Lansky Sharpener versus the Accusharp

by Peter Wrede
(Sweden)

Hi.

I was thinking of buying an 1803 pattern Light Infantry Sabre from Military Heritage (btw, what's your opinion on swords from those guys?) for some test-cutting. Since I need to sharpen it I was wondering about your opinion on the Lansky Sharpener versus the Accusharp. I live in Sweden and I haven't found anyone who sells the Accusharp but the Lansky Sharpener is readily available.

Is the Lansky Sharpener a good alternative to the Accusharp?

Best regards

ANSWER: Hi Peter,

Military Heritage are a GREAT site with a solid focus on customer service and, importantly, they know their products and have been around for ages.

Yes, I am definitely a fan!

Anyway, with regards to the Lanksy vs the Accusharp, the Accusharp is easier to use and a bit cheaper. But I know some people who use the Lansky and swear by it.

Personally, both are not ideal - the best method of sharpening is to do it all by hand, for example, using some of the sword sharpening techniques I outline here on SBG...

But it is a quick and dirty method that gets the job done.

- Paul

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If you're really in a hurry
by: Caleb

You can attach sandpaper to a Dremel, high speed drill, etc., and just keep polishing the edge away with progressive grits (ie removing all scratch marks from prior, corser grits) until you hit somewhere around the 1000 grit. JUST MAKE SURE you've sanded ALL the edge: it is easy to ~shy away~ from cutting RIGHT to the edge itself, but you have to remind yourself to be THOROUGH with EACH grit.

To finish it up, if you wanted ~something special~, wrap a block of something heavy (like a brick), with cloth, and put metal polish on it (make sure it's an abrasive polish, not a cleaner e.g. aluminum cleaner). Then, "strop" your sword on it by polishing the edge to a mirror-surface. Put the sword down on the block, its edge facing you, and push it on the block, polishing it.

For the ULTIMATE TREAT: buy the sword polishing kit from Namikawa Heibei. I did it! And MAN i'm enjoying every cent of those $500 cad I spent on it!

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