best field sharpener

J

jaydon

Joined
Aug 25, 2012
Messages
34
i was wondering what you guys you for to get a good edge on a knife in the field. Im looking for one that could fit in my pocket and sharpen everything from my buck 110 to my BK2
 
There are a LOT of opinions on this and a lot of variables.

For a rough edge you could use an Accu-sharp sharpener.

I bought a small soft Arkansas stone and keep it with my kit, but I like natural stones.

It depends on your knife, if you want to sharpen or remove nicks, and how much time in the field you want to spend sharpening. I like to use my stone as a way to pass the time around a campfire.
 
DMT diafold and your leather belt. Get the red/green one (600/1200). I hold it in my left hand, do a forth and back motion with the knife in my right hand until I have a fine burr on both sides. Then strop. Good enough for everything outdoors. You can even fix a very blunt edge or small rolls.
It stays flat, you can use it with water or dry, it is very light, handy and durable.
No better alternative out there in my opinion!!
 
best field sharpener is the spyderco double stuff. i swear by that stone. you can load the leather pouch up with some white strop compound.
 
@awestib i have the Smith's diamond combination that looks similar to the dmt diafold. How does that compare?
 
I have a EZE-LAP diamond rod that's the size of a short ink pen, about 4" long, with a pocket clip. The rod itself has a "D" cross section that will sharpen plain or most serrated edges. Easy to use freehand, quick, and portable.
 
jaydon said:
@awestib i have the Smith's diamond combination that looks similar to the dmt diafold. How does that compare?
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Might be just fine, in terms of cutting performance. Many here have used Smith's diamond products, and they seem to have a pretty good reputation. I don't have any of the Smith's diamond sharpeners, so I can't objectively say whether it's as good as DMT's offerings. DMT's 'mono-crystalline' diamond (particles aren't clumped together) is known to be much more uniform in grit size, which produces a more uniform finish than the 'poly-crystalline' diamond (clumped particles) found in most other brands.
 
The Lansky Spyder Sharpener works quite well. I did break one by sitting on it accidentally, but it stood up to a lot before it finally broke. It has 3 different radiused corners, a fish hook groove, and 3 flats, so it works very well as an all around field sharpening rod.

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Plus, you can get them for less than $10.
 
I recommend DMT dia-folds up to the extra-fine/1,200 grit/mesh/9 micron.

For final edge polishing and touch-ups, the Spyderco Double Stuff.

All of the above take up very little space and are quite portable.
 
I've carried an Arkansas stone in a pouch in the past in my pocket but have recently been carrying and using a DMT Mini-Sharp. The keyring and it's holder pop off the Mini-Sharp's base and makes it very pocket friendly

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I did manage to sharpen a Buck 119 with the Mini-Sharp but it was somewhat awkward; however, it did do a nice job.
 
Ditto on the Fallkniven DC4 or the DC3. Diamond on 1 side and ceramic on the other and very compact in its leather storage pouch. The Spyderco Double Stuff and the DMT Mini-Sharp & Diafolds are good too, but the Fallkniven plus a small leather strop is my compact field choice.
 
Fallkniven DC-3 & DC-4 for me also. The EZ-LAP 3'' Diamond stone with leather carry pouch is also carried often.
 
Wolfmaan said:
... I like to use my stone as a way to pass the time around a campfire.
Click to expand...

That's one of the manliest things I could imagine that don't involve wrestling and a bear. ;)


I've tried the credit-card-sized DMT DiaSharp. It worked well enough.

I want to try the Gatco Tri-Seps diamond sharpener.
 
I like to use either a DMT coarse/fine Diafold or a Jewelstik "stubby" diamond steel. Both are excellent. The advantage of the "stubby" is that the oval profile allows it to do hooked or recurved blades, since it will hid the interior of the curve properly. For field sharpening I generally advise coarser stones than you'd use at home because if you ding your edge with a rock and all you have is a fine ceramic stone you're gonna' be crying. :D With practice you'll find it's possible to get quite a nice edge on a knife with just a "coarse" diamond stone.
 
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