What sharpening stone for the BOB?

K

KansanShooter

Joined
Nov 17, 2009
Messages
45
I'm trying to decide what type of stone to put in my BOB. I'd like thoughts and ideas of what you guys use. I prefer Arkansas stones myself. ..but am open to other options. Thanks.
 
FTR-14c said:
Dia fold coarse/fine and a 4" piece of ceramic rod.
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I'd say a XC / C Diafold and a dual sided small spyderco stone. If it's truly a BOB situation you made mess your blade up and need to do some repair to the edge.
 
I would say a Diafold too if you can find one with the colored instead of the clear handle.I have three an old 15+ years single edge fine red handle .A newer green/brown handled and a clear coarse/extra coarse.No problems with the colored handled ones other then tapping the roll pins back in once in a while.Both handles on the new one broke with little use.DMT has no parts or any customer service
 
The BOB has a small/micro convex egde on the end of a "Scandi" grind
So I would strop it to sharpen, or to reshrpen a damaged edge use the sandpaper method

As soon as you go to sharpening with a stone, you are going to take off the micro convex edge

If you sharpen with stones, you will need to reprofile the edge to a flat V angle
I use DMT diamonds as they cut much faster than Arkansas
I use Course stone down to E Fine to go from the hard work of reprofiling to the final sharpening
To maintain the blade all you will need is stropping or a very light touch up with an E Fine DMT
 
I like the DMTs myself but the little Norton stones work great too. They are the ones Randall Knives puts on their sheaths. For myself I like the medium (blue)grit DMTs as they can make a good cutting edge while still being rough enough to remove nicks and dents if needed. As a secondary use, my Dad one broke the sharp edges off a cracked tooth with my DMT when we were camping :)
 
neeman, I think you are referring to the tops BOB knife while the op meant BOB as in bug out bag.
 
I prefer a mousepad, sand paper and strop.

Light weight, complete blade maintenance, small footprint, and extremely effective.

Obviously it is for convex edges, but that's my preference anyway.
 
I carry either a DMT duofold fine/coarse or a ezlap diamond sharpener with the brass rod cover. Either one will get a knife sharp in the field with little effort.
 
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Do you even need a sharpener in a BOB? Will you be out there long enough to dull your blade? There might be other things to pack that are more useful.
 
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Dmt diafold, I have the xcourse/course & fine/xfine. Compact, built in covers, work perfectly wet or dry, and will sharpen ANYTHING. Reasonably cheap too!
 
sideways said:
Do you even need a sharpener in a BOB? Will you be out there long enough to dull your blade? There might be other things to pack that are more useful.
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That's what I was going to say. If the "BOB" is short term escape/get-home pack that only has two days' worth of food and water, I wouldn't bother carrying a sharpening stone. If, however, your idea of a "BOB" is an expedition sized pack designed for weeks of wilderness travel, you'll want whatever sharpener is the lightest weight. :)
 
I can usually find a rock that will do the job. Sometimes I bring the good ones home and use them.--Field expediency!--KV
 
Bob W said:
That's what I was going to say. If the "BOB" is short term escape/get-home pack that only has two days' worth of food and water, I wouldn't bother carrying a sharpening stone. If, however, your idea of a "BOB" is an expedition sized pack designed for weeks of wilderness travel, you'll want whatever sharpener is the lightest weight. :)
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Aah yes but in an expedition sized pack you will probably have dedicated shelter items (sleeping bag, tent, sleeping pad, visa card for a night at a motel) and maybe even a cooking system. Any knife worth its salt will stay serviceably sharp past the point where you run out of food and water.
 
I've been carrying the eze-lap 26m medium diamond stone in my left back pocket for years. saved my bacon more than once. lately due to all the good reviews on this and other forums i've been useing a Fallkniven DC-4 so far I like it very much. allthough due to the larger size it will only be carried when i'am out with a pack.
 
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