I've started a new post so that the long sharpening knives post doesn't have to be brought up again.

I'm not sure which pocket sharpener to buy. I've got a choice between: The Lansky Mini Crock Stick Knife Sharpener (£4.95), The Gerber Pocket Sharpener (£3.95) and the Gatco Micro-X (£8.95). What do you think?

i got the gerber ( fisker ) one, it's pretty good with a fine and coarse V-sharpener made from ceramic. Nice to get a blade sharp again quickly. But a thick blade's doesn't fit in the slot very well, mine S1 barly fit in it. In mine opinion a good value ( it's one of the cheapest )

Roughly what would be the dimensions of the largest pocket sharpener you would consider? The reason I'm asking is because I know of a nice diamond sharpener with course on one side and fine on the other.

Probably around 3" by 2" by 1/2". It's for my pouch kit.

The one I have measures about 6" x 1.25" x .5" when it is closed. The sharpening surface, which has course grit on one side and fine on the other, is about 4" long and 1" wide. When it is at its full length, the sharpener is about 9" long. The sharpening part detaches from, and is stored in, the hollow handle, which has a lanyard hole on one end.

The sharpener is made by Smith's, and I got it at Lowes (a home improvement store), although I'm sure many other places sell it. If you don't have a Lowes in your neck of the woods, you may be able to go to their website at www.lowes.com and order online. Once at the site, you can do a search Knife Accessories and it will show you what they have. I just did a search on the Lowes where I bought mine so I could get a stock number for you, but my sharpener wasn't listed. Either that particular store was out of stock, or they discontinued it.

If the sharpener I described is too large, Smith's also has a smaller sharpener with a groove for sharpening fish hooks. That particular sharpener has only one grit, and measures about 3" x 1" x .25" . It comes with a fabric pouch. The item number is 118475.