/fancier. AFAIK both those systems do FFG too; remember that FFG is what most kitchen knives are, and if a sharpener couldn't do those...would flop in the marketplace.

Full disclosure: I've had even more success with the Lansky clamp after I machined a larger "notch" at the end of the clamp to an angle of (if I recall correctly) 1.5 degrees. With that on both sides, it clamps well onto smaller blades where the angle of the blade itself (not the edge) is 3 degrees.

[BLUETYPEII]

I'm wanting to pick up a guided angle sharpener, but since a lot of spyderco knives (including the ones I own) don't have flat spots on the blade to clamp onto, I could see some clamps not doing a good job holding the knife at a fixed angle. Do y'all have experience with these and could tell me which ones work well and which don't? I'm thinking of picking up the Lansky system in particular, but would love to hear about other systems as well.

I did a ton of research before I decided on a sharpening system and I finally decided on the KME. I don’t think any sharpening system is perfect but this one is darn close. You can clamp all kinds of different blades including full flat ground. And there are a ton of different accessories too. If you’re doing hawk bill or recurved blades they have a special thee sided stone just for that.

I’m including a really good link on how to use the KME sharpener. https://youtu.be/pU6BqWfQj-w
This guy has a few great videos on the KME. I think if you follow his advice about the basic kit and getting the digital angle gauge, “the beast“ and I think the 1500 grit stone you’ll have everything you need to start. (The digital angle gauge is critical if you want to know the angle you’re actually sharpening at.)

I really hope this helps, it took me quite a while to decide on what sharpener I wanted to go with.

All that being said I still use the Spyderco Sharpmaker for touching up, I’ve only used the KME to re-profile 3 or 4 knives so far but it has worked great.

[soc_monki]

The new WorkSharp system is not much more than a Lansky, and has a pretty neat clamp design that basically auto-positions the spine of the knife and I believe it works on FFG blades as well. It would be my choice for a clamp system if I were in the market for one. Small, effective, and well priced.

I used a Lansky for a while, did some tweaks, etc. It's a good system if you can deal with the limitations and frustrations. I got tired of all the setup and fiddling.

[MFlovejp]

KME works great for FFG blades but as I__like__knives said you need to pinch the clamp at the thinner part of the blade so that the clamp evenly grips the contour of the spine.

The 50 grit “Beast” really isn’t necessary for most people’s use and in fact you can wreck an edge pretty quickly with it. I like using it on rough duty fixed blades.

Guided systems are not easy to use well. There is a learning curve just like any form of sharpening and the more you practice the better your edges will get.

What I like about the KME is that it is a good balance of cost and quality. The diamond hones they sell with it are excellent in my opinion. I haven’t really used the natural stones because the diamonds are faster and I don’t chase mirror edges very often.

Customer service with KME is fantastic.

[Menipo]

KME works great for FFG blades but as I__like__knives said you need to pinch the clamp at the thinner part of the blade so that the clamp evenly grips the contour of the spine.

The 50 grit “Beast” really isn’t necessary for most people’s use and in fact you can wreck an edge pretty quickly with it. I like using it on rough duty fixed blades.

Guided systems are not easy to use well. There is a learning curve just like any form of sharpening and the more you practice the better your edges will get.

What I like about the KME is that it is a good balance of cost and quality. The diamond hones they sell with it are excellent in my opinion. I haven’t really used the natural stones because the diamonds are faster and I don’t chase mirror edges very often.

Customer service with KME is fantastic.

I subscribe to each and every word of MFlovejp. I started with the Lansky long time ago but upgraded my sharpening gear this year: now I have the KME (although I would love to be able to use the Sharpmaker, every time I have used a freehand system I have caused a mess) and I am delighted.

[Sharp Guy]

Take a good look at the Hapstones. I bought a V7 based on recommendations from some of the members here and I've been really happy with it. I really like how you can use a wide variety of stones and there's no clamp to deal with

https://www.gritomatic.com/products/hap ... the%20best.

Looks like the V7s are sold out ^

Available on Amazon but for more than I paid...

https://www.amazon.com/Hapstone-Precisi ... 195&sr=8-1

Hapstone M3 or V8 (new?) might be the best alternatives. There more reasonably priced too...

https://www.gritomatic.com/collections/ ... -sharpener

https://www.gritomatic.com/collections/ ... 3582311533

[GarageBoy]

The new hapstones are modular. You can turn your m3 into a v8 (table with extensions) or the r2 (clamp)

They'll only do 6" stones though

[NarwhalisnotKosher]

I've had good luck with my wicked edge in the clamp.

I've also had great luck by removing the blade and clamping onto the tang

[RustyIron]

Edge Pro is unclamped, so the blade can be held flat on the table, and moved as needed to maintain the desired angle.

[AHarbuck]

KME here, used for reprofiling or evening out a factory edge. I use the Sharpmaker for touch ups as it’s a much quicker process.

The clamp on the KME is well engineered for FFG. No hinges, the screw down presses all components together on the blade and if you set it in the proper manner will clamp the edge symmetrically for good results. Lots of YouTube videos on how to clamp. I remember watching YouTube vids by Knife Krazy (sp?) when first starting out. Good results for me for applying even bevels.

[kennethsime]

The new hapstones are modular. You can turn your m3 into a v8 (table with extensions) or the r2 (clamp)

They'll only do 6" stones though

Would the V8 still work with Spyderco sharpmaker rods? I remember this being one of the big attractions of the V7.

[GarageBoy]

Probably too long for the new hapstone

[toxophilus]

My first guided system was a KME (sold it); I had a Worksharp for a bit but noticed it would leave lateral scratch lines on the blades from the steel dust on the guides (sold it).

Next came the EdgePro which I still use to get to that part of the blade right next to the plunge line/ricasso; I mainly use diamond plates to tackle any kind of steel.

Image of sharpening the plunge line area on the blade with the EdgePro...



My go-to system is my Wicked Edge Field & Sport; the diamond platens will sharpen any steel, I do some math to find the true center of the blade to achieve even bevels with the help of an angle cube/putty knife/calculator.

Re-sharpening with the WE takes about 20 strokes per side & I don't have to go through an entire progression of grits. I'm able to record/reference my blade settings to ensure consistent results; I've even jury clamped my Sharpmaker tri-stones to the WE platens to sharpen serrated blades.

If I need to reprofile an edge I have lower grits (50/80) that will make that task go really fast, the latest generation of clamp style hold distally tapered full flat ground blades better than the previous generation.

I've been known to take my WE to the Seconds Sale and sharpen a few blades for the folks there...



Whatever system you end up getting, practice on some lower quality knives as there will be a learning curve and don't hesitate to ask for help from the Folks here on the forum as I'm sure they've run across some challenges that you may encounter.

Have fun!

[Sharp Guy]

The new hapstones are modular. You can turn your m3 into a v8 (table with extensions) or the r2 (clamp)

They'll only do 6" stones though

Would the V8 still work with Spyderco sharpmaker rods? I remember this being one of the big attractions of the V7.

Congress Tool sells 6" triangle stones in various types if you're looking for something with corners to sharpen serrations on a V8. I've had my Sharpmaker stones in my V7 just to see how it worked but I've never actually sharpened anything that way. I just use the SM to touch up my serrated knives