Backpacking Sharpeners? anyone?

G

GenerallyAwsomeDude

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Dec 12, 2010
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Ok so I wan't to know what you guys bring backpacking that helps you keep an edge on your knife. I also wan't to know what I should get, I need a steel. any recommendations? thanks- Josh.
 
personally i use the lansky diamond set and use the rods as a benchstone set, theyre light and its good practice to do it by hand
 
Steels are for cheap kitchen knives don't use them on your good blades.

For camping/backpacking sharpening tools many including myself like DMT diafolds. You also have, Fallkniven DC3 and 4, spyderco double stuff, ceramic rods, sandpaper, and pocket oil stones.

Personally I use a coarse/fine diafold and a ceramic rod. The ceramic is usually used first if the edge is just slightly dulled and the diafold is used if the knife has been put through extensive work and is duller than what the ceramic can repair.
 
I carried a Gatco Micro-X pocket sharpener. 1 oz with interchangable ceramic rods. Not as good as a oil stone, but good enough for a 'field' edge.
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GenerallyAwsomeDude said:
Ok so I wan't to know what you guys bring backpacking that helps you keep an edge on your knife. I also wan't to know what I should get, I need a steel. any recommendations? thanks- Josh.
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I have one very similar to this one which I find very useful. It has two levels of diamond grit, coarse and fine, and a ceramic surface which is good for polishing. It's pretty light weight yet large enough to handle sharpening a larger blade like a khukuri, which smaller sharpeners can't.

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Andy
 
Andrew Colglazier said:
Disagree. I have used a steel for years on all kinds of knives. If the steel is of good quality and good technique is used, it works wonderfully most any knife.

Andy
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For softer steels yes, but on harder steels it can cause fracturing of the edge.

The ones you posted though are pretty sweet :thumbup:
 
I have found myself preferring softer (not 420j, but something like a 55hrc carbon steel or well done stainless) knives because of ease of sharpening. I can't avoid my knives dulling forever, sometimes it hits hard particles or surfaces which would damage any edge regardless of hardness. I've become a fan of using a bastard file for the course work, followed by either some sandpaper or arkansas stones. Nice that I can sharpen both my hawk and my knife on the same quick tools, takes a bit of practice to use a file well though.
 
How bout a Spyderco Sharpmaker.
Comes in a nice compact package, 2 grits of rods, preset angles.
What more could you want?
Lenny
 
I have a small half-thickness scrap of suede and a tiny chunk of White Diamond cutting compound I can use to strop in the field.
 
I use the red plastic Gatco thing pictured above.

Plus a green DMT folding diamond stone.
 
If I bring anything, it would be a diafold F(red) and XF(green) and/or a two-sided strop that I made with black (coarse) on one side and green (fine) on the other.
 
I'm a fan of the Lansky Turnbox with brown and white Crock Sticks. Its compact, light, fairly inexpensive, and works well by either using the box for your angle guide or using the Crock Sticks freehand.
 
When I am out hunting, I always carry two DMT (diafold, I think - The ones that open like a butterfly knife)... One Black and blue (extra-coarse 220 and coarse 325) and one red and green (fine 600 and extra-fine 1200)...
Almost always, the fine and extra fine are ok for me, but since my friands alwas ask me to sharpen their knives, the coarse, extra-coarse is very welcome. ;)

Regards,

Andre Tiba - Brazil
 
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