Which honing stone to get for my sharp tools?

[malente]

Here is one for the knife experts.

I own these sharp tools:

• Fällkniven A1 (link)

• Gerber Gator Serrater - Serrated Edge, Clip Point (link)

• Victorinox Swiss Army Knife Huntsman 1.3713 (link)

• A really cheap stainless steel knife (Globetrotter.de own brand, similar to their Elch Hunter), which I intend to use for practicing woodcraft and sharpening/ honing. This knife has a concave edge.

• I plan to buy an axe/ hatchet eventually (maybe in the course of this year)

• I am not sure whether I need a folding saw at all???

Now my confession:

I have never used a honing stone before.

The reason is that I do not (yet) really use them that often (I never use the A1 as I have no way of sharpening it… yet, and also because it is too valuable to ‘destroy’ by careless use).

I do mostly ‘modern-style’ trekking and rock-climbing. In those disciplines the use of sharp tools is very rare (as you all know). There, you simply can do without. Therefore I really never had the urgent need to sharpen my knifes…

Now I want to develop my bushcraft skills to be closer to nature, especially while trekking (big trip planned next May in Canada).

To cut a long story short, I need something to sharpen my tools. But what?

Are the diamond/ceramic whetstone of Fällkniven (DC3 or DC4) any good? Would that be the right choice for the knives I have?.

Many thanks for all your advice! :You_Rock_


Cheers
Mike

 

[Squidders]

Well, I would have a problem sharpening all of those with a DC3 or 4... added to that, the DC's can, from softer steels, remove a lot of material.

the serrated one and the non scandi (flat or whatever you call it) grints also will need a constant angle to make them "nice" - I would consider a lansky kit.

I'm no expert though, that's why I got all my knives the same grind that I can sharpen easily

 

[Dave Barker]

Spyderco sharpmaker every tme my friend.

does PE Se and combi edges. have a look on ebay and you can get em cheap.

i never had such sharp knives before!

 

[jasons]

gransfors puck is a top bit of kit

 

[dchinell]

I'll second the Spyderco SharpMaker for traditional double-bevel sharpening. I think it will handle serrated edges as well, but have not personally used it for that.

It won't do a convex edge, though.

For that I'd recommend you research and experiment with abrasive paper on a mouse pad. You can make a simple rig with 1/4-inch thick, pre-cut boards, epoxy and an old mouse pad, and a couple of binder clips. You can make your rig any size -- long and wide for home use, short and narrow for field use.

You may have to choose between these in the end. You can't (easily) switch back and forth between putting a planar bevel and a convex bevel on a knife. And you don't want to carry both rigs into the field.

If I had to choose just one method, I'd go with the wet/dry paper and mouse pad for everything. It's most portable.

Even if you decide to stick with the SharpMaker, you're going to find it too big to take into the field. However, you might be satisfied to put on a good edge at base camp, and carry only a small ceramic hone to touch up the edge in the field.

When it comes to such hones, I have the best luck with rods rather than flats. It seems to remove one problem with keeping the edge flat on the stone if you use a rod.

Bear

 

[leon-1]

Well, I would have a problem sharpening all of those with a DC3 or 4... added to that, the DC's can, from softer steels, remove a lot of material.

the serrated one and the non scandi (flat or whatever you call it) grints also will need a constant angle to make them "nice" - I would consider a lansky kit.

If you are going to buy a kit go for the Lansky, they are very good. DC3's and 4's do work, but anything serrated is a complete no no. As Squidders mentioned the diamond part of the combination stone can be very aggressive, the ceramic part of them is the fine stone, but it is about as fine as the medium grit on my spyderco combination stone.

Generally you could get away with a piece of wet 'n' dry glued to either a piece of board or a mouse mat if you have a convexed edge. Once you have a good edge you should be able to maintain it using a strop iether loaded or unloaded with compound of some form.

 

[TheGreenMan]

Let me say first, Mike, that I’m far from an expert. But even with my limited experience I can answer some of your concerns.

First off, there is very little one can do to a blade when sharpening, that can’t be undone. Don’t worry about wrecking a blade with sharpening stones, one can only wreck a blade with power tools.

A Fällkniven DC3 or DC4 Whetstone will sharpen the A1, the Victorinox, the cheapo (assuming the steel is of reasonable quality), and the axe to ‘shaving sharp’. I know, because I have several Fällknivens, Moras, blades in 01 tool steel, and axes (and I did have a Victorinox).

And it’s a common misconception that a convex grind (such as that on a Fällkniven) or a Moran grind (such as that of a full height convex grind), is a difficult grind to sharpen with a stone. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The usual mistake to make is to think that to sharpen a knife you need to remove metal. All one needs to do to sharpen most knives after normal use (meaning you haven’t chipped the edge during use) is to polish the edge with the ceramic side of the DC3/4. The diamond side of the Whetstone will remove metal very efficiently (particularly when new), and doesn’t need to be used unless one needs to remove a chip in the blade, or to finesse the grind on a badly ground new knife.

I just bought my first Japanese Waterstone the other day, and the ceramic side of the DC4 will polish the edges of my blades better than the 6000G Waterstone. This was something of a surprise.

The Fällkniven diamond/ceramic Whetstone needs no water (some Whetstones do) or oil, and it’s very small in size, you learn skills to use it and when you have them you don’t really need to buy anything else to sharpen your blades, no expensive ‘sharpening systems’, no constantly using up sheets of abrasive paper and all of that.

I’m only buying items like a strop (another way of returning a blade in use to ‘shaving sharp’ very easily, and you won’t be able to wreck the grind with a strip of leather that’s for sure!) and Waterstones in order to push my learning and understanding of grinds and blades to another level (I am a beginner) – all good fun!

Can’t help you with serrated blades, as I never use one, and don’t like them (not suited to my purposes).

And a folding saw is very useful if you have to prepare firewood in the dark, you really don’t want to be swinging an axe in the dark if you can help it. That’s a disaster waiting to happen.

Biggest thing you can do to help you learn about what is happening to a blade at the cutting edge is to buy a loupe, and look.

Hope this helps

Best regards,

 

[michiel]

For the Fallkniven: search with the term Hoodoo hone.
The rest: Sharpmaker is a good piece of kit. I've got all convex edges on my knives exept my scandis. I keep them sharp with japanese waterstones. A 300/1000 combo and a 6000 stone does it for me.

Michiel

 

[copper_head]

Ive had one of these stones for six years, cost a bit to ship it but its not massively expensive. i also have a spyderco tri-angle sharpmaker and a fallkniven DC3. None of them perform as well. Great bit of kit altho the stones two of the stones came off the wooden block (after excessive abuse ) but nothing 'no more nails' couldnt fix.

 

[jasons]

If I want to give my knife touch up i use my belt works for me

 

[TheGreenMan]

Ive had one of these stones for six years...

Thanks for the 'memory jog', CH. Must add this to the shopping list (for research purposes ).

Best regards,
Paul.

 

[mrostov]

I've tried about every piece of sharpening gear under the sun and the two I've always fallen back upon, especially because they were portable, were the 1"x3" EZE-Lap diamond pocket hone and the 1"x2.75" DMT diamond mini-hone. I like to finish the sharpening off, when I can, with a leather strop.

If the knife needs an initial edge or you want to reprofile the edge, various grits of automotive wet/dry sandpaper laid upon an old mousepad with some water up the sandpaper works good. Once you progress past 400 grit, them move to the diamond hone and then the leather strop. This method also works very well for the final finish work when reprofiling a hatchet or an axe head.

 

[fred gordon]

gransfors puck is a top bit of kit

I have one of these and take it everywhere. At home I use a combination Japanese waterstone from Axminster.

 

[addyb]

I do mostly ‘modern-style’ trekking and rock-climbing. In those disciplines the use of sharp tools is very rare (as you all know). There, you simply can do without.

You know, it's funny that you would mention that, Mike. I came from the same background. No prior knowledge of bushcraft, only carried an SAK with me to open cans for food when out climbing or slicing through the occasional rope or piece of twine. Wore all synthetic clothing, didn't bother with lighting fires for warmth as I always had a bivvy bag or a tent.

Eight hundred and some odd posts later, here I am. You see, I didn't know the first thing about sharpening knives either. So I started practicing. A lot. I guess I probably ruined about five knives learning how to freehand sharpen. Now I can comfortably say that I can get almost any knife out there "scary sharp" in a very short time.

I know I'm rambling but I'll say a few things to you:

1) Try Arkansas stones. They're a sight cheaper that Japanese waterstones and work extremely well.

2) Try and find a copy of "The Razors Edge Book of Sharpening" by John Juranitch.

3) Dry hone your knives. Forget about oil or water.

4) Buy a Mora knife.

5) PRACTICE. Don't be afraid to ruin a cheap knife if it furthers your knowledge.

Good look and happy honing!

Adam

PS: Also, have a look at the stickied post near the top of this forum entitled "Five Pound Sharpening Kit." And then go ahead and shave with your knife.

 

[Andy]

I find it really fiddly to sharpen with small stones and my pocket oil stone is larger then the DC stone I saw at a meet (may have been the smaller of the two but still

The spyderco sharpmaker will sharpen them all if you have a flat surface horizontal surface (though I find the longer rods of a sharpmaker far far easier to use then fiddle small stones. if you use wet&dry with the A1 I find a couple of strokes on a sharpmaker at the end makes sure I have a good sharp edge

 

[Hoodoo]

How about a Viking stone from Ragweed Forge?

 

[malente]

Hi all!

wow, thank you very much for the mass of information! :You_Rock_

Now I have some thinking to do. I will post another (more detailed) reply to this thread when i have made up my mind. Feel free to add more advise


Hoodoo the knife & honing stones look gorgeous btw!!!

Thanks again

Cheers
Mike

 

[TheGreenMan]

How about a Viking stone from Ragweed Forge? ...

Had my eye on those for a long while. Just how effective is the jasper, Hoodoo?

Best regards,
Paul.

 

[ArkAngel]

I would agree with whats been said with regards to not regarding sharpening as the "must do" part of knife mantainence.

My 'normal use' knives are a mora, WS woodie, Victorinox multitool and a Victorinox that lives on my keyring (waiter i think, it's nice and light)

I use a Lansky set for the pocket knives and waterstones for the fixed blades, that said i have probably only ever sharpened them all 3 times using the stones. Normally even after heavy use a strop and a quick, light drag down a ceramic rod is enough to return them the shaving sharp.

Whatever you decide on for portable sharpening, i would include a strop. A quick strop at the end of the day and you will be surprised at how long your knives stay sharp.

 

[TheGreenMan]

I...I use a Lansky set for the pocket knives and waterstones for the fixed blades, that said i have probably only ever sharpened them all 3 times using the stones. Normally even after heavy use a strop and a quick, light drag down a ceramic rod is enough to return them the shaving sharp....

Any small folding blades I have, I just convex them. Polishing the convexed edge is just so much easier (I'm trying to avoid buying a 'sharpening system' just for small secondary bevels - I tend to be 'old school' in these matters ).

...Whatever you decide on for portable sharpening, i would include a strop. A quick strop at the end of the day and you will be surprised at how long your knives stay sharp...

I had a leather strop delivered last week, and I'm amazed at how effective it is.

And a 12000 Waterstone was delivered this morning. Haven't tried it yet, but I'm looking forward to seeing how it performs at polishing in comparison to the ceramic of the DC4 (the finish on the edge after using the newly acquired 6000 stone, on a VG-10 blade, was very disappointing).

EDIT: Meant to ask you, what is the principle at work with 'steeling' the edge after honing?

Best regards,
Paul.