Before heading out for this seasons deer and elk hunt, I will sharpen my hunting knife.

My question is, what type of sharpener do I take with me in the field? I've learned that after skinning, quartering and cleaning my animal, being able to touch up the blade is really a nice option.

But what should I use?

Blake

Would a Sharpmaker be too bulky in your circumstances? If it is, I just noticed that Lansky has some similar pocket size units that are much more compact. That would be my preference.....

I used to carry the DMT folding type sharpener. The results are adequate. They require a little skill and practice though. They are good for touching up but rebuilding from a dull edge is not a pleasure (remember: this is meant to be a family friendly wording).
You may want to use it while the knife is still fairly sharp.

I use a Gerber Pocket Sharpener. It's not the best but it works for me:

http://www.amazon.com/Gerber-04307-Pocket-Sharpener/dp/B0001WOTEU

The price is right. Small and compact.

The little Gerber works good and it is easy to carry. The nice thing is that it has a foolproof bevel built in.

This is a unlikely source but Fiskars makes a pull through axe sharpener. It's not like regular ones with two ceramic or carbide rod, but two rotating wheels that work better and not easily clogged. It has a handle but you can chop that off to use head only.

Look for a Lansky Dogbone Sharpener.It is a triangular ceramic rod with rubber end caps and is about 3.5 inches long.Price is in the eight dollar range and they last forever.

BOATMAN
John

A Fallkniven DC4

http://www.amazon.com/Fallkniven-Knives-...=fallkniven+dc4

YMMV, but I have to strongly un-recommend this item. I bought one, and it was appallingly awful. I couldn't believe Fiskars would put their good name on something like this. There are much better options for the same dollar IMO.

Perhaps the OP could let us know what kind of knife he carries, and what sharpening method he uses now? That would help us give an appropriate answer.

+1 for a hunting knife where you may need to resharpen
a bunch for a large animal or one with steel dulling hair
like pig.

I carry a 3" Buck folder and a custom fixed blade knife made by a friend.

Compare to a stone, yeah, but can't be worse than the carbide scraper people listed in this thread. I tried it in store and it works fine on fiskars axe, so maybe your bevel is off from what it's designed to do?

For occasional use, one or two small 1" x 3" x 1/4" thick EZE-LAP diamond stones like these and two small nails. Place the stone on a convenient log, and tap in a nail at each end to stabilize it. You can put a little water on the stone and sharpen just about any knife. A 400 grit is usually about right, but depending on the steel, you might want a finer or coarser grit. This might be sacrilige, but I also carry a 6 inch bastard file with the point ground off to sharpen my bigger trail knives and axe. I hate carbide scrapers, the edge they make, and the horse they rode in on.

I have a small (pocket sized) stone which, with practice, can sharpen anything. I have some scandi and flat ground (single bevel) and double bevel knives, as well as convex blades, all are OK. Axe too !

For a while I was using some sandpaper sheets mounted on a sheet of ply, as recommended on many sites, but I didn't like that, so I went back to the stone - like Byrd_Huntr mentions and pictures.

The custom gadgets for sharpening certainly are very popular and some are very good on all accounts, but to me they seem a bit overly fussy and some are quite expensive. The KISS principal for a simple and effective stone cannot be overstated IMO.



Hope its Ok to mention this ?
If you do a search for something like "Ray Mears sharpening knife" you will find a few nice videos demonstrating the technique (no affiliation to Ray etc on my part).