Field Sharpeners

Cpl Punishment said:
I like the DMT Diafolds. I get a coarse and a fine "stone" with a fold out handle to keep my big fat fingers away from the blade. It's also light and easy to carry. Does enough for field sharpening. I keep the big oilstones and Arkansas stones at home.
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I've got the red/blue diafold too and I like it. I'm more likely to use it for car camping or fishing, but, at 2.6 oz, it's plenty light for backpacking. :thumbup:
 
HighDesertWalker said:
I've got the red/blue diafold too and I like it. I'm more likely to use it for car camping or fishing, but, at 2.6 oz, it's plenty light for backpacking. :thumbup:
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The knife that has the pouch in the sheath is an all-purpose knife that goes with me whether camping, fishing or backpacking, so the diafold might as well hitch a ride for all the activities. :D
 
What do you all make of the san mai steel of cold steel or Falkniven ? it is never mentioned much, is it easy to sharpen ?
 
I've only used Cold Steel's plain carbon [that I liked], and I am skeptical of their laminates. Fallkniven laminates are superb. Technique will be the limiting factor with “ease of sharpening” if you use a decent medium such as wet-n-dry or a DMT stone.
 
midnite-penguin said:
Can anybody give me a crash course on how to sharpen with sand paper? I have a classic mora (laminated carbon) that could use a good sharpening but I've been neglecting it for a while. I usually get my brother to sharpen my knives since the process somewhat intimidates me.

How many strokes on each side, strop it with leather afterwards? etc.
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If you want to convex it anyway look here


It doesn't have to be leather. Try finishing on some plain cardboard and see what happens.

Try nail-polish remover on that gunk. Ideally the cheaper the better. It's mostly acetone. The more expensive ones have other sh1te in, like lanolin [sheeps grease], that is useless to you.
 
harrybobble said:
What do you all make of the san mai steel of cold steel or Falkniven ? it is never mentioned much, is it easy to sharpen ?
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Fallkniven steel is awesome. Got one a month or so ago and been carving up a storm. So far I have only touch it up with a steel or very hard arkansas stone. It is still razor sharp.


Thanks mnthawk, The razor edge site looks great. I will try one.
 
nick-nack said:
I use the DC-3 too. You can get the dc-4 if you want a larger stone.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQN4jcXDjbE

This is a good 3 vid series on sharpening. Made me quite happy with my purchase knowing Ray Mears uses it too. But he uses the DC-4.
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Yeah its neat the way he holds the sharpening stone in place on the wood using the little pins/nails. That would help keep the fingers from getting sliced!
Rays great!
 
I've been using the Spyderco double stuff ceramic "stones" for over 10 years. 5 inches long, 1/4 inch thick and about 1 inch wide. One side coarse one side fine, weights about three ounces including its leather pouch. Works great!
 
Thomas Linton said:
Who makes that little diamond rod sharpener that looks like an ink pen when inside its cover? Weighs virtually nil. Sharpens fish hooks as well.
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Thomas, I think you are talking about the EZE LAP Pen style. I carry one in my smallest pack and it does so-so, better than nothing I suppose considering the size and weight - would be good to have if you really had to bring an edge back or minor damage to the edge. The thing I do like about it is it will work as an improvised Ishi tool should I lose my knife.

http://www.amazon.com/Lap-Style-Serrated-Knife-Sharpener/dp/B000EVPJZQ
 
I have this little strop with a film canister with strips of sandpaper I use a lot. It even has a "mousepad" side for convex edges.
sharpener2.jpg

sharpener1.jpg
 
For the field I haven't found anything better than the little Mini Sharp DMT's. They are thin and light, and can quickly get the job done. For quick touch ups, a river rock works surprisingly well too, but you have to be careful.
 
Here's one that is good for scandis.

It is one of the Diamond Credit Card Plate sharpeneres Ragnar sells, extra fine grit(green) then I glued leather on the back of it and impregnated it with the green chrome polishing compound. Really polishes the bevel out to the maxx:cool:


dmt.jpg
 
HDW, what you can do with the small, thin plate type sharpner is find a piece of wood or branch a bit wider, any length over 6-8" will do. Ok, now place the plate on the stick/piece of wood. Ok, take your dullish knife and carefully cut across the width of the branch marking the top of the plate. Do the same for the bottom of the plate, being careful not to cut through more than 1/8th" deep either end. Ok, put plate down, grab stick/wood and start at the top and hold the knife blade flat against the wood and then bring it up 15 degrees or so, the height of a nickel say. Take a slice alomost down to the bottom mark. Now you can stick the plate in from the top end of the slice and it should be held captive by the piece of wood above. Sharpen resting on something, fingers are all clear. If the blade is Mora thin, I've cut into the center of the 2 marks the width of the plate and slid the plate in the side, and sharpened that way. Same for the DMT stones, cut out a notch the length of the DMT and force fit it into the notch on the stick and sharpen away!
 
Thomas Linton said:
Who makes that little diamond rod sharpener that looks like an ink pen when inside its cover? Weighs virtually nil. Sharpens fish hooks as well.
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In my hand, Eze Lap 520, use it on your kitchen knives the first few times to get the surface settled (would'nt want to damage yer' fine cutlery:D). it's ok to use like a sharpening steel if you have that type experience, otherwise most folks do better with mini DMT stones IME. many folks are all over the place on a rod and can't get the whole edge neat.

Here's another option, get some free mouse pads with sticky backs, like the banks give away, and put down some 600 grit or your choice on the sticky side. Cut to your prefered size and you have a SUL sharpening pad;) Yeah, it works, and nearly free...got a stack from my bank the other day:D
 
I've had good results with my diamond rod sharpener, unfortunately it doesn't say on it who it is made by (EZ-Lap, Gerber?) Here's a photo...

img3225ke4.jpg


I have heard that a paint stir stick with two different grits of sandpaper glued to it works well. I haven't tried it yet but it seems workable and light. Mac
 
Also, in a pinch, i have used sand, either from a river/stream bank, or ground from rubbing two rocks together; and smeared on a piece of close grained wood or the underside of a piece of bark. Rub the sand in really well for a few minutes, then strop away. it will scratch up the knife face pretty bad but sharpens up the edge to usable. If it's survival then anyrhing is fair game; if it's a dayhike bring yer stones!
 
1Tracker said:
HDW, what you can do with the small, thin plate type sharpner is find a piece of wood or branch a bit wider, any length over 6-8" will do. Ok, now place the plate on the stick/piece of wood. Ok, take your dullish knife and carefully cut across the width of the branch marking the top of the plate. Do the same for the bottom of the plate, being careful not to cut through more than 1/8th" deep either end. Ok, put plate down, grab stick/wood and start at the top and hold the knife blade flat against the wood and then bring it up 15 degrees or so, the height of a nickel say. Take a slice alomost down to the bottom mark. Now you can stick the plate in from the top end of the slice and it should be held captive by the piece of wood above. Sharpen resting on something, fingers are all clear. If the blade is Mora thin, I've cut into the center of the 2 marks the width of the plate and slid the plate in the side, and sharpened that way. Same for the DMT stones, cut out a notch the length of the DMT and force fit it into the notch on the stick and sharpen away!
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Sounds like a good approach. I can stay light by not carrying any sort of holder along and still take advantage of the full 4" stroke available from the plate sharpener. Thanks 1T, I'll give it a try. :thumbup:
 
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