Packable knife sharpener?

N

newbie_nick

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Dec 2, 2008
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Hey gang!

I've done a fair bit of backpacking/camping in my life, and I've never found a decent sharpener to throw in my pack. Most of them are junky kind with 2 bars that form a V, and they never seem to do anything by piss me off!!! At home, I use a 8" Soft Arkansas stone for most things and follow it up with a Hard Arkansas if I really want a razor edge, but there is no way that I can pack a stone like that.

Does anybody have any recommendations for me? I only own flat ground knives, but I'd appreciate thoughts on convex sharpening techniques just in case I might pick up a Bark River Bravo-1 (not that I'm looking!). :D

Thanks for the help!!

Nick
 
Eze-Lap , a 4" diamond rod that slides into the handle. Mine is 25 years old and still being used !
 
Hey,Nick. I've used a ceramic tile for a while now and can put a shaving edge on a blade with out too much trouble. The back gives me a "coarse"surface and the front, glased side provides a glass smooth surface that that finishes off a razor's edge.

The whole thing is just a little bit bigger than a popsickle stick and costs under two bucks. Just a thought.

Jim L.
 
I just bought a small keychain sharpening stone from an Army Surplus store saturday. It's about 2" long and maybe a half inch wide. It comes encased in plastic that attaches via a keyring and has a snap on cover. I used it on some thinner edged knives and it did a serviceable job of putting a medium/fine edge on a pretty dull SAK without much of a problem. It's pretty soft and not very coarse at all. I think it costs around 2 bucks.

Also, since you asked about convexing, i wholeheartedly endorse it:D I convex or at least micro-convex nearly every hard use knife that I own. Full flat grinds are mighty sharp and do well for EDC cutting and slicing. However, a well done convex will stand up to more punishment AND should be pretty easy to touch up in the field.

The way I do it is the way a lot of guys and gals that pack Khukuris do it. Tape a sheet of sand paper to a mouse pad and slowly strop the edge until you get a bur going. Then turn it over and do the other side. Once you get it to where the bur isn't showing up or is quite small, go to a finer grit. Repeat going finer and finer until you hit the level of sharpness that you want.

One way that I like to do it for my camping blades is a bit of a hybrid method. I prep the knife edge using sand paper. However, I stop around grit 600-800 (some people push it into the 1000+ range). I then take a small hard Arkansas stone and polish the edge up to a not so toothy edge and give it a final strop on a piece of loaded leather (you can use the jeweler's rouge or I have even had good success with the dremel polishing compound).

This method gives me a shaving sharp edge that can either be stropped in the field by using an old belt or smaller piece of leather for pocket knives, or even touched up with a small hard stone. Or, you can burnish the edges of your chopping blades providing that they aren't uber hard super steel. Burnishing is just taking a fully hardened piece of steel and sort of pushing the micro imperfections (that happen before true dulling) back into place and extend the life of your edge. Khukuris use a piece of steel called a chakma to do this. However, I have had success just taking a flat piece of hardened steel with a bit of pressure down the edge.. like a high quality screw driver.

NOTE: BE CAREFUL WHEN YOU BURNISH. THE BURNISHING TOOL CAN SLIP OFF THE EDGE AS YOU PRESS DOWN. WATCH YOUR FINGERS AND HANDS AS YOU REACH THE TIP....i can show you some nice little kiss marks that my knives have made on me:o

Hope this helps:)
 
I use the Spyderco ProFile Set - 701MF, they are very pocketable and I use them for pretty much everything. Still not sure about their performance with a convex edge, though.

I have a 6" convex/recurve, I'm still considering sharpening options for the field. Someone told me that a rod/file will work fine on it, though. Since I'm not likely to go into the woods for more than a day at a time, I just strop often (without abrasives) on my pant leg and am careful about what I cut into.
 
Since you are familiar with Arky stones already, why not carry a smaller version that can fit into a knife pouch? Something in say: 3"x1.375" or 4"x1.375"? These only cost between $3.20-$10 depending on grade. You can also wrap one or two of these in some thick denim or leather and have a "strop" to go with the stones.

Look here for a start (I have no affiliation with these guys): http://www.hallsproedge.com/pocket_stones.htm
 
The DMT credit cards are pretty good. I keep a full series of those and a couple of sharmaker rod halves in my backpack as a field sharpening solution.
 
I keep a DMT Fine credit card size around but I bought 'coarse' and 'fine' Lansky ceramic 'Dogbones' for anything I have that has a pocket. I must have 6 pair floating around and 3 pair in a drawer, un-used and I give them as gifts too.
 
I take a DMT Diafold 4" hone when backpacking; it opens sort of like a balisong, has red (regular) and green (extra fine) on opposite sides. Weighs an ounce or two. You can also get blue (coarse)/red.
 
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Jim L. said:
Hey,Nick. I've used a ceramic tile for a while now and can put a shaving edge on a blade with out too much trouble. The back gives me a "coarse"surface and the front, glased side provides a glass smooth surface that that finishes off a razor's edge.

The whole thing is just a little bit bigger than a popsickle stick and costs under two bucks. Just a thought.

Jim L.
Click to expand...

that's a great idea. should work just dandy. :thumbup:
 
The double-siders are great, and also take up minimal space!
 
I will second a smaller Arkansas stone. I keep one in my car and have a few others stashed around my house. They are easily thrown in a pack or pocket and are inexpesive. The Lanksy dog bone makes a great sharpener to keep in your pocket. You can also buy little ceramic sticks for very little and they do a great job if it isn't too dull.
 
I have used the Spyderco Duckfoot in the field, takes up little room and will sharpen everything from pocket knives to axes.
 
I too have small Arkansas stones, one soft and one hard.
I use them with water.
But actually I rarely do sharpening in the field because
I cannot sharpen with these small stones well enough or
I dare say sharpening failure is sometimes worse than do nothing :D
 
Hey gang!

Thanks for all of the great feedback. I hate to say it, but I'm a bit overwhelmed!!

I like the DMT Diafold idea because it appears to have a built-in handle, and I like the idea of having 2 grits in the field. From what I've read, "fine diamond" is slightly more coarse than my Soft Arkansas, and "extra fine" is somewhere between soft and hard Arakansas. I'll probably try that combo and go from there.

I like the dogbones too because they seem extremely portable. Since those are pretty cheap, I might try those, too.

Thanks again for the comments!
 
One of those little candy boxes. I glued a piece of leather on one side and a piece of thin crafts foam on the other. I carry many different grit of sand paper inside. Works well for convex and most other edges. Siguy and several others on the WSS site use these.
 

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newbie_nick said:
Hey gang!

I've done a fair bit of backpacking/camping in my life, and I've never found a decent sharpener to throw in my pack. Most of them are junky kind with 2 bars that form a V, and they never seem to do anything by piss me off!!! At home, I use a 8" Soft Arkansas stone for most things and follow it up with a Hard Arkansas if I really want a razor edge, but there is no way that I can pack a stone like that.

Does anybody have any recommendations for me? I only own flat ground knives, but I'd appreciate thoughts on convex sharpening techniques just in case I might pick up a Bark River Bravo-1 (not that I'm looking!). :D

Thanks for the help!!

Nick
Click to expand...

The question to start with is can you sharpen a knife free hand or do you need a gadget or guide? If you can free hand sharpen a knife the the Spyderco Profile set is all you nee. Comes with two stones in a leather pouch and will maintain a razor sharp edge on any knife. It's just about all I use... that and a strop.
 
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