Sharpeners for trekking?

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Sande5412

Joined
Dec 30, 2012
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I want to apologize if i posted this in the wrong spot as.im confused on where to put this thread so all help is apreciated:)

All right on to my question is if you go out into the bush for longer periods of time; i.e Hunting,camping,hiking etc.... what do you use to keep your blade sharp? Why? And how much does it cost?

I ask this because ive always carried the compact worksharp sharpener ( i forget what its called) but it has a leather strop, to diamond plates and a ceramic rod.

As well i would like to see what blades you MAINLY take hunting or a variety either or.

I usally carry my bm adamas, leatherman rebar, and Ontario rat 7 and they've never failed me.

Thanks yall!-sande
 
For many years now, I've kept a small Eze-Lap model L in my wallet. I cut off most of the red plastic handle, and it does a good job of touching up any blade I have on me when away from home. The red is a medium grit, and it leaves a both toothy edge that slices rope and other stuff well. Weighs almost nothing.
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For longer trips like a a couple of weeks to a month away from home, I'll pack along my old boy scout stone I used for years. It's a silica carbide old school, but puts on a very nice tooth edge.
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I typically carry a Fallkniven DC3 or DC4 with a small but thick leather strop loaded with compound on the flesh side and bare on the grain side. I carry those mainly because of thier pocketable size and the fact that over the years I have become very proficient at using them on folders or fixed blades. Sometimes I bring a DMT Diasharp Card, Mini-Sharp or Diafold depending on what I am carrying and doing. I used to always make sure to have a Diafold with me when fishing until I got a S90V fillet knife from Big Chris that I can't possibly catch enough fish to make dull. When I am in the field but within walking distance to my truck I might have a Worksharp sharpener to use with an inverter especially if I am sharpening an axe or machete.

That Worksharp Guided Field Sharpener always looked like a practical sharpener to have. How do you like it?
 
DMT Dia Fold with the coarse and fine. I will say trying to take it through TSA and foreign screening points can get interesting but they've always let it through :)
 
I always keep a dc3 in my backpack, with a sak farmer. The ceramic side is a bit too fine for my taste, leaving a mirror polish, but it works at maintaining an edge, and the diamond side is good for restoring a messed up one.

For pocket carry i use a very small yellow stone, cut down from a bigger one, it is my favorite for touch ups, and can even do some dull ones with a bit of patience. I even had another one cut a bit bigger, to replace maybe the dc3, or to keep it in another pack.

But i carry small to medium size knives. Urban carry is mostly a Case peanut, or maybe a medium stockman, and out camping and such, a fixed blade, Izula or Hest mostly.

With that said, i rarely need to sharpen my knives when out, as stropping on my belt is enough in most cases, if even that is needed.



 
DMT Diafold Fine/Extra Fine and a Stropman HD Compact strop loaded with the green and black compound. Or if without a backpack DMT 4" Mini-Sharp works well too. Got one on my keychain. The fine on the DMT will get the D2 on your Adamas sharp quick or almost any other steel. Cut down this 8 in pine with mine still haven't had to sharpen it..My favorite woods folder that will do it all for sure. Fixed knife i use mostly in woods is Buck Ron Hood Punk. Knife i use for hunting and skin animals mostly is the Lone Wolf skeletonized caper or whatever knife i have on me at the time. Used the Lone Wolf on this guy last year. Small rack but had a big body frame. Also have the RAT 7 but actually haven't used it for anything yet. Next time in woods will have to take it along.

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Brisket said:
I typically carry a Fallkniven DC3 or DC4 with a small but thick leather strop loaded with compound on the flesh side and bare on the grain side. I carry those mainly because of thier pocketable size and the fact that over the years I have become very proficient at using them on folders or fixed blades. Sometimes I bring a DMT Diasharp Card, Mini-Sharp or Diafold depending on what I am carrying and doing. I used to always make sure to have a Diafold with me when fishing until I got a S90V fillet knife from Big Chris that I can't possibly catch enough fish to make dull. When I am in the field but within walking distance to my truck I might have a Worksharp sharpener to use with an inverter especially if I am sharpening an axe or machete.

That Worksharp Guided Field Sharpener always looked like a practical sharpener to have. How do you like it?
Click to expand...

If you can snag for under 30 bucks just go ahead and grab it. I got on amazon 2 months ago and it works great. For sharpining my rat 7 its a little challinging ill admit. But it just takes a technique as does anything. Any ill say one thing the "thumb hold" to hold the sharp is very wonky id perfer it be longer or not at all on there.

As for sharpining"super steels" s30v, elmax, d2, if you let them get too dull it can be reallly time consuming to sharpen not impossible to get a hair shaving sharp edge on super steels it is like i said before time consuming

I recommend you get stroping compound for it it makes it ideal.

I also put painters tape on the stroping guides so when i hold the angle and bring it up to the strop it doesnt scratch the finish.

The other thing i would improve on is to be able to get different base sharping plates if you want or something along those lines

Overall its a pretty good product!! :D
 
I don't go out in the woods for extended periods of time, but if I did I probably drag along my DMT stones I got with my DMT Aligner 4in duosharp C/F/EF stones though I probably slim that down to just the C/F and wrap a couple pieces of paper around it with a rubber band and one of those pieces of paper would have some compound rubbed on it so I could use that as a strop.

Or I just drag along some sandpaper taped to a flat credit card and on a 2nd card 1 more sheet of sandpaper (total 3 grits) and opposite side a notecard with compound. That should be light and easy to carry around without adding any added bulk.
 
DC4.

Jacktrades, you have one of the old DC3's. The newer stones have a coarser ceramic, so probably you would like the new ones better.
 
I use the same Work Sharp field sharpener you speak of. I go out for 1-3 weeks depending on the mission. I use mostly sub 4" folders but I always get tasked with sharpening someones knife for them. The reaction I get when I give a knife back able to pop hair is always worth the time. I use the wicked edge at home, but the field sharpener is hard to beat.
 
The bottom of my coffee cup, the edge of a car window, edge of a ceramic tile table, a smooth rock, sometimes I bring my Ezelap diamond rod sharpener, it's smaller than a pen, and does a good job for most blades. Usually I just use the bottom of my coffee cup though, I can get my edge hair shaving sharp with it, so that's good enough for me in the bush :D
 
Can anyone tell me what a Fällkniven DC4 weighs?

For long hikes I pack a tiny sharpening steel only about three inches long, plus a retractable thin diamond rod about the length my index finger. Together, these two items weigh less than two ounces. Of course, all cutting utensils will be very sharp before hitting the road, so in most instances they will need only minor attention before I get back home, and these tools have always sufficed. The nice thing about both of these sharpening devices is that their shape allows them to fit into any crack and crevice of any edge that needs assistance, even my wife's nail clippers or the brass eyelets of hiking boots that sometimes can get rough around the edges when stumbling through rocks and wear out laces fast.
 
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