What do you use for field sharpening?

G

Guy McVer

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Mar 22, 2022
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When you are out and about (or as the Canadians say "oatin' a boat"), do you normally carry anything to keep your blade(s) sharp, or do you usually just wait until you get home?

If and when you do carry some type of edge maintenance gear with you, what is it?
 
I've been carrying a fine/coarse DMT Diafold double-sided sharpener, in my hiking pack, for several years.
It's lightweight, compact, self-contained, and has served it's purpose well, for me, over the years.

I carry another one, along with a mill bastard file, in the tool kit of my SxS/UTV.
 
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I carry three DMT 'credit card' hones, shown in the photo below, everyday in my wallet. Between the Coarse, Fine & EF in those, they'll handle literally anything I need or want to tune up, even repairing some pretty major edge damage. It's very rare that I'd actually NEED to do so in most of the typical uses of my knives everyday. But it buys a lot of peace of mind in knowing I have them if I need them. I've carried them for years now and I feel the weight of those steel plates every time I put my wallet in my pocket. I'd feel nearly naked anymore, if I wasn't feeling that weight in my back pocket. And the 4" Norton Fine India shown in the pocket slip is another one I like to use for touching up the knives I like to carry (examples from Case & Buck shown in the photo). Very simply, I just LIKE the edge the Fine Norton India leaves on steels like 1095/CV and 420HC. So that one's a favorite of mine, even when I'm at home. I even radiused one edge of that stone for use with recurved edges, which comes in handy on occasion (2nd photo).
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when i had my fanny pack i used to carry a SpyderCo double stuff , when i was out and a bout , never had to use it but it was more of an EDC novelty
 
i doht go on field trips, i aint the bois scout no more but my RRS is a portable solution which I'd take for sure, if i wanted to bring a sharpener.

otherwise I'd let my blade go dull for the trip
 
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I generally carry a Worksharp pocket sharpener just for touching up an edge on a day outing. I start out with a good sharp edge and touch up as needed. Usually this is all I need.

On longer outings, I like to pack the worksharp field sharpener that has a fine and a coarse diamond plate, ceramic rod and a leather strop. If I happen to cut a lot of dirty stuff or rake the edge on a rock I can work out the rough, dull edge with the coarse plate and finish it to a fine edge with the fine and ceramic back to scary sharp. It’s a bit big for pocket carry but in a day pack it takes little room.
 
Spyderco double stuff. It fits in my pocket and I barely know it’s there so if sharpening in the field is important I’ll just take that. Even if it broke in half in my pocket it’s still useable.

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Bottom of a mug, plate, or edge of car window for improvised touch up.

I have an EZ Lap diamond rod that weighs nothing.
 
I hunt down a perfect rock, then flatten it against another rock...

In all seriousness though, I've found the little hone that Victorinox sells with their Zermatt sheaths to be sufficient to keep an edge on the knives I use the most. A diafold in my bag takes care of the anything the Vic hone can't, and for the machete I just use one of the flat files on the truck for knocking down the depth gauges on the saws.
 
I do not typically do "field sharpening". I am amazed how well a good rock can be used for repairs of a badly rolled or chipped edge, and/or sand/dirt & water as an abrasive on a flat piece of wood or for moderately rolled edges straightened with another piece of hardened steel. Last two times to the mountain rivers, edges made direct contacts with rocks processing wood and made field repairs as previously described. In my experiences, it's more about the Tool using the tool, than the tool itself.
 
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I carry a dmt diafold if I anticipate field sharpening. However, I want to give one of those wallet sized dmt stones a try. Probably the fine. As it’s the most handy grade for me.
 
What I carry depends entirely on the tools that I've got with me, and I adjust accordingly. If just a small knife, a pocket stone suffices. But otherwise I may carry a file, scythe stone(s), a carbide scraper (not a drag-through type) or other tools.
 
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