I mostly use a whet stone. I have a large industrial version for when I'm at home and a small, portable version for camping/backpacking. That's all I really use. One of my chums has one of those high tech diamond sharpeners that he loves, but to me half the joy is sitting in the sun, touching up your knife. Listening to the hum of it go over the blade is something special to me.

 

I use a waterstone by norton for my blades I do not use oil or sharpening steels

yes if you can deffinetly carry some oil based product to prevent corrosion on your blades I use long lived oils like coconut lard and the like on my blades as I eat with them so I do not use like motor oil

the grid does not effect my choices and high carbon has been used since time immemorial and in less than ideal situations and it worked stainless while better at resisting rust does not hold the edge high carbon does and in extreme cold becomes much more brittle than high carbon as well

i would not use knife on knife my knives have a scandi grind so there is one bevel and sharpening is easy just put blade flat on stone and go touch ups are faster too

 

Something like the DMT FWFC Double Sided Diafold Sharpener Fine / Coarse might do? I could also get the DMT FWEEE Double Sided Diafold Sharpener Extra Extra Fine/Extra Fine if the first one doesn't quite get the blade where I want it to be. Can anyone comment on if a sharpener this shape would be effective on Kukri blade? That curve in the blade looks like it could be a pain.

Thanks,
Sam

 

Wow I am such a hack.I have an eze lap blue sharpener and some sentry cloth.

 

Why does that make you a hack? Those are exactly the type of recommendations I am looking for. When you say "blue" are you talking about the super fine hone in

Thanks for the suggestion, the tuf-cloth looks especially good.

 

I keep a Redi-Edge carbide blade pocket sharpener on my key chain. It and an 8" file or 4-in-1 rasp/file are what I use in the field to keep my edeged items sharp.

The only think I can't put a good edge on is seratted blades and i intend to replace the Redi-Edge I have to a similair one with a tapered carbide rod to handle the two knives that I have that have seratted blades.

The file takes care of the tomahawk, hatchet, axe, e-tool, and machete

The Redi-Edge gets the Oda, OKC-3S bayonet, and various pocket knives, sheath knives, SAKs, Multi-tools

 

Sharpener selection will be a very personal choice. I recommend purchasing several different styles to discover what works for you. I like diamond stones and typically do not use oil or water when sharpening. I also always have a thick leather belt either in my pack or on that I use as a strop.

As for maintaining the blades, I use the same cleaner/preserving oil on all of them: Ballistol. I have a 6 oz. unpressurized version of Ballistol that I store in a special sealed container in my load out. I also use Ballistol to maintain any wood products I carry as well as my firearms. It is my favorite cleaning, restoration, and maintenance product.

 

I’ve found when deployed, I can sharpen just about any blade with these:

DMT makes some great, lightweight “Duo-Fold” sharpeners and the coarsest ones will easily handle an axe or be able to re-profile a blade if damaged. I really like the inexpensive GATCO/Triceps sharpener and it will work on recurve blades and serrations.

The Fallkniven DC4 is just a part of my sheath system and the pack strop (pre-loaded) will help maintain sharpened edges.

ROCK6

 

Those DMT's are the exact same thing I was considering. I think I might also the magnetic aligner for my kitchen knives. I was also taking a look at this little guy:

I think it might have too large a diameter for most serrations, but it might be able to help with the curve of Kukri.

Is the GATCO shown in picture? What are the tree things in the middle?

Thanks for the picture and suggestions! I think I might be on the right path.

Sam

 

Just make sure you know how to use it. I can't count the number of people who I have seen just grind their blades down... Never really sharpening the edge... But they THINK they are sharpening their blade just because they are using a sharpening tool. Sharpening is a skill. It used to be such a valued craft a person could make their entire living just coming to your house sharpening your scissors, knives and razor. It is a skill that needs to be learned. And if you already know how to do it... Please pass that knowledge on. I haven't met one kid yet who knew how to sharpen a knife until I showed them... But that didn't mean they didn't have 10 knives. Go figure.

The guy who taught me how to sharpen blades taught me one of the single most valuable prepping skills I know. I'm thankful to him to this day. He told me he learned it from his grandmother.

 

The guy who taught me how to sharpen blades taught me one of the single most valuable prepping skills I know. I'm thankful to him to this day. He told me he learned it from his grandmother.

Any tips, or resources you mind passing along?

Thanks,
Sam

 

Like almost anything else,sharpening can get as complicated as you make it.
I just use a ceramic stick & a leather strop for all my knives at home & use a DC4 & a strop if & when I need to field sharpen.

I've used the DMT folding sharpeners in the past & they work well too.

Cliff

 

That is good advice. I think I might be making this too complicated.

The Kukri I am looking at has a convex grind which apparently is tough to repair/grind with a stone (even on a straight edged blade). It seems like a lot of videos show the sandpaper+mousepad method which looks like it works well. I was hoping for something more durable than sandpaper but maybe I can't have the best of both worlds. I could either re-grind the kukri to a simple "V" or carry several grits of sandpaper rolled up in a piece of PVC.

It looks like a convex edge has a lot of benefits so re-grinding the edge seems like a bad idea.

:xeye: 75% of the time I always over-think things.

 

I wouldn't regrind a convex edge either .
They're about the easiest to keep sharp.

Anyway....I can't stand using a knife/axe that isn't properly sharpened,so I guess that's why I don't like to make sharpening too complicated.
I just use some basic sharpening tools on everything.

Cliff

 

you probably have a candle in any survival kit you have. Use it to keep your blades in good condition and it helps to make the blade cut better. Rub the candle on the blade and burnish it over the whole surface. It seems not much sticks to steel like wax.

 

your set up is nice, your already ahead of the game with the hatchet,just a friendly suggestion,get a folding saw of some sort, bahco for 17-30 bucks, they dont need sharpening and is often the best tool for the job
other than that ,i`ve nothing to add to all the great suggestions already given

 

For most of us we should append the OPs question into two scenarios.

Blade maintenance while the bag is not in use, as most of us don't use our BOBs daily.

I take my edged tools out and inspect them occasionally. I have mostly carbon steel. Oiling previously was with light machine oil. But Thanks to FarmerJohn, I think I will be changing to coconut lard. Sharpening is done with a big commercial sharpening stone set I have. But there's no way I could carry it in a backpack.

I clean the blades with a bit of fine steel wool and oil. I don't try to clean them perfectly I am working toward a oily patina that should reduce rust to nil.


And

Post SHTF blade maintenance. (Or while the bag is in use)
A knife used daily will probably not get rusty. Carry a small container of oil just in case.
For sharpening I carry a pair of thin diamond sharpeners, medium and fine. Thinking of adding a little diamond rod. I carry a file to sharpen my kukri.

 

Thank you Bill, you put that much better than I did. I want to make sure that I have the appropriate tools to re-profile an edge if my blade gets damaged or extremely dull. It doesn't need to be shaving sharp (although that would be neat) as long as it gets the job done to the point where using my blade doesn't expend too many extra precious calories whacking at stuff.

A file? Wow that is aggressive. How rough of a file do you use? Is it a multi-step process or do you just use the file? Ok, last question in this post I promise. Do you a file much more efficient than a diamond rod?

Thanks again for breaking it down. It is like you were reading my concerns about my BOB.

Sam

 

Sorry that censorship gods smote my first post. This is the steel I was referring to:
F. **** 2000 steel

Well, I ordered Condor Heavy Kukri and Condor Parang. Both have convex edges. Based on the posts here I ... well actually I am still confused how to get a convex edge with a diamond stone or rod unless you roll the blade as you sharpen.

At the very least I will need a strop to realign the edges. I am still torn between a couple of DMT diafolds and a DC4, I may just flip a coin and later on purchase the other because you can never have too much sharpening gear right? The Gatco Tri-Seps looks like a nice cheap tool to pick up too (<$10 with free shipping) and it can even handle serrated blades.


Here is a question that has been bugging me for a while now: When does a steel stop being a steel and become a sharpener? Ceramic rods are a perfect example. Are they a steel for realigning the blade? A sharpener because they have fine grit? Both? If a diamond steel rod had very coarse grit I would assume it would be called a sharpener and not be used to realign a blade at all. Is there a cutoff where this is true?

Cliff: Why do you leave your ceramic rod at home? Is it because of the weight, size, ceramic is fragile, or some combination thereof?

Thanks all for the tips, I will probably get some combination of the above gear and maybe some sandpaper to attempt that method as well.

spundj: This is the saw I was looking at (has excellent reviews and is cheap):
21" Sven Saw

 

Cliff: Why do you leave your ceramic rod at home? Is it because of the weight, size, ceramic is fragile, or some combination thereof?

Because the DC4 has a diamond plate on one side & a ceramic surface on the other side.
Simple as that .

Cliff

 

Man, ya'll sure do go fancy with it. I use a mill file and a small sandstone, then the backside of my leather belt. I have also used a ceramic cup flipped upside down, and can get shaving sharp if I want to from it all.

 

I keep a Puck two sided, DMT, Trisharp, and a small square of leather to Hone. a small oil soaked cloth in a small container will be just as good as carrying a bottle of oil, it will take you a little longer; just as long as its not too soaked.