is it possible?

I

idanmaman

Joined
Feb 24, 2011
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helo i am a soldier in the israeli army and i usually carry with me a leatherman wave and a spyderco endura my question is if i can sharpen my knife in the field using the Diamond file from the leatherman and not having to carry a sharpening device.
also i would like to know how much grit is the leatherman diamond file.

thanks and have a great day , idan
 
mine feels like between a "medium" and a "fine", so maybe between 100-200 grit?

and I wouldn't.. I would get a coarse/fine pocket diamond stone and a pocket arkansas stone ontop of that
 
what about a cheap knife then ? kabar dozier , crkt drifter , byrd cara cara.
these cheap ones loose edge easier than the endura so i do not carry them usually to the field but if i can sharpen them with the leatherman it can be great and when im home once in a month ill use my lansky, what would u think then ?
 
you absolutely can use the diamond file to sharpen. As long as you have very good technique it would be no problem. Just keep the angle consistant and use a light touch so you don't remove too much steel. There are definately betters options though.
 
idanmaman,
Learn to convex sharpen and carry a piece or 2 of wet/dry sandpaper in a pocket. I do this for touch ups on a D2 Benchmade between trips to the Lansky. Good luck out there:thumbup:
 
How about something like a Fallkniven DC3, two sided diamond/ceramic whetsone? 25 mm by 75 mm
 
idan, welcome to Bladeforums!

My brother-in-law had a knife with a very dull 12C27 blade. I had my Leatherman Wave with me. I used the edge of the plier to steel the blade and it put a much better edge on it. You can use the diamond file, just use it to buff the edge gently, don't rub too hard with it.
 
I've used the diamond file on my Wave to sharpen knives many times (Yes, even my Endura when I had ruined the edge). I don't know what the grit is, but it seems to be between DMT Coarse and Extra Coarse. It cuts fast with very little pressure, and puts a rough but serviceable edge on quickly. It works well for taking nicks and dings out as well. It won't put on a fine, polished edge, but as a field expedient, it works.
 
The diamond file on a Leatherman should work well, just be aware that as you use it the grit will wear off. I have one diamond stone that has seen a fair amount of use, it went from a coarse grit to what is now a medium/fine grit.
I recommend using a double grit utility stone for regular sharpening and saving the file on your Leatherman for emergencies.
 
as others have stated, your diamond file can sharpen your knife, just use light pressure and even strokes.

for a lightweight pocket sharpener, both smiths and buck make a pocket sharpener the size of a pen :

391720.jpg
 
please note that cylindrical rods are ideal for touching up still perfectly straight edges which have not been nicked or chipped.
edges which have suffered such damage do require some rework with a flat surface abrasive whatever...
there is an art to mastering sharpening of knives.
the word is patiences and to work with great precise care.
no doubt one could put an edge on anything with the correct tools in a perfect situation.
but to sharpen in order to survive is knowing when best to apply the most rudimentry of field methods without overall destruction of a said tool.
thus always apply constant downward angle with same applied pressure on both sides,
and eventually ending with equally distributed strokes of consistanly lighter applied pressure.
 
I've used diamond files to sharpen when I didn't have my DMT's. I've even used bastard files for removing steel and sharpening machete's and Bolos. From about RC 55 and up it gets tough and by rc 58 it's about impossible with a normal bastard file. The diamond file still works just like a diamond sharpener does.

The first knife I ever made was made with files and sandpaper on annealed carbon steel ( 1050 maybe?) ,
 
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