Lansky

Victorinox inline phillips/pozi fit very well

Finally I have my own Lansky system. This can be used for smaller knives too. It is best for the larger knives. There are many great videos on youtube about these systems. Usually the edge becomes a bit less and the second hole with 20 degrees usually works best for SAKs. I have sharpened by hand for many years without any system. This Lansky will be very helpful and useful when I restore older fixed blade knives so I can make a completely new edge on it. It got many stones with different grit from the very coarse to fine. I also got a Sapphire stone for a very fine surface. Usually I never use anything but fine stones on SAKs. Around 600 grit….

I have a good tip and when you have a completely new fixed blade knife then it can be smart to take a picture and see what angle your edge got so you can repeat and make and keep it the same angle in the future. See how the blade must be placed in the system for this edge…..

Sharpening Swiss Army Knives is important and it will influence functionality, durability and performance quality. Today you can find a lot of different sharpening systems and helpful sharpening devices.
The best in my opinion will always be the sharpening with a stone by hand because this will be helpful for many factors. To be able to sharpen your own knives give confidence and safety.
Victorinox recommend an angle 15-20 degrees on each side and this will give a total edge on 30-40 degrees. I agree that this is a good choice. I have a few tips for the best possible hand sharpening in my opinion.
Some consider all hand sharpening to be maintenance and you must get a professional to help by using angled machines and professional sharpening devices. When you have sharpened your knives by hand over a long period of time then the angle on the bevel/edge will increase. This is because the blade gets thicker towards the back or spine.
It is always important that you look on the edge before sharpening and see how everything looks. Some blades are designed with a distinct curve or shape to fit into the body of the knife. While the edge remains rather straight.
It is important that you clean the blade before sharpening because a simple thing like remains from tape could prevent correct sharpening.
When you use a stone that could be natural stones or diamond coated and even ceramic to mention this as well then remember to use a stone that is a bit bigger in size like the one on the picture. I always use the fine side. The reason for using larger stone is to prevent the edge becoming convex. I like the edge itself to be flat as possible. The last part with the stone is with a bit sharper angle than 15-20. Sharpening by hand it is impossible to be so sturdy that you can get only 15 degree angle anyway so 15-20 is the best possible by hand.
If you sharpen on a regular basis you only need to use the fine stone always. If you get damages and so on then I have a few factor tips there too. I do not like to coarse stones because on a fine blade with a delicate edge then this will only complicate the process and it will take too much time. Extra coarse stones or coarse for that matter is not recommended for maintenance. Always look on the stones to feel and see the surface. If it is coarse then it can actually destroy the edge and you will have to make a new one.
With a fine stone you must also remember to have it clean and to use light pressure always. Best is to use a dry stone if diamond coated. Natural stones can be oiled, with water or dry as well.
At one point you will have to make a new edge because you have sharpened the knife so many times that because of the thicker blade towards the back will increase the angle of the edge rather much. It will not be as sharp and the performance different. This can be done by hand or even better with a device. This can be a manual device system or a clamped system with a set angle.
When you make a new edge then there are a few things you need to know and one is the surface of the stones. Coarse stone will remove more metal and therefore be helpful in the process. It is here a coarse stone is used. It must not be so coarse that it makes a lot of notches because then it will take further time.
“I have noticed that many use coarse, medium and fine stones each time knives are sharpened and that is not recommended”
“With a fine stone you use some pressure in the beginning and ends with a very light pressure and especially when you do the last part with a sharper angle”
In the process of sharpening you must clean and look at the edge many times. Find the best angle and use the stone back and forth on the edge is a cross motion. Then use some circular motions and then you use the stone along with the edge a few times with a light pressure to remove burr or uneven metal.
With a fine stone or all stones for that matter it is the pressure that will determine the surface. With a fine stone it is fully possible to get a super-fine or even close to a polished edge by the amount of pressure you use.
With Swiss Army Knives i recommend fine stones!
If you use a too large stone then it more difficult to see the process, the angle and results.

Look at the edge in the process and when you sharpen a almost new knife then just follow the original edge and this will help you for a long time. If you become good to sharpen then you will notice that if you run the tip of the finger nail along the edge then you will feel a smooth edge.

I like the Lansky very much. The Sapphire stone is extremely fine and can be used to polish with. The stones can also be used by hand without the guiding rod and clamp device. I see they also make a leather strop to be used in the system as well. This I can get on a later date.

It is an effective system and if you use the other hand to hold the device and use a finger to guide the rod then you get the best control.

With all sharpening it is important to look at the progress regularly and to clean the blade/edge and stones.

If you use oil on the stones that comes with the package then it can be smart to remember that to remove the oil again can be difficult. I like water the best…..

What is going on with the edge

Victorinox and Wenger knives can become very sharp with correct sharpening. Usually I use a strong magnifying glass to see what is going on with edge during sharpening. Today I got this pocket microscope with LED light to better see the progress and see what is going on. This microscope magnifies 60-100X and that is very good. 60X is enough. It got focus as well and when you find the correct focus this will work next time too. It is not expensive at all. 179NOK on Clas Ohlson and it worked very well. This can be used when you use the Lansky system to better see the progress....

Sharpening experiences and practice

I checked the edge on two knives that I used the Lansky system on. I am not completely new to this type from before. Looking on the edge with the microscope it is surprisingly flat and correct. The size of the stones is very well for a clamped system. It works very well. Use a firm stable grip on the clamp and a finger for the guide rod. It is the same with this system as sharpening by hand to use light pressure in the process.  The correct pressure will come from practice….It can also be smart to take advantage for several stones.

When you sharpen by hand free then there are possibilities to avoid the edge becoming more convex. Some use a large stone on a table and use the knife in the hand and use back and forth on water stones or other. Usually this is stones with some size. In the outdoors it is not always so easy to bring several large stones to maintain the “scandi edge” knife for example. Usually a smaller stone is brought along. I can manage after many years of practice to get the edge flat as possible. For outdoors and survival the sharpening by hand is very important to learn.

When you sharpen SAKs by hand then I have already explained about what size is best. The edge on SAKs is best to use your main hand for the stone and the other holding the knife. Use the main hand for the back and forth motion. It is not recommended if you want a flat edge to use the main hand with the knife holding and doing motion for a table stone. It is a small delicate edge that would need a very stable hand during motion.