Favorite Knife Sharpeners for Field and Home

[Beinglis23]

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I got a work sharp this year and love it. Used it for everything so far this year including Iron Will Broadheads, that Bark River pictured, axes, fillet knives, chef knives etc. I also have a 2k/5k wet stone for the broadheads to put that wicked edge on it.

I’m not a huge fan of carbide sharpeners, just personal preference. To prevent the whole cold, dark, numb, can’t feel your hands thing I just use a knife that stays sharp for a whole moose. Point of fact that Bark River field dressed two moose in a 24 hour period and it wasn’t sharpened in between. It wasn’t the sharpest knife in the world after that and took me about 10-15 minutes to get it to start grabbing hairs again with another 5 minutes to get shaving sharp. It’s really hard to beat A2 tool steel for a knife blade. Holds an edge, strong and not brittle at all.

Based on this sharpener, I wouldn’t hesitate to buy their carbide sharpener and will likely get one to take care of my Kukri.

one of my favorite filed knife sharpener

 

[Travis2282]

I have the edge pro apex. The final product/edge is just as good from the apex as it is from the pro model so you can save money by getting the apex.

What grit kit did you go with?

 

[Buddro]

I broke several blades on my first elk as well, quit using my javalon for anything but pelts after that. A few years later I watched a couple guys up in alaska take some carabou apart with javalons, they did two carabou with the same blade in no time at all with no problems. After that I realized I was the problem not the blade, don't work too deep with the javalon make long shallow cuts and be accurate working around bones and you will find them hard to beat and you wont need to carry a stone in the field with you.

For home use there is a company called F dick in germany, we have one of their steels. It works impressively quick and does a much better job than several of the other steels we use. (of course steels are for touching up and finishing not for sharpening.) look into their products they are awesome. not cheap though

Sharpening steels for knives and ancillary items - Friedr. Dick

<span> Your knives will stay sharp for a long time with Friedr. Dick sharpening steels. In addition to sharpening steels, we also have alternatives to a sharpening steel in our range. Find out more here!</span>

www.dick.de

Their knives are some of the best around as well once you get the meat home.

 

[Beinglis23]

For those of us who are less then accurate with angles, the Lansky system is the answer. Even a klutz like me can put a razor edge on a good knife and touch ups are a breeze.

 

[Woodrow F Call]

The worksharp is a pretty good setup, but you really need to watch the video on how to use it on their site. Some of the details are important.

Instead of the Lansky, I like the DMT Aligner which is more or less the same thing, but I like the DMT diamond stones better.

In the field, I just carry a DMT stone... one of the small key chain ones or a stone from the aligner kit.



To echo and emphasize what was said about strops: even with the above tools, a strop should be your last step to sharpening a knife (unless you are crazy with Japanese water stones or something). Two reasons:

1. When you sharpen, your edge will be wavy. A strop fixes that and makes it shaving sharp.

2. Often, when a knife seems dull, the edge is just rolled. You can fix this with a strop and not remove more material from the knife.

I don't think you need any compound on the strop. Sometimes, I even use my wallet when in the field for a quick strop. Compound is for people way more serious about knives than me and I probably like knives more than most.

 

[Woodrow F Call]

Oh to add a little something else. I think people get too hung up on what grit stones to use. Anyone more interested in just having a sharp knife to cut up game would be fine with just a 300ish grit stone. A good balance between fixing edges and getting stuff sharp. That and a strop would be all you really need.

Finer stones, will make a finer, more polished edge which makes a knife more suitable for shaving. For skinning a deer and cutting up the meat, you don't really need that. You're just going to dull the edge on hair and bone anyways.




Oh, the less you hit the edge on a hard surface, the longer the edge will last. That's why cutting boards are used. It's easier on the edge than something hard like a dinner plate.

 

[KMW]

Work Sharp knife and tool sharpener.

 

[6mm Remington]

https://lansky.com/products/std-3-stone-system/

Lansky sharpening system works great. Get the standard 3 stone set and then add two more. One a leather strop and the second one a ultra-fine stone. Make sure and get the Super C-clamp too. It makes the sharpening a whole lot easier and safer. I cannot use a stone worth a damn but with the Lansky system I can get my knives shaving sharp in short order. Once you have the perfect edge, touch-ups are a breeze and getting it back into scary sharp condition only takes minutes.

https://lansky.com/products/leather-stropping-hone/

https://lansky.com/index.php/products/ultra-fine-hone/

https://lansky.com/products/super-c-clamp/

I have a set-up at home and I keep one in the camper with me also.

 

[ScottinPA]

I have a ceramic "steel" I got from a butcher friend for home. Field use is a work sharp, not sure of model but it's small. For really bad edge I have files, diamonds and stones plus a Lansky. I use some of them on broadheads as well.

Holy Crap! Didn't realize I has so many.

 

[SLM]

Red DMT at home and the field.

 

[Bill V]

I sharped a couple of prototype knives with a KME sharpener this week. It worked really well.

 

[6mm Remington]

I sharped a couple of prototype knives with a KME sharpener this week. It worked really well.

I might have purchased the KME if I had discovered it first. It seems like it might be a touch more precise than the Lansky just by looking at the design. Nothing bad to say about the Lansky though when I can turn a very dull knife into shaving sharp where I have NEVER EVER been able to sharpen a knife worth a darn! I could sure take the edge off one quickly though trying to sharpen it.

 

[tom-hart]

I ran a tool called sharpal, it‘s not perfect but doing it‘s job

 

[Rokwiia]

Leather strop for field. It is compact and light. I like StropMan best.

https://stropman.com/Strops_c2.htm

 

[mcseal2]

Spyderco sharpmaker at home. Cabelas ceramic steel in my pack. The wood handle came off in Alaska and the rod that’s left weighs 1.2oz. My back needs to straighten up and rest every 15 or 20 minutes cutting up game so I quickly touch up the blade while resting it for a few seconds. It never gets dull that way.

At base camp on a fly in hunt, or at the truck everywhere else I’ll have a worksharp field sharpener too. If me and my partners do multiple animals it can be handy to have it around.

 

[Jellymon1]

Just don’t twist or pry with the havalons. Use them for the areas that require more finesse, and a good fixed blade for the bigger jobs. Even back when I used the havalon for everything I’ve never broken a blade or popped one off taking apart deer, bears, elk or turkeys. The havalons limitations are obvious for anyone with common sense. Use the right tool for the job.

 

[SIontheHunt]

I have the ken onion work sharp for home but i tend to take the guide off so a cheap belt sander with different grit belts would work just as well and the longer belts last longer. In the field im going to try the work sharp pocket knife sharpener this year.

 

[switchback7]

the worksharp field sharpener has worked very well for my knives.

 

[jmriness]

the worksharp field sharpener has worked very well for my knives.

This. Never go out without it

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

 

[etapia]

I just purchased the work sharp field sharpener because of this thread. I am impressed. The ergonomics feel a little odd but that's to be expected for a small sharpener with many sharpening surfaces. It did however put a great edge on knives in no time. I would recommend to anyone.