What's your preferred in the field knife sharpener?

Status
Not open for further replies.

Citadel99

Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2003
Messages
934
Location
Texas
So I have a wicked edge and love it but last weekend we gutted and skinned 9 hogs and a deer and that was a little too much for my two knives. What do y'all like for a field knife sharperner? I kind of like this style and am guessing fine/extra fine? Or is coarse/fine better? Or a different setup altogether?

41AL4pirREL._SX425_.jpg

Mark
 
So I have a wicked edge and love it but last weekend we gutted and skinned 9 hogs and a deer and that was a little too much for my two knives. What do y'all like for a field knife sharperner? I kind of like this style and am guessing fine/extra fine? Or is coarse/fine better? Or a different setup altogether?

View attachment 819206

Mark

I think those diamond stones are a great idea. But since you are doing an "emergency" touch up, I would recommend a stone that has a coarse surface. All you really want is to get back in business quickly. If you had time and space, and a big bench, you could be back to razor edge.

Incidentally, the ex Delta Force dude I shoot with, all the issue stones he had, were these little key ring stones:

z0YSciN.jpg

bud told me he had commercial knives which were so hard, he had to send them back to the manufacturer to be sharpened. Considering where he was deployed, the turn around must have been in terms of months.
 
I use a Work Sharp at home and make sure the knife I take with me is scary sharp. For the field, although I've not needed it yet. I picked something up at Wally for < $2.50, made in China. Its a nasty little stone I hope I never need to use.

c2fb5f6c-dade-4295-abc4-eb7e8506c66b-1-0499fc4342d7aadb8d2a1b21119deba5.jpg
 
I carry a small stone (1'x3"x1/2") in my hunting pack. Nothing special, just a medium stone. I usually sharpen my knife while I'm in the blind.

In a pinch you can re-sharpen your knife on a window edge.
 
A cheap Smith's sharpener is not too bad to throw in a hunting bag. Small, cheap, gets the job done in a pinch. And it you break it or lose it, $5 will get you another one.
 
If I was going to process that much meat at that rate I would certainly get those Outdoor Edge type knives with the replaceable blades.

For field-sharpening, I have a little Arkansas stone, but it is selected purely to be small and light in the pack (better than nothing). So I would not suggest it if you certainly anticipate the need to sharpen. If I'm going to sharpen, I have a collection of Japanese waterstones, but a proper job takes many hours including soaking the stones. Diamond stones or Worksharps look like good solutions, but I have managed to avoid needing them. For the kitchen, I use a Chef's Choice sharpener but it's only practical for kitchen knives and not thick-bladed outdoor knives or small pocket knives.
 
I've carried a small diamond sharpener in my wallet for a long time and it makes for handy touchups.
 
227172684.png

Have had one of these for decades; IIRC, it was offered one time by LL Bean (back when Bean was actually in the outdoor hunting and fishing business)
 
The little Smith handheld. I get 'em at work (Wallyword) for $10, and have several. Both my sons have one, too.
Not very helpful...which one?
 

Attachments

  • 49F82CE7-E644-4854-A5FC-E57AC70E566E.jpeg
    49F82CE7-E644-4854-A5FC-E57AC70E566E.jpeg
    38.6 KB · Views: 12
  • CF650464-3DFF-4DF5-9072-2FCD0C6002C1.jpeg
    CF650464-3DFF-4DF5-9072-2FCD0C6002C1.jpeg
    18.7 KB · Views: 11
  • 4CF47438-8C50-4970-8523-55C6BE9BFC97.jpeg
    4CF47438-8C50-4970-8523-55C6BE9BFC97.jpeg
    14 KB · Views: 14
  • 20277162-2B4A-4EAA-8BA0-063EC254EBE1.jpeg
    20277162-2B4A-4EAA-8BA0-063EC254EBE1.jpeg
    14.5 KB · Views: 12
Every one of those pull through sharpeners I've ever touched tears the heck out of the knife. I cringe watching all the not so little metal shavings fall away.

I'm digging the idea of the credit card sharpener.

Mark
 
An in the field sharpener should get you back cutting quick. Yes, they can leave a more ragged edge, in exchange for expediency. That's why some have the ceramic 'v' in them also. The credit card sharpener would be a handy little item, though.
 
Yikes, I won' touch a pull through carbide. Handy for hogging off metal on soft steel, but I don't even like using them on my machetes.
I'm a big fan of touching up on the go. Most of my field knives don't use super hard super steels. A fine Arkansas stone and a little piece of scrap leather loaded with polishing compound will generally do the trick.

For quick and dirty touch ups, I carry a short gray ceramic stick.
 
The small "dogbone" style ceramic sharpeners with the triangular stone profile are hard to beat as go anywhere/do anything sharpeners.

Here's one example, but there are others.
71MHYGsE8wL._SL1500_.jpg
They will obviously sharpen a plain-edge knife and the corners can be used for serrated knives, or for sharpening recurved blades.

In addition, the end caps provide finger guards while in use and can be used as angle guides.

It's hard to get any more capability and functionality into a smaller package.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top