DIY knife sharpener for the bush / for scandies

[swissgearlabs]

Haven't been posting for a while, much going on.

I made this device to sharpen my knifes in the field/the bush. For scandi knifes, this setup is the only one I use (in the bush as well as at home).
It can either be used to just quickly touch up your edge when out practising bushcraft or it can also be used to take of a large amount of material to re-shape your edge

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uRwCiTv-uQ

enjoy, p@

 

[Gill]

Very neat cool device ,nice one.

 

[Biker]

Hey, I like that system a lot. Now I'm going to work my way through your other vids. Thanks for sharing.

Edit. Back again. That hammock idea is just BRILLIANT!! Very well done!

 

[Dreadhead]

nice system, had a flick through your vids and got to say i love your hammock! very nice design

 

[Captaincrash]

Great little tool! I love the lantern on your YouTube as well!!

 

[cbr6fs]

Great vid, but i do not like the use of sand paper for sharpening.

The reason i do not use sand paper (wet-n-dry) is that it leaves an extremely rough edge, due to particles coming away from the paper.
With a whetstone you have a lot less material coming off it and any material is more like the consistency of paste than the grit feel that sand paper gives.

Sand paper is ok for general shaping, but for sharpening it's a very poor choice in my experience.
If at a push i may use it for sharpening my cheaper knives, but for my more expensive knives i'd sooner leave them blunt till i can get to a whetstone to be honest.


I do like your system of tensioning the sand paper though, very innovative and simple.

 

[Skaukraft]

First you sharpen, then you hone, then you polish. This system, as shown on the video works well for sharpening, although I would brefer a bit wider base for the paper.
You can get paper down to 4000 grit. Work your way from 250 grit to 2500 or 4000, then you polish with the leather strapp. Theres your complete low budget system, that will work for most people.

 

[Hoodoo]

Great vid, but i do not like the use of sand paper for sharpening.

The reason i do not use sand paper (wet-n-dry) is that it leaves an extremely rough edge, due to particles coming away from the paper.
With a whetstone you have a lot less material coming off it and any material is more like the consistency of paste than the grit feel that sand paper gives.

Sand paper is ok for general shaping, but for sharpening it's a very poor choice in my experience.
If at a push i may use it for sharpening my cheaper knives, but for my more expensive knives i'd sooner leave them blunt till i can get to a whetstone to be honest.


I do like your system of tensioning the sand paper though, very innovative and simple.

Can't agree with that. I use sandpaper for 95% of my sharpening and it produces as fine of an edge as you can get imo, especially if you use films for finishing (the scary sharp method). I use 2000 grit as my final finish, then strop, then buff, and I doubt you will find a knife much sharper than my woodcarving knives, chisels, and gouges. The only difference between how I sharpen and the video is that I don't push the edge forward, I drag it backwards.

 

[swissgearlabs]

Can't agree with that. I use sandpaper for 95% of my sharpening and it produces as fine of an edge as you can get imo, especially if you use films for finishing (the scary sharp method). I use 2000 grit as my final finish, then strop, then buff, and I doubt you will find a knife much sharper than my woodcarving knives, chisels, and gouges. The only difference between how I sharpen and the video is that I don't push the edge forward, I drag it backwards.

same here, finest grit is 2000 -2500 (depends what I can find). it is paper that mold-makers use to polish surfaces and it works very fine. i might make a video on the perfect mirror like surface you can get and hence very nice edges.

with regard to pushing or draging: i prefer pushing because I feel better if the knife's at the right angle. I might be able to get even better results by draging??

 

[swissgearlabs]

First you sharpen, then you hone, then you polish. This system, as shown on the video works well for sharpening, although I would brefer a bit wider base for the paper.
You can get paper down to 4000 grit. Work your way from 250 grit to 2500 or 4000, then you polish with the leather strapp. Theres your complete low budget system, that will work for most people.

yup, the finest grit i used so far is 2500... -> mirror like surfaces

 

[swissgearlabs]

Great vid, but i do not like the use of sand paper for sharpening.

The reason i do not use sand paper (wet-n-dry) is that it leaves an extremely rough edge, due to particles coming away from the paper.
With a whetstone you have a lot less material coming off it and any material is more like the consistency of paste than the grit feel that sand paper gives.

Sand paper is ok for general shaping, but for sharpening it's a very poor choice in my experience.
If at a push i may use it for sharpening my cheaper knives, but for my more expensive knives i'd sooner leave them blunt till i can get to a whetstone to be honest.


I do like your system of tensioning the sand paper though, very innovative and simple.

I find going down to grits as low as 2500 in my case (others go as fine as 4000) I get very nice results. I should make an video on the actual process and all papers involved (including the stropping)

 

[Peteo]

Looks good!
Thanks for sharing

 

[cbr6fs]

Can't agree with that. I use sandpaper for 95% of my sharpening and it produces as fine of an edge as you can get imo, especially if you use films for finishing (the scary sharp method). I use 2000 grit as my final finish, then strop, then buff, and I doubt you will find a knife much sharper than my woodcarving knives, chisels, and gouges. The only difference between how I sharpen and the video is that I don't push the edge forward, I drag it backwards.

Each to their own, as i say if it was something like a Mora then i wouldn't care.
There is absolutely no way i would subject my Stu Mitchell or more expensive knives to that treatment though, it just removed to much of the blade each time.

A decent set of whetstones will last you pretty much a lifetime, i still believe if you use knives a lot they're a good investment.