I normally sharpen "freehand" with a flat carborundum or diamond stone.

But I received one of these "Speedy Sharp" knife sharpeners for my birthday, and have been pleasantly surprised by it. It's small enough to carry in your pocket, and touches up a blade in a few strokes.

Normally, I have a strong aversion to carbide pull-through sharpeners. They remove too much steel, they leave a jagged burr edge, and they are never at the right angle for the knife in question.

But this little dude, which boasts "MICRO 100 Super Carbide" and a lifetime warranty, works much better. It takes off a minute amount of steel and you adjust the angle, freehand, based on the blade.

It particularly shines with lower-end steels, which my 'beater' blades typically use. The 420 knife and carbon machete steels get a sharper edge than you may have thought possible.

I don't think the edge would last as long as a stone-ground edge. But for hard-used knives, you can touch up the edge with just a few strokes.

It seems like just about anybody can put on a decent working edge with this gizmo. I can't say that about flat stones.

I bought a few extras on sale (about $8) and gave some away at Christmas.

Here's the link: http://www.speedysharp.net/

Usual disclaimer: I have no affiliation with this company, etc.

I have one of those.
Yes they work.
I would certainly not say they are better than proper whetstones. If you have a seriously dull edge that you need to remove much metal from this is not a great choice.

However as a carry along sharpener they are fine.
It also will work to steel the edge if you drag it backwards from the way you use it to sharpen.

So:
Its not a replacement for the grinder, stones, hones and steel.

But:
It is a decent small sharpener for touching up a dull edge, it fits into a pack or pocket easily and it is quite light.

(and no, I do not work for them either)

And I bet it will work pretty well on a ferro rod.

So does this set the angle for you? Those of us with the hand/eye co-ordination of a scotsman this morning (last night was burnes night) need something to keep the knife at the correct angle. Is the 'Lansky Quick Fix Pocket
Knife Sharpener' that aeromdix bundle with Mr Ritters kit better?
QJS

No, it doesn't set the angle for you.

It's nothing more than a squared-off piece of fancy carbide, 3/4" long, bonded to a steel handle.

You scrape it across blade edge, first one side and then the other. It's easy to see where you have scraped the steel, so if you need to adjust the angle you can. But it's essentially freehand.

I think it's better than any pull-through sharpener I've seen, and IMO a lot more versatile.

But I can't comment on the Lansky, except to say that any sharpener is better than nothing when you're in a tight spot.

Sigh ... I just can't bring myself to scape my Rittergrip across a chunk of carbide.

My advice would be to go with something more like the 'Gatco Micro-X Pocket Sharpener', which has two sets (fine & medium) of small ceramic rods that snap into a holder in an X fashion.

One thing to keep in mind is that the angle is fixed, so it may not exactly match the grind of some knives. For example the Ritterrgrips have a 15 degree grind. Still, if you really need field sharpening, this would do well.

Here is a link: http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___29240

Ken

I used one of these pocket sharpeners for about 5 years, and I can tell you, if you put enough lateral pressure on the handle, you can tear off quite a bit of metal with each pass, more than enough to reshape the edge. You can also put a pretty sharp edge on a blade once you learn the touch. It will knock bent edges back to true just like a good butcher's steel, which is probably the best feature about the thing.

I used to cut a lot of cable with my old Leatherman and occasionally I would roll or dent an edge. Using this little tool I could bring the burr back up to plumb without removing anymore metal, if I was careful about it. If the edge got too ratted out, I could tear it off and get rid of all the bigger jagged areas. It will leave the edge a bit ragged, but for a lot of field cutting I think that is actually preferable.

It was worth the pittance I paid for it, and it lasted long enough that I finally lost it. The square edges never took a dent or a nick, and never rusted.

It may not be the ideal sharpener, but as a field expedient, I can't imagine anything serving a better purpose.

Have you tested how it works on very hard steels (60+HRc) or high grade stainless?

In my experience, these carbide gizmos are really handy for lower-end blades (kitchen knife or the like) if you pay attention to how much force you're applying and don't overdo it. But at least the ones I've tried had problems with really hard tool or stainless steels - the ones that tend to be a pain to sharpen even on a very good synthetic stone.

Anyway, looks like an interesting product. I use a pocket diamond card (600 grit) and a file on my Leatherman for field sharpening though and I'm pretty happy with the setup.

I have used the Speedy Sharp on a Spyderco with CPMS30V. It worked very well. I don't think I have a harder steel to test it on.

I think the difference between the Speedy and the other carbide sharpeners (which I think are junk) is the Micro 100 carbide itself. I believe this is a link to the carbide manufacturer: http://www.micro100.com/

Anyway, I'm not trying to sell anything. And I'm not giving up my diamond stones. But IMO the Speedy is a handy problem-solver and all of my kits are going to get one.

I've cut a well treated D2 blade with it. It takes more effort, but it will cut it. Think of it like a saw blade going through oak instead of pine. It just takes more effort and time, but it will still cut the oak.

I never really replaced mine when I lost it. I have portable sharpeners, but all the sharpening I do these days is planned for and done on a diamond wheel and a rouge wheel and a grinder motor. I've never had sharper knives that hold an edge as long as mine do now.