Yesterday I was repacking some of my kit for the millionth time and I found a Kuny's multi pocket organizer ( They make tool belts and aprons if you're not familar) that I'd stopped using on a regular basis because it was a bit bulky and I could never seem to find the right mix of stuff to put in it.

Once I realized my GPS fit pretty well into the cell phone pocket, everything naturally fell into place followed by my Gerber Diesel multipliers, Maglight, etc. I put my Smith's diamond stick sharpener into one of the pen holders and it fit perfectly but now I have another pen slot and I'd love to put another, finer, sharpener there to match the fairly coarse grit of the Smith's.

Ideallly I'd love to have something similar to the Smith's in style but with a fine ceramic rod. Anybody know if such a thing exists? A pen sized ceramic rod sharpener? It doesn't have to be fancy (fish hook grooves, serration grooves, flat/triangle profile, a handle isn't even technically required)

Combined with the carbide pull through in my Gerber LMF II sheath, that should cover any field sharpening needs and then some.

I just noticed that the 'stick' part of the Lansky Crock Stick and Mini Crock sharpeners are available as replacement parts without the ends for just a few bucks.

Anybody know what the grit is on these ceramic rods?

I've never found anything I really like. One of my thoughts was to start with the Gatco Micro-X Pocket Sharpener:



which is $8.99 from Campmor.com. It has a pair of fine and medium grit sticks, which is nice, but it has a fixed 45 degree angle (22.5 on each side). Since I use Ritter knives which have 30 degree grinds (15 on each side) I don't care to use that preset angle.

So, I've always thought about taking a reeeal small block of very hard wood (oak?) and drill out my own holes at the right angle so it looks something like a Sharpmaker.

I figure I could also then drill four storage holes in the ends. I'd have to be careful about not slicing a finger since I probably wouldn't add a hand guard.

I've tried the 'x' style sharpeners in the past and I genuinely don't like them...I think every maker of one sets the angle slightly differently to protect brand loyalty or something. I had a Smith's 2 in 1 and tossed in the dumpster the second it couldn't put enough of an edge on an old SAK to slice through copy paper without ripping it

The only excpetion is the carbide draw through. I save that for VERY rare, emergency situations as any edge is better than no edge and it works fast.

Lee Valley Tools sells a kit like what you're looking to build. Comes with 2 ceramic rods, a guard rod and plans to cut and drill the block. It's cheap too.

I've also toyed with the idea of packing my Smith's 3 in 1 system. It's similar to the Sharpmaker, has lots of options and it's fairly light and small. Unfortunately for field sharpening it requires you to have a flat, stable base...something you don't always have, and again you're locked into the angles they provide for you accurate or not. The rods are pretty short in the Smith's so I'm going to try stashing one in the pen pocket when I get home and see if it fits. I'm not sure of the grid but it's finer than the 750 grit diamond bench style stone in the same device...so definately finer than the diamond steel rod.

I keep my knives pretty ding dang sharp so field sharpening is usually only needed if I'm doing a LOT of knife work or I make a mistake and metal hits metal or stone. That's also the reason I'd like to be able to put a proper edge on if I want to. I've tested the diamond stick sharpener and it's a good tool but the edge it leaves is almost serrated...no good for the push cutting you tend to do in the bush though I'm sure it would be fine for skinning and the like. Plus a fine rod can be double used for edge alignment like a steel without taking off much material.

I would suggest these:

12 pk Ceramic Rods

But they are temporally out of stock.


Pete

Nice find Pete! I love the price. I'll have to keep an eye out for stock.

Smith has a fine diamond rod that would fit the bill.
http://www.smithabrasives.com/sa/products.html

LOL. Ray, that's the exact one I'm trying to suppliment with a finer grit.

Hi Hacksaw,

How about a mini-Lansky Crock Stick or Dog-Bone ceramic sharpener seen here http://www.lanskysharpeners.com/LTRIM.php

Just pop one or both end-caps off to fit in your slotted holder.

I have used these mini-shapeners often and like them, I carry one in my big game hunting kit.

P.S. On your recomendation (and Taurus if I remember correctly) I checked out the Gerber LMF reviews last night, is it as good a bush knife as everyone says it is? How do you like the serrations?

Thanks

Mike

www.ragweedforge.com ragnar sells two ceramic sahrpeniers quite reasonably. He charges a flat $8 SH fee, so look at some Moras. His viking whetstones work extremely well too, and are very compact.