OK folks how do you keep that knife sharp? I have many knives I use and am a firm believer in keeping them sharp. If your knife is dull you may as not even bringing it along. My best blade will come from a sand stone. I have to put them in water for a hour then it will take 45 minutes and two stones to get a knife sharp enough to shave with. This being a fact I allways am looking for a pocket sharpener that will keep a fine blade on my knifes. What have you folks found that works good. For me the best I have found to date is the " Speedy Sharp" About half a carpenters pencil in size. It comes with a carbon edge and about three stroks per side keeps the blade real sharp. Do youfolks have any real good ones you use???

I suggest you try to find a pocket set of ceramic cross sticks made by Buck. They are about five inches long and come apart to fit in their own stand. If you start with a good edge it only takes minutes for shaving sharp edge. It won't work at all if you don't have a good edge to start with! It cost me maybe $15.00 and it is the only sharpening method I take hunting or fishing now at all. Dressing big game is easy. I work for several minutes, wipe the goo off, take a few lapps and go back to work. I have never found anything better. Good luck!
JTD

Kalamabama,

There's two tricks to keepin' a knife sharp. The first is the quality of the steel.
The second is to keep the blade at the same angle against the stone while you are sharpening. NO EASY TASK ! The reason being , if the bevel is rounded from the body of the blade to the cutting edge , it won't stay sharp. Ceramic's are fine for a touch-up in the field , but it's the edge you spend time on when ya can't fish that makes the difference. One other thought , if you lay a bevel at 15 degrees , the knife will be VERY sharp for a short time. If your bevel is 30 to 35 degrees , it won't loose it's edge as quickly , thus you won't be sharpening as often to finish the job at hand.

I use the chefs choice electric sharpener. Kinda spendy, but the diamond honed blades are very sharp. You can use a sandstone for honing after, but I find that unless you are very good, you just dull the blade rather than make it better. Not for on the river, but if you take it out sharp, you rarely need to re-sharpen during the day.

My dad is a wood carver and he can sharpen a knife so sharp I cut myself just testing it. So it is easy I just give him all the dull ones and get back sharp ones

K B Thats funny my Dad is a wood carver also. So as a kid I spent many hours behind a stone. I still think its the best way to put a edge on your blade. Just not the fastest.

I use the chef's choice 120 model also.I suck
at sharpening knives,so I spent the $120.00 bucks for the most kick butt sharpener I've
every seen or used.I sharpen all ten then resharpen as needed after fishin trips.Useually the edge on the knives will last three or four trips,depending on harvest
rates.Good luck,
STRIKE ZONE

I always use a diamond hone on all my knives. You can get them in a large/small size. I like the ones that are oval shaped. Awesome for the pack too. A couple of strokes and your in the money. I always throw a couple of swipes at 'em every time I use them so they stay "frosty"

i put my dull knives in a box with all the other dull ones and go buy a sharp one....

Send em to me dog

I have one of those sharpeners that clamp the knife in so the angle stays the same. Has 4 choices for angles. Gets everything razor sharp.Works great, do all my knives and the kitchen knives at the station. now if I can just get the guys at the station to quit putting them in the dishwasher and take care of them.

I've got one of those plastic orange-handled sharpeners with two V-shaped sets of steels in it... it's got a coarse one and a fine one, and I forget the name of it... it's the best sharpener I've had yet. I first saw it at the Vancouver boat show, the lady at the booth had an additional one that was a super fine butcher steel grade, still the same design, two steels in a V shape. She sharpened my Swiss Army pocket knife, and it was SHARP. You brace it against your counter and sharpen that way. It's quick and works well, and angle stays the same every stroke. I should have bought it in Vancouver, because they are more money down here, and don't come with the butcher steel, but I found one at Swain's in Port Angeles for like $12.99


I've also got a couple of those plastic pocket sharpeners that have two different coarsnesses of ceramic in V-shapes in them (buy the silver ones that have two V's, the red ones only have one) These are a great compliment to the other sharpener and work great on touching up already-sharp blades. I keep one on my boat, since it doesn't rust from the salt water.

-N.

I use a Lansky sharpener...it clamps to the back of the blade and makes the stones hone at the same angle on both sides. Very good for setting the angle of the edge, especially if the blade is really dull. Then I finish up with a hard Arkansas oilstone, then a leather strap and jewelers' rouge for a really razor sharp edge. I like my knives so sharp you can get cut just lookin' at 'em.
Greg

Well thanks for all the info guys. Dogsalmon send me your knifes. I will return 1/2 sharp. Have any of you guys tryed the new knifes with ceramic blades. I hear they hold a edge real long. Don't know how you would sharpen one???

i have a boker ceramic, it was kinda spendy but is still sharp after 2 years and alot of fish and one 2 point.

For over 30 years now, I have heard about every way in the world to sharpen knifes! Lots them work well. But when I read this BB, I understand what most of you don't understand.

Most knifes DO-NOT need to be re-sharpened every time they feel dull! The problem lies at the "cutting edged" Knifes stay sharp for much longer then you think. The problem is that most people do not understand what a "steel" really is, or what it does. Steel's are a tool that is use religiously used by most all butchers. A "Steel" does not sharpen a knife, but it does "straighten" out the cutting edge. This is key to keeping your knife razor sharp! A "steel" will only keep the 'cutting edge" on your Knife. Use your steel just like you use a ceramic. I personally like to run my knife on the steel first, then run it a couple of times on my "ceramic" and then run it one or 2 times more times on each side of my steel. You will find that your knifes will last you at least 5 times longer than you were using you wet stones. Remember this, your wet stones will put the cutting edge onto your knife. But remember this even more…the steel will always bring back your cutting edge, long before you need to use your wet stone again!


Cowlitzfisherman,

It the taste of the bait worth the sting of the hook????

My father makes knives and I like the demascus(sp) for meat..It has kind of a suraded edge and seams to cut meat better and stay sharp longer.As far as shapening them I use a stone to get them as sharp as I possibly can by hand then I use a buffing stone and compound on my grinder to finish them off...TM

Cowlitzfisherman hit it on the head. sounded like a ex-meat cutter,,, if you have access to high pressure sodium bulbs,, inside is a cermic element about five inches long.. great little item for straighten the edge.
bear in mind as you steel the knife its lifting the rolled edge back up. with time the edge will break off thats when the stone will come back in to play... after steeling the blade lightly drag it over your finger nail. a straight edge will drag or pull a broken or dull will glide easly.

Hey crayfin!

Bought an oval diamond sharpening steel today and tried it out on my rather dull pocket knife in my desk. Amazing!! Thanks for the tip.

Right on Fella!! I think they're great!! May it provide years of service!!

Crayfin