119/110 field sharpening

hiwa

hiwa

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Jun 7, 2009
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I am curious what you guys who have hollow ground Bucks use to sharpen them in the bush. I bring with me a DMT diafold and try to follow the micro-bevel near the edge, or sometimes use the MacGowan pocket sharpener. It gets sharper, but not razor-sharp like I want. Any suggestions ??

Pete



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If I am in the woods and my knife blade need to be touched up (normally if they do not shave arm hair), I use the diamond file on my Leatherman wave. I have found that it puts a nice edge on Buck's 420HC pretty fast. It works well on 154CM and D2, but I do not know about other steels and the LM file.

To get your knife razor sharp, you may need to reprofile the blade. That means thin the shoulder. If you have used this knife and sharpened it many times, it is possible that you have removed enough metal that the factory bevel is no longer there. I have found that Buck knives can take a pretty thin edge (around 12-13 degrees per side) and it slices like a razor.

As for the pocket sharpener, I have never had much luck with them getting an edge like I like. You might want to keep an eye out for some stones at yard sales. You can buy a few more diamond pads which would work very well at getting the edge you want. You will need different grades such as fine, med., ect.
 
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For years I just used a regular wet stone. About 15 years ago I got a Spyderco sharpening system, and I also have a Lansky set up. All work well. There is no secret technique or magic needed to sharpen Buck knives, you just need to know the basics of sharpening, use good technique, and spend the time needed.
 
I carry a diamond hone and a steel. My theory is that a knife should never need to be sharpened, so I touch it up often.

Jack
 
I sharpen all of my knives (hollow ground or flat ground) with a steel. Like you see in a butcher shop or in a block set of kitchen knives. I don't care for stones or honing oil.
 
Hiwa, A worthy topic.The Blue diamond you show is coarse.With that its hard to get a shaving edge and that type edge does not last.The fine (green) diamond and like the one John mentions is X fine.These all work.A 2"X4" Norton India stone works but is fragile.A butchers steel does not sharpen,it burnishes the blade. ie realignes putting off sharpening (metal removal) as long as possible.Unless its the diamond coated type.The gadgets I don't use espically in the field.DM
 
I use the butcher steel at home to re- align the edge after I have used the finer stones. I do have a 2 by 8 fine india, but that's for the shop when I "bulk-sharpen" a lot of knives. Maybe I'll carry the finer (red) DMT in the bush with me and pay good attention to my angle , and use a steady hand.
What John says about changing the angle ( shallower) is a great idea. I think I will try to spend some time and bring it down a bit, as it seems a bit steep from the factory.

Pete
 
hIwa,Good idea to follow up on John's reprofiling advise using the coarse side of your 2"X8" India stone.I really like my Norton and will take it camping but no further than the truck.Buck now states on their advertisment sent w/ each knife a 16-19* edge angle.Which is just right.But yours could have a steeper angle.Mine cuts nice w/ a 16*.
Good luck.DM
 
I use our little two sided slide-out diamond stone. Remove metal with the course side and a few strokes on the fine side. Not shaving but when I am hunting I don't shave anyways :)
 
I like the DMT Diasharp credit card sharpener when I am really away from camp. I like the fine grit. With diamond that will restore a days field wear and leave a very effective cutting edge. Back in camp I will have a two-sided folding sharpener with fine and extra fine diamond grit. That leaves a nicer edge.
 
Just came back from the garage. I spent a while on the fine india stone to bring the angle down shallower ( I'm guessing around 20 deg. ) . It's a heck of a lot better now . I think I will carry some finer stones ( 600 grit < ) with me to keep it that way, instead of trying to hog off a whole lot of metal with a course stone when I'm not at home.

Pete
 
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I hunt out of base camps or tents sometimes if in the interior i always have 3-4 knives on me depending on where i am going/what i'm doing.

I carry a buck washita stone and diamond stone and never had a dull knife yet to even need re-sharpening,BUT I'M CONSTANTLY TOUCHING UP MY BLADES while in use.
 
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