Gear Review Field knife sharpening skills + gear reviews

....only in the garage so far....I got a three pack of them and stuck one in my 4x4 and another in storage. The third I have tinkered with. Hard not to use what I am comfy with I must admit. I WOULD NOT want to re-profile and edge on it but I have brought a couple of my "shed knives" back up to nice enough edges for the crap jobs I give them. I do not believe it is a "do all solution" but is more than capable for the role it is advertised for.

 

It's not "strop vs stone"!! They each do different things.

The strop just breaks the wire edge and polishes. Can't make a dull edge sharp using a strop alone. Need a stone to fix. Of course "experts" (*rolls eyes*) prefer a strop! It takes off less metal, impossible to ruin the edge, vastly easier and generally faster.

We should strop and/or use a butcher's steel several times a day during hard use. Absolutely strop after *every* use. Even though they can do both, stones are best for fixing edges, not maintaining them.

While both is best, if you can only have one, a stone is much more useful in the field than a strop.

Most of the other points were good.

 

Works quite well. On the larger side. So usually just carry a DC4 with a handful of nails.

 

I have stropped wth my belt.

 

I wear leather.

 

I suck at sharpening, but the worksharp fild sharpener really helped me learn the basics. I can now take a simple blade shape (drop point. clip point, etc.) from dull to hair popping sharp using the field sharpeners built in angle guides. Can’t say the same for more unusual blade shapes though (the secondary point on a tanto or a big bellied/recurve blade etc.)

my main knife is a Becker BK-9 and it’s a breeze to sharpen. Can’t recommend that combo enough (if you’re into big knives). I’m based in Florida where a machete is generally more useful than a hatchet or axe, depending on the specific task, and the BK-9 or something like a Junglas seems just about perfect for the extensive yard work I regularly do.

The work-sharp field sharpener is extremely valuable for anyone just learning how to sharpen, or anyone who just plans on using a pull through style sharpener. Extremely versatile too, 2 diamond plates (coarse & fine), 3 ceramic rod settings, a short leather strop, and angle guides, all in a small sharpener that can fit into a pocket.

 

What Duxdawg said. Two different things.