Need some advice from the knife makers

I'm not making knives, just need help sharpening my hunting knifes. Over the years I have had many variations of knife sharpeners. I would like to know what you think is the best way to maintain, or touch up and edge, after or before use. Pictures or names of sharpeners would be great.

I know how sharp your custom made knives must be. Just looking for a handy sharpener that wont break the bank. Don't like using knife that isn't sharp.


Thanks in advance.

Think the key is to have a sharp knife when you go in the woods, if it is of any quality it's not going to need sharpening in the field, if it does you need to get a better knife. In Alaska where we would be in the field for days and may have to slice and dice multiple critters before getting back to camp we carried the simple pocket diamond stones, lite weight, cheap, handy and they work. A simple sharpening steel would work well also for touch up, while it doesn't sharpen it will realign the cutting edge should you roll it on a bone or blunt surface.
That's my 2 cents worth, maybe others have more ideas, Hope that helps.

John I.

My simple answer is to use a knife steel ,then hit it on my strop block

A dull knife is just a crummy screwdriver with a poorly shaped handle!

As John inferred, a quality knife doesn't dull up that easily and should last several hard-use days before needing a serious touchup. A simple light stroke or two on a hard whachita stone or fine steel should keep things cutting just fine.
Mostly "sharp" is directly related to with how the steel was thermal cycled (heat-treated) and overall edge geometry.
If these aren't right for the style of blade, she'll never work satisfactorily for long and will wind up in drawer.

Little "Swamp Forrester" humor to lighten things up.....
Woman or Dog? (an age old question).
Easy to decide, put both of them in the trunk of your car. Come back in a couple of hours and see which one is glad to see you when you pop the lid........goes without saying.

I also have become fond of a sharpening steel for touch up. As John mentioned, all you're doing is realigning the edge.

For sharpening I use my grinder with fresh belts and low speeds. You can then strop by hand but I still prefer the paper wheel mounted on a bench grinder. You can either take it to a highly polished edge or leave some micro serrations or "toothiness" which is better for cutting meat in my opinion.

Harbor freight sells a cheap 1x30 belt sander and combined with better belts from 220 grit and finer you will have a versatile tool. I still use mine. I've also found belt sanders/grinders are the fastest way for me to re sharpen machetes and hatchets.

I know one custom maker on here takes his burrs off with a Warthog sharpener and it works well. Lansky also works but feels slow to me.

Last word, be really careful. I had no intentions of making knives until a member here invited me for a sharpening lesson. Next thing you know I've spent a lot of time and money!

Edge pro apex
Wicked edge
Paper wheels
Ken onion worksharp

The edge pro and the wicked edge systems are both great, but they are on the pricey side.
A lot of people swear by paper wheels, but with those and the worksharp you will need to be careful not to overheat the edge.

A good set of crock sticks works pretty good also

I don`t ever let any of mine get dull. It`s easier to keep a knife sharp than to have to resharpen it. A touch up with a porcelain or ceramic rod will keep a sharp edge tetched up. The top of a side window in your truck will also work. For the knives in the kitchen I keep a butchers steel.

"The top of a side window in your truck will also work."
Love it Nic! Forgot we used to do that back when I was a kid. Grandpap used to "techup" his old Case Toenail that way while I let the dogs out the back of his old Studybaker for a bunny chase.
He also used to hone his used double-edged Gilletts in a Flash Gordon & Dale Arden juice glass (complements of the oatmill box way back when). Always said that Dale could put an edge on anything....heh, heh, heh. Grands would smack him if she heard him.
Dale was The One (for me) until the Micky Mouse Club came along and I got a look at Annette.........Man, growing up was great back then. Didn't need no stinkin' color TV. Imagination was always better.

Thanks for all the input on sharpening. I already have many of the types of sharpeners mentioned. And have even done the "edge o' window trick" on my broadheads after seeing a fellow in a video do it.


This particular knife is a Gerber folder I've had for about a dozen years or so. Not a high dollar knife but a reliable one for the price. I only use it to field dress deer or turkey. I try and respect the blade, not using it for any purpose that would damage the edge. I always touch up the blade before heading out, and after using it to dress a deer or bird.

I guess I need to work a little harder at getting it back to razor sharpness before this weekends walk with the muzzleloader pistol. More effort, and more patience may be in order.

This fat old doe was having a bad day last week for sure! My brother rolled her with his ought six, then she got up and ran my way. Mr 7 mag ended her misery, then she fell victim to the semi-sharp knife.

I carry a Lansky dog bone. It is a ceramic round rod with a rubber guard on each end just in case you were to slip. I also break mine in half and only carry a 2" piece of it in my pocket. After it is halved I put the safety rubber tips back I place. Most of my sheaths are one piece of leather. So the fold over on the back side that connects to the belt I leave fairly rough like a strap. Unless your chopping through elk legs the rough side of the sheath will get you through many animals without any real sharpening. The "strap" side of the sheath just realignes the fine cutting edge which takes it back to a shaving edge. This year I have cleaned a big fat butterball doe and 3 hogs with my carry knife and have used nothing but the back of my sheath to touch up the edge.

Just curious Dave, why would a "primitive" hunter carry a store bought knife?
Front-end stuffing is what got me into making knives back when I was 15 or so. Got way involved in the Senaca Run competitions. Guess I'm the kind of guy that has to make it all - guns, pistols, knives, axes, and leathers. Just couldn't be any other way for me.

Used to carry Case (granddad's influence), but was disappointed when they jumped the fence to SS and their quality went down. Gerber's and many other mfgr's quality went down hill as well, or my expectations went up (probably both). Just can't stand a blade going dull on me while I'm dressing a deer or slicing 'maters.

If you get the chance, try a well made custom blade and work it hard. The obvious difference will amaze you. Most of us custom makers are more concerned with performance and customer satisfaction than any other aspect. Everything else is just bling. Just the way we're built.

I use a ceramic fuse that a friend of mine gave me years ago. He worked for the local phone company and these fuses were used by the phone company at one time. It works great to return a slightly dull blade back to razor sharp in short order. I can usually skin out two deer before my knife needs sharpening though. While I own a number of fixed blade knives I still use my old Henckel and Henckel pocket knife for all my skinning.
Jack

I too have the build it yourself bug, but there's only so many things a guy can dive into. I may not always comment on the great looking knives you guys post on the forum, but I am looking at all of them. Amazing workmanship, and I can see the effort and quality put in to each build.

My daughter just finished four years of college this past spring, now my son starts college this coming spring. Needless to say, the "Me list" gets folded up and put on hold, until my son gets done with college.

In the future I will order a custom knife from one of you, but which knife maker???? I don't think I could make a wrong choice going with any of the knife artisans on this forum!

Well, I guess I never asked about price of knives either. What would a basic fixed blade knife and sheath cost for my deer hunting problem???? If any of the knife craftsmen would send me a PM with a price, I might start stashing away some money for it. Just a ball park price would do. Just interested in good steel, not looking for a lot of flash to impress my hunting partners, just a dependable, sharp, knife.