Field Sharpening

N

nguyen

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
Click to expand...

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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