What sharpener stone ?

[Leather]

If I buy a Becker Knife & Tool, COMBAT / UTILITY KNIFE, what type of sharpening stone should I buy for it ??

thank you

 

[Jeff Clark]

Almost any hone will work with that knife. The edge is acute and the alloy is easy to sharpen. If you don't want to spend much money and you are comfortable with a simple stone you might try one made by Norton. They make combination stones that are medium-coarse on one side and medium-fine (India Stone) on the other. I think they cost around $12.00 for a long one. Try and get a hone that is longer than the blade. I like 8" to 12" long. You can do just about as well with cheaper hones from Sears or Home Depot for about half the money.

If you are willing to spend more money you might like the Spyderco Sharpmaker 204. This will give you a very fine edge easily, but will cost you more in the $50.00 region (if you shop on the net).

Anyway, you don't need diamond hones or Japanese water stones for a Becker.

 

[ZENGHOST]

Originally posted by Jeff Clark
If you are willing to spend more money you might like the Spyderco Sharpmaker 204. This will give you a very fine edge easily, but will cost you more in the $50.00 region (if you shop on the net).

The Becker is right at the borderline length for the Spyderco. I have sharpened 7 inch blades on my Sharpmaker, but it's not that comfortable for me. I think a flat stone would be much better and the longer the better.

 

[texascarl]

National Living Treasure Knifemaker Jerry Fisk suggests using a large Norton India Stone to sharpen the Becker knife he designed (BK-5, the Camp Magnum) you can find these stones for ~ $10 at Smokey Mountain Knife Works-SMKW

 

[extremesurvival]

Full size Crock Sticks have never done me wrong. My father and I have never had to use anything else. From Western Bowies to Becker CU-7's to your everyday pocket knife. They come with 2 sets of ceramic rods. It works for me. They're sold through Lansky's website and even Texas Knifemaker's Supply for about $30.00 or so.

 

[Coonskinner]

For anything but extremely wear resistant alloys such as the CPM steels, I find that the Norton Fine Indias as recommended by Jerry Fisk are just about ideal. You can put a very aggressive edge on a blade with one.

I've got a Sharpmaker, Arkansas stones, and DMT's in various grits, but I use the Norton more than anything.

 

[Jeff Clark]

I guess that I was off on the price of the 8" Norton combination India Stone. I'm seeing prices more like $23.00 on the internet. I do think that I saw a Norton combination hone (not India Stone) in that price range at Home Depot.

By the way, a lot of people use oil on the India Stones. This works great, but is messy. Once you put oil on a hone it is difficult to switch to using water or nothing. (Clean it in a dishwasher if you need to get oil out of a hone). I use a wet washcloth to keep my India Stone clean while I work and scrub it with sink cleanser occasionally.