If you only could have 1 sharpening stone or Paper

Sure you can. Free handing is naturally going to cause a convex edge, and MOST of the benefit of the convex edge (in my opinion) is really the smooth transition of the edge bevel to the primary grind (or stock thickness if no primary is present) so it's no biggie from a practical standpoint. In my opinion at least.
 
Pilot1 said:
What do you guys use for sharpening convex blades in the field, like when backpacking where weight is an issue. Just bring a smaller selection of sandpapers and a small piece of wood, cardboard, or something? The DMT diamond keychain looks great, but you wouldn't use that for a convex blade, right?
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I just use a bit of double sided syrup tape to tape the paper to the bottom of a tin. Between the two I use a bit of foam also held on with syrup tape. I've seen fancy solutions that attempt permanence and I'm not impressed. The joy is in the simplicity and the ability to easily stick on or take off whatever paper I want. Done like this I can go from tiny knife to golok or ax very easily.
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Another :thumbup:for the Eze-Lap sportsman's model, as long as you have a good reprofiling source you can find a lot of creative ways to help finish an edge (glass bottle etc) in a pinch.

Forty two - great view on the free hand/convex edge, could not agree more..
 
baldtaco-II said:
I just use a bit of double sided syrup tape to tape the paper to the bottom of a tin. Between the two I use a bit of foam also held on with syrup tape. I've seen fancy solutions that attempt permanence and I'm not impressed. The joy is in the simplicity and the ability to easily stick on or take off whatever paper I want. Done like this I can go from tiny knife to golok or ax very easily.
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Thanks bro. I am going to give that a try. What kind of diamond stone is that?
 
Pilot1 said:
Thanks bro. I am going to give that a try. What kind of diamond stone is that?
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My pleasure mate. That's a 9 micron DMT. It's only there for scale, I seldom use it. I keep it for touching up the very smallest Spydercos and little jewelry-type knives belonging to friends and that's about it. It's not very efficient at home or in the field. Not only is that contraption I have there better because of; comparable weight, more useful surface area, speed and accuracy, but it encourages play and experimentation if you're minded to. Playing a game of let's make sharp things from salvage becomes really easy. My inner child is amused that I can find an old Marlboro end and in less than two minutes turn in into something that'll carve ya face up like a potato waffle. I'm sure others could get even more from it like taking the burr of sled runners...and on.
 
My system is similar to baldtaco's but instead of a small tin I cut and glued a thin mouse pad to the base of my Sharpmaker and carry a range of grit paper inside the lid which can be placed on the pad ( make sure to cut it so the holes in the base can take some paracord through them as I use this the anchor the paper ... to protect the mousepad I also cut a piece of hide leather the same size as the base with holes matching the syperco Shaprmakers base ... the fine side of the hide is loaded with green chrome ( fine ) stropping compound as sold by Bark River ... it can be strapped to the base and used to re-align edges that have "rolled" as opposed to "blunted" without any real loss of the steel on the edge. This for me is the most common form of repair needed to an edge on my large carry blade which is usually Infi ( a Basic 9 or a Zilla khukri ). That steel rarely "blunts" before it "rolls" ... dinks from hitting stones I re-align with the hardened smooth bolt from my rifle which is usually with me ... works like a screw driver shaft. If I don't have that with me I use the spine from my smaller belt carry knife which is a Phil Wilson 5 inch drop point. The steel is Uddenholm's K294 hardened to Rc64. Much harder than the Infi at Rc58 the spine can re-align dinks.

The rods in the Sharpmaker are used on the Phil Wilson as I keep that knife to a "V" edge it came with which is excellent ( all the Busse larger blades are convex ). Phil's knife will work and work ... the edge retention is amazing ... and it is worth having a larger "full use" system like that for me. It is what I use at home too. Wrapped paracord round it all secures it fine and enables me to simply strap it to my thigh when sitting down by the camp fire or on the sofa when watching TV.

It all neatly fits into an old SLR mag pouch from the old UK webbing ... easy to chuck in the rucksack or wear on a belt. Best all round system I have tried to date :thumbup: Even great for my GFB axes ...
 
I like my puck sharpener, it's course one one side, fine on the other and fits my hand nicely. It also is great for my machete and hatchet as well as all knives. But if I could take a kit I'd grab my 3 stone kit, I love the little knife holder and the ability to set the stones at a few different angles and keep the blade sharpened all equally the same angle.
 
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