Sharpening knife on a leatherman

[ffp]

I bought a leatherman charge al and am waiting to receive it from the mail. It seems to have a diamond file in it. It's possible to sharpen a knife with it? Would it sharpen like a nice stone?

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

I bought a leatherman charge al and am waiting to receive it from the mail. It seems to have a diamond file in it. It's possible to sharpen a knife with it? Would it sharpen like a nice stone?

There's one way to find out. I've never been sure whether it's actually a diamond file, but it may work well enough on some blades, at least (looking at specs for the 'Wave' model, they say it's diamond). I'd test it on something simple and expendable first.

(May have to try it out myself; I have a Leatherman with a file like that...)


David

 

[n7titan]

Looks to be the same as previous leathermans I've had. If so, probably only good for reprofiling. I believe it's hard enough to use on metal, but you'd probably wear it down fast on knife steel. Can't hurt to test it though.

 

[North Arm Knives]

I bought a leatherman charge al and am waiting to receive it from the mail. It seems to have a diamond file in it. It's possible to sharpen a knife with it? Would it sharpen like a nice stone?

I've got a charge tti. Yep its diamond (coated). It'll perform the way a diamond stone (e.g. dmt) would. It is of course fairly narrow and short so it is something I'd use for emergency touch ups in the field. When you're at home use proper sharpening equipment. Not sure what the grit is, I'd guess between 600-1000. I've used mine to take a few thousandths off the outside of a 13/16 ths spark plug socket; spun the socket in a drill and held the file to it. It was all I had but it worked perfectly!

Diamond stones tend to wear in with initial use; they appear to quickly become "dull" or wear out. This isn't the case and is totally normal wear-in.

cheers,
mike

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

^^That file shown in the pic is the wood/metal file, for softer materials. The diamond surface is on the flipside of the same tool (just looked at the specs for the Charge). If the diamond is similar to what's on my Wave, it seems similar to something like a DMT EF grit. Should be OK for touch-ups on knives, though the grit size and small surface area might be slow for reprofiling, save for small & thin traditional-sized blades.

Edit:
Just finished touching up one of my pocketknives on my Wave's diamond file; it's a Case traditional blade in their Tru-Sharp (420HC) stainless. Works pretty well; I'd say the 'bite' left on my edge is somewhere between DMT's Fine and EF (600-1200 or 25µ-9µ).


David

 

[ffp]

Nice, thank you guys. It will be a good field sharpener. I have a 1000-6000 grit stone at home too

 

[David Martin]

Yes, if it's like the one on my Surge. I'd put the grit (like Dave) between the fine and extra fine. The diamond surface wears down making it useful for a emergency field sharpener. The other side of the file can be used in a limited manner on metal but mostly for wood. I'd carry an additional 1X4" stone. DM

 

[collim1]

I have used the LM file to touch up my hatchet after knocking the blade. Worked good enough in a pinch.

 

[eb1118]

I have the same Leatherman. The diamonds are quite aggressive, and it might mar a nice edge and I think it will be difficult to position the file to sharpen well.