Field Sharpening

Joined
Nov 13, 2005
Messages
86
Do you guys carry a stone out into the wild with you?

If so, is there one that seems to work the best? I am looking for one, and any recommendations would be fantastic.

Thanks guys.

Nguyen
:D :D
 
Eze-lap diamond .The one that is 1/4" dia and about 4" long .The rod then slips into the handle. I do most of my sharpening just with that.
 
One option is to take a leather strop. Lightweight and pretty compact. And with strop pastes, it can do a nice job of restoring a slightly dulled blade.

I can recommend these guys for some decent strop leather: http://www.handamerican.com/products.html

Recently, for about $10 plus shipping, I ordered a square foot of their 1/8" stock. I got the "natural" honing leather since I'm using pastes. They also offer "conditioned" leather (more like barber's strop leather) as well as a new red leather with a diamond pattern on it.

They will cut the square foot any way you like, so I got mine cut into four 3" x 12" strips. In two of the strips, I put grommets on each end in order to place paracord hanging straps. Wound up with two nice hanging strops that can be attached to a limb, small tree, whatever.

Out of the other two 3" x 12" strips, I'm going to make a paddle strop for home use.
 
I carry a dmt fine-xfine and a small file and rarely use them unless I crack a knife/axe into a rock covered by brush, or cut up sods or similar. It takes a massive amount of wood work to blunt even a cheap machete.

-Cliff
 
I carry some w/d paper and use it as a strop/sharpener. I also wear a leather belt that in a pinch, works as a strop.
 
I second Longbows method.

A couple grits of wet dry sandpaper takes up little room and weight and is used on the thigh for my convex blades.

Quick and cheap.

Skam
 
I have a unused fine india in my Randall's pouch but i never use it. just sharpen it at home. Im not sure how well such a small stone would work any ways. If your in the right area you could find a stone to use.
 
For short trips that I do I take a steel. I then use my belt to strop. Sharpening with a stone I do only at home. I have skinned, cleaned and quartered 10 caribou in one go using this method.
 
Like many others who have posted to this thread, I avoid sharpening in the field (I use a Spyderco sharpmaker at home and it's too expensive for me to feel comfortable carrying it unless absolutely necessary).

For emergencies, I carry a diamond plate I purchased from Ragnar:
http://www.ragweedforge.com/SharpeningCatalog.html


I know a lot of folks don't like diamond plates, but given that you can sharpen without oil or even water, a nice credit-card size plate is useful in a pinch, relatively lightweight, and doesn't take up much room in a backpack or pocket.
 
i small coarse and fine sided stone will do everything you could want. i carry a 1" by 3 1/2" medium grit stone, i grind hard to get the edge ready, then i go softy to polish the edge. i also have a hard arkansas stone for use at home when i want a razor edge. i also carry a small file to sharpen my sword and hawk blade. i also use it to get rid of nicks in my knife if i hit a rock or something.
and before anyone asks, yes i carry a sword. its an l-6 tactical katana that i made for myself. it is manly for cutting brush and choppin branches, but it could double for defense.
 
skammer said:
I second Longbows method.

A couple grits of wet dry sandpaper takes up little room and weight and is used on the thigh for my convex blades.

Quick and cheap.

Skam

This is why I asked what he wanted to sharpen. If its convex then the paper is the best choice in terms of weight vs practicality.
 
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