Sharpening stones: Comparing Fallkniven DC4 to Spyderco DoubleStuff.

Nice review, with good points made on both products. It's funny - I was comparing those two last year. I decided to go with the Spyderco because diamonds have been more useful to me when things have really deteriorated; the two ceramics are fine if I keep up with the edge. Since that's the point of carrying the stone in the field, I chose the Spyderco and it has served extremely well. I doubt I'd have any complaints if I'd gone the other way, though.
 
Thanks Tal, I have a DC4 I got for Christmas last year at it has been a great companion in the field on many occasions.
 
Briarbrow said:
What is the body of the dc 4 made of?
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The diamond side is steel covered in industrial diamonds and titanium-alumina-nitrid ( thats the gold color) and the ceramic side is synthetic sapphire (which is corundum Al2O3 )
Basically you have the grinding surface made of the second hardest material known to man (diamonds) and the polishing surface of third (corundum)
 
Nice review, thanks.

I've been using a DC4 for a few years and I'm very happy with it, although I rarely need to use the diamond side.

One thing to watch out for with the DC4 - the glue that holds the two components together can fail if it gets immersed in water. It's no big deal as you can just glue them back together again (with a more water-resistant glue!), but try to keep it dry if you're out in the wild with it.
 
I've been using the Double Stuff successfully for years. The grits do seem to be the same as the Spydie rods. Along with a DMT fine/coarse, it makes a good basic field sharpening kit.
 
:thumbup:
Good review. Very informative.

I've had the Spyderco Double Stuff since the mid-to-late '90s, I think. Started using it when I was a 'noob' to sharpening in general. Free-handing with this hone formed the basis for my technique. Every pocket-sized hone I use now, I hold it the same way as I 'trained' myself to on the Double Stuff (I even sized my strop blocks to be held the same way). Even as a novice, I was very pleased with the results I saw with this hone. Liked it so much, I bought a 2nd one as a backup. Been using both of them to this day, for relatively light touch-ups and they've also come in very handy for gently scrubbing burrs off, after more aggressive sharpening sessions on diamond or sandpaper.

I've thought for some time now, the Fallkniven DC-4 looks like a pretty convenient combination. Diamond and ceramic in one package, looks like you could get a lot done with one of these. Your review makes it all the more attractive.
 
both nice products and a nice review :thumbup:

based on my philosophy for my trips, I go with the dc-4 since this summer.
dc-4 gets your knife very sharp, as does the doublestuff. but when in the field and you really (accidentally) ruin your edge, it's better (for me) to have an aggresive sharpener like the diamond side of the dc-4 to get the edge back and to have your tool ready for use sooner rather than later
 
I am seriously considering a DC3 or 4 but gave not decided yet. Seems like one of them would be perfect for field attention.....
 
schmittie said:
I am seriously considering a DC3 or 4 but gave not decided yet. Seems like one of them would be perfect for field attention.....
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If the choice is between the DC3 or DC4, I'd always go for the larger one. They're both compact enough for pocket/field use, and a little more abrasive surface area is never a bad thing when sharpening. Since the original posting of this thread almost 2 years ago, I've picked one up (DC4). These hones are very aggressive on both the ceramic and diamond sides; much more aggressive than either side of the DoubleStuff hone from Spyderco. They can touch up an edge quick, often in just a couple or three very light passes. The DoubleStuff is very good at touching up edges that are already in pretty good shape, but would be much slower if trying to repair impact damage, like dents/chips, or if the apex has been neglected far too long. That's where the diamond of the DC3/4 would be very handy.
 
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just a warning, this review is two years old, at this time dc3 and 4 had a quite fine ceramic side that was agressive because of the texture left on its surface (swirl marks in the review) but could be lapped to a much finer grit like i did on one of mines. now they changed the ceramic to a coarser one that comes flat without grooves, swirls or whatever.

they switched because the older ones were very different from batch to batch with some having way too deep ''grooves'' to be usable and some almost perfectly flat. anyway the new one have a too coarse ceramic side for me.
 
pwet said:
just a warning, this review is two years old, at this time dc3 and 4 had a quite fine ceramic side that was agressive because of the texture left on its surface (swirl marks in the review) but could be lapped to a much finer grit like i did on one of mines. now they changed the ceramic to a coarser one that comes flat without grooves, swirls or whatever.

they switched because the older ones were very different from batch to batch with some having way too deep ''grooves'' to be usable and some almost perfectly flat. anyway the new one have a too coarse ceramic side for me.
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I think I may have one of these newer ones. I'd heard of the issues with the swirl/groove marks on some of these, but I don't (visually) see that on mine. The ceramic is definitely very different from other ceramics I've seen, and very aggressive as I'd mentioned. Really leaves a toothy 'bite' on an edge, and necessitates sort of a re-calibration of technique (feels & performs more like a relatively coarse diamond hone; therefore, very light pressure + minimal passes). I see this one as sort of a 'niche' sharpener for my uses, and will probably leave it as is. I did lap one of my DoubleStuff hones a while back, which left it performing like an EF or EEF (very glassy, so it polishes well). So, between my DC4 and the two DoubleStuffs I have, I've got a pretty comprehensive range of 'grits' between them. I think I like that. :)
 
The new black ceramic on DC3 and DC4 needs to be used for a while before it gets fine – and it will be nearly as fine as the brown color ceramic they used before.

When you start to use the black ceramic it works like a fine diamond sharpener, it gives scratches! After a while the surface of this black ceramic will be smooth and it will give you a mirror finish – as the old brown did.

They now also use a better glue.

Thomas
 
i'd like to try lapping my new one but before that i have to find it back ...
 
I just used my Double stuff for the first time & I thought the edge on my Wilder Necker was crooked :eek:

So thanks for reassuring me it's the Double Stuff itself that isn't flat :thumbup:


I already owned a DC4 (newest version, not the older one with the grooves on the ceramic side unfortunately), but it was too course for my liking so I put that in the barn to touch up the chisels with instead.
 
How are people liking the newer DC4 stones? It was interesting to follow this as it went along. Have there been any more changes?
 
This was a nice read catching up on usernames I haven't seen in a while. I never commented on this thread but apparently I subscribed to it when it was new because I own the double stuff. I still have mine after several years and it is my primary way to sharpen my knives. I never let my knives get dull to begin with but I feel confident that I could always get a descent edge with it.
 
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