Best Sharpening System for 3V?

I

IaccidentlyCutmyThumb

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Dec 11, 2020
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Howdy folks, so I'm looking at getting a 202 Leuku, which is 3V and my first supersteel knife. For sharpening now, I have a 1000/4000 whetstone, a DC4, and a strop. I think I need some diamond sharpeners for the Leuku, and I go into the woods a lot so it would be nice to have the sharpener be portable. I was thinking a DMT dia-fold in course/fine, but don't know if that's a good call.

Should I go fine-extra fine? Course-extra course and polish on river rocks? Different diamond plates? Stick to the bench stones? Buy a Ken Onion work sharp and don't sharpen in the field? I honestly have no clue. I stick to simple steels like 14C28N, 1095, 1075, 52100, etc., so this is very new to me.
 
You would be surprised how well you can maintain your edge with the Worksharp Field Sharpener. Use the ceramic rod and the built in leather strop to keep decent edge in the field.
 
I have the 200 Puukko. The DC4 works okay but the current version is a little coarse. I personally like the CC4, on which I used a 400 grit diamond plate to flatten and refine the white fine side a little further, that will put a scary edge on the Puukko without stropping but the dark side is going to be slow if you dink the edge. I also have an extra fine Diafold and two Duofolds, one in coarse/fine and one in fine/x-fine. I also made a little field strop. I have tried out a friend's Worksharp and thought it overly heavy, complicated and fussy, trying to have too many things in too small a space.

If I could have only one I think I carry the red/green - fine/x-fine DMT double sided. It is easier and safer to figure out because the handle keeps the pink sausages away from the shiny bitey bit. If I could take two it would be the DMT and the strop that I made, suede glued to 1 inch x 5 inch x 1/8th Micarta and charged with Starkie Sharp blue stick which I use only because it was small and convenient to saw an even smaller cube off.

The DMT coarse/fine and a strop will keep a toothier edge on just fine, and will take dinks out more quickly.

I should also say that I used coarser bench stones to re-work the edge on the Puukko so that it cuts like a puukko should. The factory edge was disappointingly steep, but then I am mostly interested in cutting wood rather than butchering game, so contact with bone is a very minor concern.

Look after a DMT, or even the DC4/CC4 and you should never need to look for smooth river rocks again.

ATB

Chris
 
I have a sharpmaker I use for my 200 puukko, it works fine. I beat up my puukko quite a bit but never let it get too bad that I need to break out the stone. Actually, the 3V holds up so well that it never takes me very long to get it back to shaving sharp...its a great steel. Have a leuku too but it doesn't get as much use as the puukko, I cant imagine it's much different.

Dont need to get too fancy with sharpening 3V methinks.
 
Unless you are going to use it for specialized purposes then you really don’t need anything fancy. I use a diamond hand sharpener for all my knives, If they are real dull or buggered up I start with a coarse 120 and then the medium 220 and fine 600 to finish and sometimes strop on leather. This gives me a good working edge that cuts real good for a long time in general usage. In my experience a mirror polished edge for utility and general tasks is not necessary or advantageous, it’s just to much involved to maintain that type of edge for cutting all the stuff I work around.

I generally don’t let my edges get to dull and either strop it or touch it up with the medium or fine depending on which knife and what I’m cutting. It takes less than a minute and they are back to screaming sharp. My edc in 20cv I touch up on medium and the S35vn on fine and strop in between as I go. I haven’t used my fixed blade 3V enough to sharpen it yet so I can’t say but probably will try the medium or fine diamond when it needs it.
 
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