How do you sharpen your knife in the field?
 

Or at home for that matter?

So for now I carry two trapper knives while backpacking for deer/elk. Gives me 4 blades to work with. But I’m curious if anybody out there has found a quality lightweight sharpener to pack in the field. To be honest, the only method I’m familiar with is with stones. Which are too bulky & time consuming to carry in the pack, IMO. And while they work, there has got to be something quicker and more convenient? I see the cheap cross-stick thingies, the stuff you see on infomercials, do they work? Are there more expensive modes that do?

If there was a lightweight tool to use in the field that did even a decent job of sharpening a knife, I could leave other blades at home. Every ounce counts.

Anyway, all feedback appreciated. Thank you.

Spyderco makes a really great Spyderco Sharpener. Fairly small and works amazing. You could easily store it in a pack. It has a few different sides for different angles!

I've used arkansas stones for decades
 

I think they've been declared obsolete by the congress of country club hunters, as being too inexpensive a way to keep knives sharp.

Some hunters no longer have the right to shapened knives, broadheads and turkey dinner knives, inexpensively. Otherwise, they are banned from the Country Club hunter association.

"A hunter and his money are soon parted", seems to be the common goal of modern hunters today.

Gatco or lansky however I prefer stone (s) and leather sash. In the field i carry a small flat steel to hone much like when butchering. Most times I don't need more then 1-2 knives, moose being the only exception their hide dulls knives like crazy so I make sure I have several blades ready, willing and able before embarking into the field.

Lansky is also a pretty good brand, I've used their home sharpening stuff before but not the portable compact stuff

These are quick and easy. They start to wear out fast but, they're cheap to replace.



Furi Ozitech.

I'll still use a stone every once in a while to get the blades back where I like them. I rarely sharpen a knife in the field because I'll just grab another. I always have at least two.

I sharpen my knives on a mousepad and sandingpaper 2000 grid, then I use a leather belt and finally a few strokes on the edge of a car window.
I take a rolled up sheet of sandingpaper with me and use any reasonably flat surface when field dressing.
And I'm going to make a glass rod and get it sanded, just like the edge of a car window to use in the field.
Another thing that works great are these;
http://uk.ardennes-coticule.com/index.asp?id=384

http://www.fallkniven.com/en/shop/de...sharpeners/dc3

I always carry a stone & some oil in the driver's door pocket of my truck. I have other stones on my workbench at home & at work. Great for knives, chisels, axes, burr removal on tools, or whatever. They last forever & don't take up much space at all. A very valuable tool IMHO.

I sharpen knives professionally using a paper wheel system but if I wanted one for the kitchen at home or in the hunt camp I would buy nothing but a Spyderco Sharpmaker!Best portable knife sharpener on the market today.Amazon has them for 48.00 with free shipping.Razor edge using the 15 degree angle.Read the reviews on Amazon and Cabelas on them. Mike

This is why many prefer good, simple steels for outdoor use, like 1095, 52100, 5160, 420HC, 440C, etc. These can be sharpened on a car window top, a proper type of rock, and etc. Some of these super steels cannot be readily sharpened in this manner.

At home I have a series of stones from coarse to fine, used with oil. In the field, I carry a small, fairly fine stone and use whatever moisture is handy, (usually spit) to float it. The trick I've found is to sharpen the blade before it gets dull. If you have to hog a lot of metal off the edge with a coarse stone, you've waited too long. A couple of licks occasionally during use will keep the edge. Also I've found that a cardboard box makes a great ersatz strop. The grit that dulls your knife when you cut the cardboard, will sharpen your edge when used as a strop. You don't need a whole box, just a strip of cardboard out of it.

I have a three sided oil bath stone over a foot long I bought from a butcher supply outfit. I use the stone, then finish it on a leather barber strop, first the cloth side, then the leather side. I never had to sharpen my Case folder Sharks tooth in the field but I sharpen it when I get home after each field dressing so it is ready to go, next hunt..

I have a pocket-sized sharpening steel I use mostly, One of the many things I carry with me constantly. I dress the blade on the sharpening steel every other day, sometimes multiple times when I'm dressing game. A sharp knife makes the work so much easier.
I occasionally use a Lansky, the sharpening steel tends to round off the edge a little over time. The Lansky allows me to start over. A couple of passes over the stiff leather heel portion of my boot for the finish.
If the blade shaves the hair off of my forearm it is sharp enough.
Funny story about that; my mentor who taught me to hunt or greatly improved my knowledge and skills couldn't keep a knife sharp. He was and still is a much more knowledgable and better hunter than I am, but constantly borrows my knife. :)

I can't either mudder. It's certainly the one glaring weakness in my outdoors skills. I can put an acceptable edge on a machete, axe, hatchet, mower blades, etc.

But a regular knife, I can't. And it's not for lack of trying. I've been taught, I've watched videos, I even had a friend who makes and sells knifes give me some instructions. I've spent hours and hours with various types of stones.

I've resorted to a handheld jig that does it automatically. It does an acceptable, useable edge. But nowhere near what my grandpa, dad and uncle's have been able to do.

Definitely a failure in my abilities.

-Jake

A knife steel, stone, and lansky crock sticks. Sometimes with just one of those and other times I've used 'em all.

I start with a good knife and sharpen it at home. Then it don't need sharpened every time you cut something. It isn't the tool that does a good job, it is the operator and they have skill or they don't.

A little trick you can try, wipe off the edge with a solvent to clean off the oil then mark along the edge with a permanent marker. Take a few swipes on a stone or steel and see how much and where the marker is removed. Once you get the right angle and repeat a few times you get a feel for what is right. I sharpen more by feel than I do by vision.

EZ Lap diamond stone, 2x6" 1/4" thick, weighs 4 oz, puts a razor edge on a knife in minutes.
RR