sharpening/edge maintence for the trail

[slag]

I will soon be sending a Basic 7 off with
a friend that is traveling out of the country.
They will be spending much time on the trail,
away from civilization.
Is there a portable(cost effective) sharpener
or stone that someone can reccomend for this
knife, and this situation? Something that can
maintain the edge, while at the same time, be
able to bring it back if it is allowed to go
to long without attention?
It will be carried on person, and should be
small enough to be unobtrusive.
What do you Busse experts have to reccomend
on this??

 

[MTF3]

I keep one of those ceramic dog bone sharpeners in my sheath pouch. It is about three inches long and works rather well for quick touch ups.

One thing about a Busse, the edge can be retored to razor sharp easily. Just follow the reccomended procedure.

 

[Strabs]

Ditto what Mel said. Gatco style triangle stones are what I keep with mine on the trail. You'll find that if you regularly touch up the edge (lightly) every few days of use, you'll keep the best edge possible.

 

The spyderco sharpmaker is very portable. For Coarse stones that can reset or restore a deformed edge I'd try www.razoredgesystems.com they have poket stones that are real thin and could be fit right in the Busse pouch, and they make a coarse that could repair rather than resharpen an edge. Smallest and the coarsest I've seen so far.

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"You can take a ride through this life if you want. But you can't take the edge off the knife."
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[slag]

Thanks for the info guys. Any other reccomendations are welcome.

Any thoughts on DMT products? I've seen some cheaper packs of 3 stones that would be very portable.

 

[Yvsa]

:
DMT Product are Great and my favorite's of the diamond hones.
You might also consider a small strop carged wih a stroping compound that can be rolled up along with the stones though. Everyone says the burr raised on the Busse's has to be stroped a great deal to get it off.
I changed all of my Busse edge's over to a full convex grind.
To me it is an easier edge to maintain than the original assymetrical edge. And since it's a super dooper steel it should hold an edge longer than any other knife with a standard edge grind, huh? YMMV.


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>>>>---Yvsa-G@WebTV.net---->®

"VEGETARIAN".............
Indin word for lousy hunter.

 

[Will Kwan]

The EZ-Lap fold out sharper and strop with alumina oxide compound works for me. The strop that Yvsa mentions is a good idea if you want to keep the convex edge.

Will

 

[Cliff Stamp]

Yvsa:

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">I changed all of my Busse edge's over to a full convex grind.To me it is an easier edge to maintain than the original assymetrical edge. And since it's a super dooper steel it should hold an edge longer than any other knife with a standard edge grind, huh?</font>

A full convex grind is stronger and more durable than the NIB flat/convex grind. The NIB grind isn't that way for reasons of maximum durability or edge retention but rather just for ease of sharpening, which is kind of ironic considering the frequent comments about difficulty. However I am sure that if Busse switched to a full convex grind there would be questions on a regular basis on how to sharpen a rolled or convex edge.

I would second Yvsa's recommendation for DMT's products. They are of higer quality than the other common diamond abrasives like Ez-Lap. They are mono instead of poly crystal, and are evenly distributed over the surface of the hone. I have two 8" benchstones, a 12" rod, a folding rod, and two diafolds. As well they are also guaranteed against wearing out. You will pay more for them but you are getting performance for your dollar - something someone with a Busse Combat blade should appreciate.

I would also second the used of a strop loaded with CrO (fine abrasive, 0.5 micron, green bar). I would include a small smooth or very fine steel as well. Unless you are digging holes in rocky soil, or impacting on a lot of hardened metal, a steel and a strop will go a long way in keeping the edge very sharp. If you don't have a steel handy you can make due with any hard even surface. You can also strop your blade on pretty much anything including your arm. You could just take along the bar of stropping compound and just spread it along your arm or side of your leg. That would raise some eyebrows at camp.

-Cliff