Travel sharpener?

J_mcrane

J_mcrane

Joined
Dec 7, 2013
Messages
580
As the resident knife, when i go places I am often asked to sharpen others kitchen or pocket knifes. I am fired to use coffee cups and kitchen sharpeners as best I can find. I am not taking my edge pro or my sharpmaker. I am looking for a smallish lightweight sharpener to use on a variety of knives in a variety of conditions.

I am looking at spyderco double stuff and dmt diafold in course and fine. It needs to. Be big enough to sharpen kitchen knives but small enough to travel. Thoughts?
 
I like Buck's EdgeTek stones (they're more like plates, but they call them honing stones). I have a medium one with only one side that I keep in the pouch of my Becker 15 sheath along with a Paratool and MagLite Solitaire. A double sided number (medium/fine) would add almost no weight to a toiletry kit or even a wallet when travelling. And most internet retail outlets have them for about $15.

Zieg
 
Depending on technique used and the condition of the kitchen knives' edges, even a pocket diamond hone can be enough. I've been carrying a DMT 'Mini-Sharp' keychain hone (Fine/600/25µ) for just such uses, and I occasionally touch up the kitchen knives in our house with it. For large blades that need rebevelling, either the C/F Dia-Fold you mentioned, or a 6" x 2" SiC stone work well for those jobs. The SiC stone can be found in Norton's 'Economy Tool & Knife' stone for little $ at Home Depot; nearly identical stones can also be found at ACE Hardware or Sears as well. None of them will cost more than about $8 or so. ACE also carries SiC stones in more 'portable' sizes, including a 4" stone (C/F double-sided) and a pocket stone (single grit in 'Fine', or maybe ~320 or so). They also have an 8" x 2" SiC stone.

Other hones that I've used similarly, for kitchen knives and anything else needing touch-ups:

EZE-Lap model 'M' pocket diamond rod
Fallkniven DC4 4" diamond & ceramic pocket hone


David
 
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500 and 2000 grit Shapton Glass stones.

They are full size but extremely fast cutting and produce a high quality edge with little fuss. Though full size, they are thin and light making them an easy carry. I am tired of the small stone inconvenience while on trips so on my last outing my Shapton stones rode along. I did not find them to take up any extra space or be cumbersome in any way. I did find them to work very well as usual and made maintaining my knife the simple process it normally is.

If you have the need to sharpen kitchen knives then that's even more reason for these stones. One thing to consider though is a quality diamond lapping stone will be needed, it can double as a very coarse stone though so those extremely dull knives will be easier to sharpen.

If that's a little beyond your budget I think the Fallkniven full size diamond and ceramic stone would be an excellent traveling buddy. Any way you go, I would at least go with a full size sharpening tools, it will make things much easier.
 
DMT DiaFold dual-sided in Coarse/Fine would be nice.

You can also get fat Ceramic rods.
 
My brother in law got me a DMT DiaFold dual-sided in Coarse/Fine for Christmas that I take with me now. Works great.

Like you, i have done many knives on the bottom of coffee mugs and ceramic casserole dishes. Sharpened a meat cleaver (budget no name one) on the sidewalk one time. Not the greatest edge, but an improvement.

I also have a small diamond rod that is about 4 inches long that i have used when traveling or at work. This one is kind of nice because it has a flattened section that can be used as a file and a fish hook groove. I think for what you describe, a DiaFold would be a better choice.

AG Russell makes a nice Field Sharpener. It has a set of diamond and ceramic rods all in a nice plastic case. http://www.agrussell.com/ag-russell-field-sharpener/p/AG3750/. Easy to set up and use.

Ric
 
Since I got dmt folding sharpener,I hardly use anything else.I get a nice toothy edge that shaves hair too,that is great for everything and anything.This sharpener always goes with me even if I travel,and just couple strokes are enough to get my edges where I want them.
 
Shapton Pros 220 , 1500 , 5000 in an EP size. Has the alumnium backing so more resistant to being bumped around. Bring a fullsize Atoma 140 for coarse work and flattening. Added bonus you can pick up an EP used for cheap and have some great stones to use with it already.
 
Small and lightweight? A DMT Aligner clamp and two sheets of sandpaper. Total weight... a couple of ounces. Sharpen anything from a pen blade to a machete. Total cost? Abut $15. It's true, you do have to replace the sandpaper from time to time, but this combination can be carried in the bottom of a cargo pocket or shoulder bag, and be light enough to even carry while backpacking.
 
stitchawl said:
Small and lightweight? A DMT Aligner clamp and two sheets of sandpaper. Total weight... a couple of ounces. Sharpen anything from a pen blade to a machete. Total cost? Abut $15. It's true, you do have to replace the sandpaper from time to time, but this combination can be carried in the bottom of a cargo pocket or shoulder bag, and be light enough to even carry while backpacking.
Click to expand...

Pretty good idea right here. The SiC paper multi grit pak from harbor freight would last for a long time for about 4$. The aligner doesn't get enough respect... Russ
 
Sandpaper seems cool, but what do you do about a flat surface *and* tensioning the paper in some way? For practical and small and light, the DMT diafold seems much more desirable to me. Not tricky, and a medium sized surface with a handle you can hold on to. As opposed to the DMT credit card hones that have nothing to hold on to.

Brian.
 
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