Sharpening Question....

Marion David Poff

Marion David Poff

Joined
Oct 8, 1998
Messages
5,403
Good Day,

At home we have all sorts of cool gadgets and rigs to sharpen our knives and we get edges that satisfy us.

But, if we want to enjoy the great outdoors without a pack animal, what sort of sharpeners can we carry that will get the job done from start to finish and not weigh us down un-necessarily?

Especially focusing on sharpeners that take some of the guess work out of good edges and that can take a knife from profoundly dull or even damaged to as sharp as we can stand.

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Thank you,
Marion David Poff aka Eye, Cd'A ID, USA mdpoff@hotmail.com

My review of the World Survival Institute, Chris Janowsky survival knife, the Ranger.

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"Many are blinded by name and reputation, few see the truth" Lao Tzu
 
Well, how about the Lansky? It's not too big. I easily carried one in my backpack. Of course you might want to stuff the insides with a bit of kleenex to pad it so it doesn't make noises when you move.


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Chang and the Rebels of the East!
Southern Taiwan Will Rise Again!
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[This message has been edited by Comrade Chang (edited 07-30-2000).]
 
For the past 18-19 years my travelling sharpener has been an EZ Lap Model M. I sharpen my knives at home on a hard Arkansas stone or on my Sharpmaker. I've never let them get too dull in the field before I touch them up.
 
PUMA makes a really cool little steel, diamond impregnated- I think. It comes with a nice leather sheath, weighs nothing and is effective.
 
If you ever find yourself away from home and with a dull blade, don't forget two improvised sharpeners that really work:

1. take a coffe mug and turn it upside down, and use the exposed ceramic material where the enamel is missing- this works like a medium grit stone!

2. roll a car window halfway down and use the top edge to "steel" your knife- this works like a butcher steel
 
In addition to what Costas said, I've found that I can hone serrations razor sharp using the back of a plate. Some plates have a raised ring on the bottom that is thin enough to get inside serrations. I used this for a while when I had serrated knives, but then I got sick of them, sold them and got plain edged knives. Much better!


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Chang and the Rebels of the East!
Southern Taiwan Will Rise Again!
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If I had to have just one sharpening tool to do it all, and it had to be portable and simple to use, I'd choose the DMT dual sided coarse/fine (blue/red) Diafold. It's big enough to be useful, light weight, lasts a long time, requires no oil, cleans up with water and no scrubbing required, unlike ceramic sharpeners, and not at all fragile.

You know what I'd like to have? An extra-coarse/fine (black/red) diafold!

David Rock

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AKTI Member # A000846
Stop when you get to bone.
 
A flat x-coarse DMT 8" hone will remove any major damage and the 12" rod will allow quick touchups. A ceramic rod can be used for a more polished finish as well as a strop and smooth steel for light tough-ups. If the 8" hone is too bulky then some x-coarse sandpaper will do. All you need is a flat surface to rest it on. You can also leave the strop and smooth steel at home as they are very easy to make in the field.

Now if you can't hold a steady angle by hand, well, just take some copper tubing the size of your ceramic rod, attach a screw into the end of it and presto you have an angle guide that you can set into any piece of wood. You can estimate a 22 degree angle very easy. Just chop a 90 in half and repeat. Of course you could also just mark out angles on a piece of paper for a reference.

-Cliff

[This message has been edited by Cliff Stamp (edited 07-31-2000).]
 
The DMT two sided folding unit fine/corse is now my faverite sharpener to throw in my pack for hunting or hiking.

gary
 
I've got the Diafold in my car and it goes in my pack. If I'm away from pack and car I have a large medium grit pen-style diamond hone. For real work you don't need a real smooth edge and the medium diamond grit will work on a relatively damaged edge.
 
I don't want to come across like I'm bragging, however, I have never needed to take along a sharpener while hunting/hiking etc; because I don't need one.
I carry mostly forged blades and a talonite blade and all can easily handle all my cutting chores for at least several days. If I were to go on a extended trip then I would most likely carry a smooth, steel to touch up the blade.
 
Ah, Larry's bragging again
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Actually, Larry has one of them Edge Pro sharpeners, but I don't know why he bought it. When his forged blades or his CPM "hold an edge for ever" blades doo start to dull, he just buys another custom
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Since you're not using your sharpener Larry, I'll trade you $6 American and a "surgical" stainless steel bowie from Frost Cutlery for it!!!

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"Come What May..."


[This message has been edited by Crayola (edited 08-07-2000).]
 
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