How To Sharpen a Knife

More info and links in the description below. Sharpening a knife can be dangerous, so make sure you are careful and go slowly!

This video shows how to sharpen a knife using the Lansky knife sharpening system. Sharpening a knife with a stone can be daunting for beginners, so I wanted to present an easier method that produces consistent results. This process can be be used on hunting, camping and kitchen knives with no problems. After you've gotten a kitchen knife razor sharp with this method it's easy to keep it that way with a steel hone or a strop.

The knife sharpener that I show in the video is much kinder to your knives (and much more effective) than the carbide 'pull through' sharpeners. The first time you sharpen the knife will require the most work, after that any subsequent sharpenings will be easier and will remove much less material from the blade. This process works on any knife steel.

If you have any questions regarding how you should be sharpening or maintaining your knives feel free to ask in the comments!

PLEASE NOTE: I am not affiliated with Lansky in any way, I use the product and I think it works well, that's the only reason I'm recommending it.

Spend the extra for the diamond system if you can afford it. They both work well, but the diamond system is faster. The diamond version will also work much better on steels that have high carbide content like D2, S30V, S35V, M4, and so on...

The knife shown in this video is a Resolute 4"

[GoughCustom]

Links to the system I use in the video:

[SH-khbq]

I'm a knife noob, and this is probably the best tutorial I've seen on how to sharpen

[ashleymaclennan]

You are a creator/maker that cares deeply about the success of others. I can’t thank you enough for this tutorial.

[simonsanchez]

My god 😠I've been autisticly watching watching YouTube videos on how to sharpen for literally FIVE YEARS this is hands down the BEST video on sharpening I've ever seen this man deserves much praise 😤😤😤

[dylana.]

I remember watching this video back in 2015 and purchasing my first lansky sharpener. I’m now back 9 years later watching this video to learn how to use it again. Thank you man hope you’re doing well.

[urbanjungle]

As a newbie to knife sharpening this is by far the best video I have found to start me on my sharpening journey! Thank you for you effort and patience in compiling this video.

[paulgranger]

Aaron, thank you so much for making this video. I have been using the Lansky System since about 1988. I love it. I've had so many ask me over the years how I get my knives so sharp. I get them to buy a Lansky, then come back for my 5 page tip sheet. Now I can just send them here. Thank you very much for taking the time to do this!

[climbingberliner]

Never been able to cit pepper with a knife like that. And I have been using the lansky system. After following your video I was able to take a pocket knife that couldn't cut butter and was to succeed in cutting papper like you demonstrated. First time I was ever to accomplish that. 🎉

[angoraacres]

Thank you for the detailed and clear video. I have a Lansky system, gifted me by my late husband. I have never sharpened my knives, he always did that for me. I can't say I'm confident about this, but I'm going to give it a try and hope it works out.
I do my own processing of my goats and sheep for meat and pelt and sharp knives are crucial as you can imagine.
Just for reference I have been using a KI (?) Mora Sweden Stainless 125S. I have three of them plus a wood handled BIG knife that I use for bones, etc.
Okay, wish me luck!


Update:
I don't have stropping leather at hand, though I have no doubt my husband had some, can't find it now. 


And not sure what I'm supposed to be feeling as to a "burr".


Anyway, can easily cut through phone book paper as you demonstrated. Woo hoo!
Three more to do..I feel confident now. We'll see how they work next week!


Question for you, how often will I need to do this type of sharpening? And what is the long round sharpener that I see professional butchers have hanging from their belts? Should I plan on using one?

[EctopicElm]

I've been using a Lansky for the past eight years and this is the best instructional video on YouTube! BTW your knives are gorgeous.

[bandofbrothers]

Three hours after I watched your video, I was able to get my knife sharp by following your techniques.  This is my first sharping knife that I did without paying someone to do it.  Thank you, thank you !
By the way, I have subscribe and share your video with my friends. 

[lightspeed]

Best video on how to sharpen knives using the Lansky system. The rest of the other videos were just unending yammering before getting to the point. Thank you!!

[wordreet]

This method makes complete sense to me.
 I've worked with metal for around 30 years (precision engineering components) and already knew that you would get that burr when you started moving the sharpening stone back and forth. When we de-burr a work piece with a fine needle file, you still leave a smaller burr if you don't move it correctly. A metal work tutor will always tell you to move the file along the edge or at least to only use the push cut as much as possible when de-burring to reduce any final polishing work, before the job is finished.
I use a diamond lap to sharpen my kitchen knives and a very fine diamond lap to sharpen my hobby knives, for cutting foam and balsa wood.
I like that device and will have a go at replicating it. (because I'm cheap) ;¬)

[bogomir]

My diamond stones wore out quite fast, so I switched to the actual "stone" set, and I had it for at least 8 years.
I use it on all knives, including my wife's kitchen knives, chisels, my axes and my hobby knives. 
I do things a bit differently, though:
- I always use a small drop of oil. Normal machine oil is fine, It doesn't have to be the Lansky oil.
- I always work towards the blade, not off it, to avoid any burr. 
- To check which part I have to sharpen more by checking the back side - if it picks up oil, it is OK. If not, that part needs some more work.
- I always make sure the clamp is in the middle of the blade, by measuring with my fingers
- I tighten the metal screw first, and then adjust with the hand screw, so the two prongs are aligned parallel to the surface of the blade
- I found that tape on the tip tends to affect the angle of the blade, so I don't use it. The clamp is aluminium, so it won't scratch my knives
- I always start with the lowest angle possible (without catching the rods on the screw)
- The last grind, with the 1000 grit stone, I also give the edge one or two strokes with one notch steeper angle, which makes the edge more durable. I don't do this with XActo blades, here I stay with the lowest possible angle.
- for blades over 5" (12cm) in length I use two positions of the clamp along the edge.- Otherwise, the angle of the edge will be too shallow at the tip and at the back (at the back of the edge this is OK, but the tip will take damage while cutting, when it is too thin).

But hey - everybody has their way that works for them - what ever makes your knives shave hair off your arm is good! ;-)

[stuartnsharpe]

Best sharpening video on YouTube. Dusted off my Lansky and going through all my knives..
Thank you sir

[futuresonex]

That was a superb tutorial! If I may, though, I'd like to add to it a bit. One piece of advice that I always give to someone asking about the Lansky Guided Sharpening System is that, if at all possible, get the 70 grit extra-coarse diamond stone to go with their kit! Whenever you use a Lansky or a similar kit on a knife for the first time you have to reprofile the edge to match one of the angles on the guide, and, depending upon how big the difference is, that can be a bit of a chore, but it is ABSOLUTELY VITAL!!! Fail to do this and you will never get that blade sharp! The 70 grit extra coarse diamond stone does it much faster and much more easily than the standard stones. It's still a chore, just not as big of a chore. I used to sharpen semi-professionally, and this is the #1 mistake I saw people make when using those systems. They don't fully reprofile the blade first, and the stones never reach the apex of the edge. It's just wasted time.

Adding one or both of the 1, 000 & 2, 000 grit polishing stones and a leather stropping hone (or four) will also help you get a nice edge. I've seen guys get a true mirror polished edge on their blade using the Lansky sharpener. It's easy to do that with one of the high end sharpeners like Edge Pro, KME (the one I use) or Wicked Edge, but if you're willing to put the time in you can do it on a Lansky too, and for a fraction of the cost! (You need the 1, 000 grit Ultra-Fine Hone, the 2, 000 grit Super Sapphire Polishing Hone and a set of their Leather Stropping Hones treated with various polishing compounds to at least the green 0.50 micron paste to get the true mirror polish on the edge.)

One other worthwhile upgrade you can make to a Lansky system is to get rid of the Lansky angle guide/knife clamp & stand, and replace them with the angle guide/clamp & stand from Gatco. Not only is it much more stable & more comfortable to use, but it also gives you six angles to choose from to the Lansky's four. That may not seem like a big deal, but, in addition to making the system far more stable & far more comfortable to use, it also means that there's more of a chance that the edge on your knife will match one of the angles on the angle guide, or at least get close enough to reduce the amount of reprofiling you'll have to do.

That being said, stick with Lansky for the stones. Not only are their stones very high quality, but there is a very wide selection of stones to choose from when your favorite knife needs a tune-up. There are standard stones, diamond stones, serration stones, natural Arkansas stones, round stones for sharpening recurved blades and even leather stropping hones for getting rid of the burr and putting that nice polish one. No other kit in this price range has anywhere near the selection of stones that the Lansky system has available for it. It's not even close!

[SpaceCaptainLord]

This, with the bevel grinding diy video he did, are seriously the best things I’ve ever seen. I thought making knives was WAY out of my price range. After watching some of these videos I see now that’s not true. I can actually do it for a pretty dang good price

[jpmcpherson]

This guy produced a nice vid. Thumbs up.

[theplasticdesert]

Literally the best and one of the very few actually useful sharpening tutorials. Great job. Thank you.

[j.n.]

well done sir... no fluff, informative, superior filming skills, unmatched closeups - thankyou