How sharp is too sharp for outdoors

N

Nick22N

Joined
Aug 28, 2016
Messages
10
I've been using my knife in the outdoors, batoning, whittling and making small spears and feather sticks. Sometimes the knife cuts the wood easily, sometime I gotta push really hard against the branch before I can shave off a layer of wood. Whenever I'm home, I sharpen my knife using a stone and ceramic pull through sharpener for a finish. I check if its sharp enough by cutting a sheet of paper. If its a smooth clean cut, I declare it as sharp enough. But how do I know if my knife is still sharp enough in the field after being used for a while batoning and whittling. I don't want to whip out a sharpener every now and then and sit down to sharpen it wen I'm outside. How do I judge if my knife is still good enough, sharp enough to be used safely for making feather sticks and for medium duty cutting work? My knife is made of 420HC..
The Gerber StrongArm..
(love or hate the gerber, but this knife is really wonderful and worth the money spent on it)

Sent from my ASUS_Z00LD using Tapatalk
 
It depends on what your definition of "sharp" is. Test it on your arm to see if it can still shave hair?

But... in my experience the angle of the main bevel is more important than the edge bevel sharpness when it comes to whittling, cutting, and batoning through wood and other dense media.
 
I use my thumb nail as a tester for sharpness. If it slips it needs a touch-up, if it bites it still has an working-sharp edge.
 
Last edited:
Derzelas said:
I use my thumb nail as a tester for sharpness. If it slips it needs a touch-up, if it bites it still has an working-sharp edge.
Click to expand...

At what angle? I find if you adjust the angle the blade is at even a fairly dull knife will catch the nail.
 
shinyedges said:
At what angle? I find if you adjust the angle the blade is at even a fairly dull knife will catch the nail.
Click to expand...

At an angle I am doing feather sticks for example. If it bites, it is a go for me. I want to know if is good enough for the task, nothing else.
 
Last edited:
Nick22N said:
I don't want to whip out a sharpener every now and then and sit down to sharpen it wen I'm outside.

Sent from my ASUS_Z00LD using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Sometimes you have to do exactly that if you are using your knife hard out in the field. Depending on knife or use, I may just try a strop first, or go to my DC3 or DC4 stones for a quick touchup.
 
does it cut paper without catching?

A DMT Folding Paddle EF or a DMT Mini EF or the Fallkniven DC3 (heavier) will all touch up an edge in the field
A couple of passes will bring an edge back
 
If the knife is doing what you need it to do without difficulty it is sharp enough. If it isn't, then it's time to touch up the edge.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top