Pocket stone for simple steels

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Jan 31, 2022
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1st poste here :-)

I mainly use pocket knives with simple stainless steels. Think Victorinox and Opinel steel. What would be my best bet for a pocket stone for general maintenance? I am not looking for bench stones or complicated sharpening systems, just a small stone. Any pros or cons to ceramic, natural or diamond stones would also be appreciated. And what grit would be ideal? Thanks!
 
With steels like that, you can use just about anything. Any stones that couldn't handle them are junk.
Diamonds will be fast you don't have to worry about clogging the stones if you forget to clean them. DMT even has a folding two sided pocket stone. It's going to be fast on those steels, so pay attention.
If I were to choose only one grit, I'd go coarse - you aren't reprofiling the blade.
I think natural stones are better with some lubrication, like water or oil, or the swarf gets in the stones. If you are the type to remember to clean the stones, that isn't an issue.
 
I swear there was a thread started here a few months ago asking the same thing.

Anyway, the pocket stone I always recommend for those sort of blades is the Victorinox Dual Sharpening stone. It is pen sized and is very nice for portability and maintaining simple steels. The ceramic rod part is great; the pull through part I guess might be handy for burr removal but otherwise a bit useless.

I would also second the DMT duo-folds which are arguably more versitile and work better on high carbide steels if you go that way in the future.
 
Welcome to the forum. :thumbsup:

I also seem to remember there was another recent thread asking the same question, more or less. Maybe the one linked below:


The hones pictured below are what I carry and use for the knives I tend to favor. I also posted the same pic in the thread linked above. Most of the blade steels I use are in that 'simple' category, like 1095, CV or 420HC. The Buck 112 pictured is an older 2-dot model in 440C. I do sometimes carry a modern folder in S30V, for which the diamond hones (DMT 'credit card' hones in C/F/EF) are a perfect match for it and other vanadium-heavy steels. The other stone pictured in the leather slip is a 4" x 1" x 1/4" Norton India pocket stone in Fine grit (~360-400 or so). I'd call it a perfect match for the other, simpler steels I mention - especially in CV and 420HC. By the way, I also like either of these hone options for my Victorinox and Opinel blades as well. My Opinels are shown in the 2nd pic below:
JvK0xlW.jpg

9C16sUd.jpg
 
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I second the Victorinox Dual Knife Sharpener. It is lightweight, cheap (in prize, but not in quality) and works great with SAKs, Opinel etc. The aluminum oxide stone is good for a touch up (but may be too fine for dull blades), the ceramic V is a great hone. There is only one aspect on the con side: the ceramic is a pull-trough-sharpener. It is very fine and can't be compared with those carbide sharpeners, that grind away alot of steel. But your angle is fixed. Although it fits perfectly to the angle recommended for SAKs and Opinel.

Another option is the Fällkniven DC4. One side diamond (25 micron), the other side a cermaic. Handy size, makes a very sharp edge. The ceramic is quite rough a the beginning, but gets much finer. No lubrication needed. Stays flat.
If you don't need a diamond stone, you could buy the Fällkniven CC4. Two ceramics, an ultra fine white ceramic instead of the diamond side. Super sharp edges, but you need to take care of your blades frequently. Nothing for a dull edge.
There are tons of videos on YouTube, if you want to take a closer look.

Spyderco sells the Double Stuff and Double Stuff2. I prefer Fällkniven because the dark ceramic works in my opinion better than the Spyderco Medium. But those stones are a great choice, too. To be more precise: The medium stone is quite fine. Nothing for a dull edge, too.

EZE-LAP has quality diamond hones. For example Hone & Stone, EZE-FOLD (diamonds in different grits, but also available with a super fine ceramic). And they sell a stone, too. It is called CD4. The diamonds are great, but I don't have experience with the ceramic.

If you are ok with two stones respectively oilstones and / or natural stones, a Smith's Dual Grit https://smithsproducts.com/4-inch-dual-grit-sharpening-stone combined with a Hard Arkansas stone (4x1). Same size, not too expensive.
 
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52 years old here, been sharpening freehand since I was about eight. I've had several stones, hones, and ceramic sticks throughout my life. Some of them got worn down wafer thin. But for several years now what you see below represents my entire edge-care equipment. Two pocket DMT hones, fine and coarse, 4" x 1", and for the occasional edge reprofiling, an inexpensive set of diamond files.

I switched from stones to diamond hones because I got tired of the stones becoming concave over time from use.

If I had to choose only one, I would assume that all I was most likely going to need to do is touch-up an existing edge, so I would choose the fine DMT hone. Coarse would also serve me just fine, it would just produce a bit more of a toothy edge.

But hey, why limit yourself to just one piece of edge-care equipment.


wWzC4ZJ.jpg
 
52 years old here, been sharpening freehand since I was about eight. I've had several stones, hones, and ceramic sticks throughout my life. Some of them got worn down wafer thin. But for several years now what you see below represents my entire edge-care equipment. Two pocket DMT hones, fine and coarse, 4" x 1", and for the occasional edge reprofiling, an inexpensive set of diamond files.

I switched from stones to diamond hones because I got tired of the stones becoming concave over time from use.

If I had to choose only one, I would assume that all I was most likely going to need to do is touch-up an existing edge, so I would choose the fine DMT hone. Coarse would also serve me just fine, it would just produce a bit more of a toothy edge.

But hey, why limit yourself to just one piece of edge-care equipment.


wWzC4ZJ.jpg
That's a great minimal set you have there. I never considered diamond files for the rough work but it's great idea. Will surely like into DMT hones as well. They are mentioned a lot and seem to have a good reputation.
 
That's a great minimal set you have there. I never considered diamond files for the rough work but it's great idea. Will surely like into DMT hones as well. They are mentioned a lot and seem to have a good reputation.

I used to use a 6" DMT extra-coarse hone for reprofiling. But I feel I can get better, more consistent angle control with the files. Instead of moving the blade across a hone, I move the file back and forth across the blade. That's what works best for me anyways. I no longer have the 6" extra-coarse hone.

Of course if I were going to be reprofiling a large blade (maybe 6" or longer), I'd want a larger/wider file than the ones pictured. I've been happy with the result of using the files pictured on 5" blades.

I got the files on Amazon.
 
1. Welcome to the forums.
2. Lots of good suggestions so far.
3. I'm thinking more like C chalby , although you just might have *simple* steels now, you might progress to more *super* steels in the future, so I would suggest a double sided diamond stone. That way you don't have to buy another sharpener later. So something like a diamond Smiths (above), Lansky, EZE Lap, or DMT would work.

If I absolutely had to pick one ...
https://www.knifecenter.com/item/DMTFWFC/dmt-fwfc-double-sided-diafold-sharpener

I admit to like the folding handles over a credit card size stone. The handles help keep your fingers out of the way.
 
[...] But for several years now what you see below represents my entire edge-care equipment. Two pocket DMT hones, fine and coarse, 4" x 1", and for the occasional edge reprofiling, an inexpensive set of diamond files.

Nice set of hones. Are we talking about small (pocket) knives? Or do you sharpen even large kitchen knives with those?
Some time ago I only owned pocket stones (4x1 inch) and used them for all knives. Worked. But then...bought larger stones, too. And spend more money than I've ever wanted. Sharpening fever got me :confused:
 
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Nice set of hones. Are we talking about small (pocket) knives? Or do you sharpen even large kitchen knives with those?
Some time ago I only owned pocket stones (4x1 inch) and used them for all knives. Worked. But then...bought larger stones, too. And spend more money than I've ever wanted. Sharpening fever got me :confused:

I don't do enough actual cooking to require a good set of kitchen knives. I inherited a cheap set of serrated kitchen knives a long time ago that serve all of my kitchen duties. When one gets too dull to use I just throw it away and pull out a new one. I still have several left 😁 .

As for my real knives, I've used my 4" DMT hones to touch-up blades as long as 6", which is the longest blade length that I've needed to sharpen in several decades. I've never experienced any difficulty sharpening such knives with 4" hones, I've actually gotten good results with smaller hones (like the little stone that came with a Camillus pilots knife). As with most things, it's just a matter of finding the right technique.
 
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