DMT Diafold coarse+fine, or fine+extra fine, for a swiss army knife?

D

dimsum168

Joined
Jun 14, 2012
Messages
2
Hi everyone -

I'm new to the whole knife domain. I recently purchased a Victorinox Champ Plus, and want to maintain it, part of which obviously involves keeping the blades sharp.

Based on my prior research/homework, it seems like the DMT Diafold is highly recommended here. If I were to buy this, do you think I should get the coarse+fine, or fine+extra fine? I understand the steel is relatively soft for SAKs, so I'm not sure if I should get the coarse+fine or fine+extra fine. I plan to strop afterwards.

Also, what's your thoughts on the Smith Diamond Sharpener? Since it's cheap, I'm thinking of getting this for household knives, scissors, etc.

Thanks for your input!
 
DMT Diafold- fine / extra fine and if you get this, you can forget about getting the Smith also. One sharpner for all should be fine
 
The F/EF (red/green) Dia-Fold will handle it, if that's the only knife you plan to sharpen regularly. The SAK's steel is almost buttery soft, compared to the diamond's aggressiveness. I wouldn't likely use a coarse diamond hone on a SAK anyway, as it's too aggressive on small, thin blades of that particular steel. Aside from the SAK, a coarse/fine (blue/red) Dia-Fold would be my choice for maintaining a wider range of blade steels. Almost all touch-ups could be done with the Fine side, and the Coarse is handy for re-bevelling or repairing a heavily damaged edge, especially on larger blades.

DMT has a bunch of videos for sharpening many different types of blades & tools, including scissors (demonstrates use of a C/F Dia-Fold for that purpose). You might give it a look:

[video=youtube;bGYR1mxqJSM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGYR1mxqJSM&feature=relmfu[/video]

Here's another link to DMT's own video library, on their site:
http://www.dmtsharp.com/resources/video-library/
 
Last edited:
I agree. I just sharpened mine and F/EF works well for normal use. If you might be doing something that will nick the blade then C/F will save you time.
 
OwE has this one pretty well pinned down, his experience agrees with mine.

A C/F is better for general use, most knives have steel a fair bit harder than a SAK, so the coarse would serve you well if you have other blades to work on. For the softer steel in the Victorinox, though, the F/EF will allow you a better-refined edge. If you have the DMT and can hand-sharpen with it without the guide, you don't need the Smith's. A best-of-both-worlds option might be the DMT Magna-guide. It is a guide rod assembly like the Smith's that magnets itself solidly to a standard DiaFold.
 
Thanks for your guys' feedback.

Sounds like either one would work... coarse+fine would work on a wider range of knives, but wont get my blade as fine/sharp as the fine/x-fine; fine/x-fine will get my blade sharper that the coarse+fine, but may not be too useful for really dull knives.

I've bought the fine/x-fine w/ the magna-guide for 35$. I'll check back w/ my results.
 
Sounds like a good choice to me. And you can always add the C/F one later, should you want to, it's not like there's a shortage of 'em or they are going away. :)
 
I like the Coarse/Fine myself, as it works better for repairing edge damage quickly and you can get a plenty good edge with the fine side.
 
Just be careful not to put pressure as SAK blade is on the soft side. I'd rather use ceramic, but diamond will do, just keep it light, or very light.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top