Sharpening stones: Comparing Fallkniven DC4 to Spyderco DoubleStuff.

Diomedes Industries

Diomedes Industries

Joined
Mar 19, 2007
Messages
7,438
I am reviewing these stones for Scandi Knives only. You can use them to touch up and sharpen convex edges, but I use a different sharpening kit for that - so I have much more experience with them and Scandi use.

The first stone I got in was the Fallkniven DC4 - because that is what Ray Mear's sells (and I have never gone wrong with what Ray recommended) and I began to use that.

DC4:

3.94 inches long
1.25 inches wide
Comes with leather case.

SWEDFNDC4.jpg


It has a diamond side (25 Micron) and a ceramic side. It seems VERY coarse on both sides at first. In fact, I had some fairly deep scratches on my knives at first and I wondered how this was going to work out. The ceramic side appears to be machined (it has large swirl marks) and so when you first start to use it - it is rough.

With that said, this sharpener in the field could take out even dings in blades (although I did not use it for this) and the edge you end up with on your knife (I sharpened 01 and CPM 154) is very sharp and because of the ceramic side, has a lot of bite!

This stone, in my opinion, would last a lifetime but would be used for field sharpening only as the edge that it puts on has scratches is not very refined. This is merely an aesthetics thing - but a much more refined edge can be put on with proper bench stones.

The leather case it comes with is about 6 ounce leather that is fairly stiff. It should last forever.

The only issue I have with them is that they are currently hard to find. I had to pay about 10 dollars over normal price to get it shipped from Sweden.

This cleans up nicely with Barkeepers Friend. I would not recommend using a cleaner with bleach as it can harm the surface of the diamond side.

Doublestuff:

Spyderco%20Pocket%20stone%20Double%20Stuff%20303MF_L.jpg


Specs:

Medium Ceramic (303 F) and a Fine Ceramic edge (303 M)
5 inches Long - 1 inch wide - 1/4 inch thick

The doublestuff is a little more expensive than the DC4, a little thinner, but a little longer. It is not as flat as the Fallkniven (the edges are a little raised, but wear in quickly) and a little more tough to use as it not as wide.

Also, the doublestuff is a much more finer grit on both sides than the DC4 and really excels for touching up a knife rather than taking out dings. It could be done, but you would be there a while.

With that said, the doublestuff is super light and very well made. It is PERFECT for an experienced knife user who does not ding his knife often, or takes week long trips or less and plan out working out any dings when you get back.

The edge it puts on is nice (less scratches) and has a lot of bite. I think the Spyderco is a little more refined, but I also think it would loose its flatness over time faster than the DC4 and as mentioned above was a less flat out of the box.

The leather case does that I have with mine does not look like the picture above, it is thinner, more flexible, and looks to be made from swede and not cow hide. However, it is very nice, and I like the fuzzy surface as it makes a grippy spot to put the stone when in use.

This cleans up great with a scouring pad or Barkeepers Friend - and looks new after every use.


In short, either ones of these products are VERY nice and certainly do what you need them to. If I had a harder steeled knife, I would buy the DC4 and if I had a carbon steel knife, I would use the Spyderco - although you could get by with either.

I was very happy with both of these products.

TF
 
Good review. I've been thinking about getting the Double stuff. Spyderco does great ceramics. Might have to check out the Fallkniven too.
 
thanks for the review, the spyderco double stuff looks like the same ceramic they provide for the sharpmaker, which is really fine.
 
I was looking at the DC 4 before, and with how you describe it, I think that sealed me getting one sometime down the road. Great review :thumbup:
 
I like the double stuff a lot. I carry a tiny diamond rod as well and bases are covered.
Really like the look of the mears stone, probably would suit my usage better with choppers and such.
 
G'day TF

After using the DC stones in the field for years now, I'll pass on some of the things I have found.

It has consistently proven to be a useful and versatile sharpen in a single package :thumbup:

The diamond side is agressive at first but it does settle down with use.

For me, the most often used side is the ceramic. There is no need to use the diamond side if you only need to touch up the edge.

Light pressure on the ceramic side is all that's needed to touch up the edge & will leave a reasonably refined edge.

When held in hand, it is perfectly capable of maintaing a convex edge in the field (provided you know what you are doing :D ). If your going to sharpen a scandi with it, use it like a bench stone on a fixed surface (eg log) like Ray Mears does.

The ceramic side will also put a wicked point on fish hooks (I keep a DC 3 in my fishing bag for this purpose).





Kind regards
Mick
 
Good review TF...and great follow up Mick! I have both (I've had the Spyderco sharpener so long, I forgot who made it:o thanks for the reminder:D).

I like the Fallkniven sharpeners the most. The diamond side is pretty good if you get nicks that can't be steeled out and you need to actually remove more edge; plus the DC sharpeners seem a little more robust.

ROCK6
 
I have quiet a bit of experience with the Spyderco 204 and love it. But I carry a DC4 or 3 when bush I think they are much more robust and some dings are a bit more in need of the Diamond side than straight Spydie Med grade stones. I'm also worried about breaking a Spydie stone when I need it.
I have the Med Spydie stone version of the set mentioned and rarely use it.
Carl
 
I just picked up the Diafold combo Ceramic/Fine diamond. It works really well too. Good review.:thumbup:
 
Nice review man. I bought the DC4 not long ago so its basically pretty new, but the ceramic side has a couple of bumps in it, and I wonder how fast will they grind down, because I dont want them to scrape my blades. Im very happy with the DC4 otherwise, mostly because with the stone and a bit of time on a strop, my knives are shaving ( and I mean really shaving as in I shaved my face with my Opinel no problem) sharp.
So can anyone tell me they it will get ground down, and if anyone else has or had this sort of problem?
 
I have one of the Spyderco single grit pocket stones (the fine one, same dimensions as the Double Stuff except it's thinner and one grit) and recently got a DC-4. I've had the Spyderco for several years and the DC4 a month or two.

I think I like the DC4 better as a field sharpener after having used them both. Puts a good edge on a knife and fast, and getting an edge without a lot of time invested is usually a huge benefit to me. For what it's worth almost all my knives are convex, but when doing serious sharpening or in the field I always use stones. The Spyderco does put a fine edge on a knife. I can see how Talfuchre or somebody using a Scandi would prefer the more polished edge from the Spyderco.

The fine spyderco stones never really lose their flatness, I've heavily used my pocket stone and a fine bench stone for several years and they're still flat. I have no experience with the medium Spyderco stones.

As far as durability goes I though my Spyderco stone wouldn't last too long, but it has rode in my Maxpedition bags (first a Pygmy Falcon II, now I usually have it in either my Fatboy or Jumbo) which have been thrown, sat on, stepped on, used as shooting bags, dropped, etc. and it is still in one piece. Jury's still out on the DC4's durability but it does look plenty solid. I don't forsee it breaking anytime soon.

Either one is a good buy if you ask me. The DC4 is a lot harder to track down right now for sure.
 
I've had the Spyderco bench stones for years and the only one to show any wear (out of flat) is the medium. I was wondering if the DC4 diamond side could successfully be used to flatten the medium spydie? My reaction to first using the DC4 was the same as TF's, in that the roughness surprised me, but as Mick mentioned, it is supposed to smooth out with use. I was really thinking of the DC4 for sharpening my axes, but it would be good if it smooths out to be able to keep a nice refined edge on my knives while in the field.
 
Just ordered the Fallkniven DC-4 from Knifeworks.com.

From Knifeworks"The newly-developed DC3 and DC4 whetstones consist of a fine diamond stone (25 micron) and a very special ceramic stone, made of synthetic sapphires"
 
I flattened my spyderco on a diamond plate. It is slow going.

without a bunch of hoopla on flattening with such a short stone I can say it will definitely knock off the "new"

--thanks for the info. In the pic I thought I was seeing the ceramic side as a thin plate of ceramic. Diamonds are usually on some metallic base. Like DMT or Atoma so I assumed the core was a similar metallic either all steel like dmt or thin steel.Aluminum like atoma. or maybe its plastic like those other dmt. ezlap etc
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top