I have a lansky sharpener system at home, been using it for last few months but I need something "portable" for backpack or EDC. I've had an eye on the blademedic knife sharpener from lansky and the "bear grylls" (gerber) sharpener, but to be honest I haven't had luck with gerber. Are either of these any good?
If not, what can you suggest for a simple, portable sharpener for both straight blades and serated?
Can any of them be used for larger blades like my kukri?

Thanks for visiting
Geo

I like the E-Z lap 2pc. diamond sticks with a hook groove. Wal-mart used to carry them, <$10.00 ea., this model:http://www.avidmaxoutfitters.com/p-4673-ez-lap-eze-lap-hook-sharpener.aspx?catargetid=1391382591&cagpspn=pla&gclid=CI6J-u__k7MCFe57QgodG10ALw
Not the best sharpener but good nuff for a knife pocket and it is small enough to touch up most serrated edge's.

I'm a little dubious as to the notion of "sharpening" knives in the field. How long do you plan to be out? A knife made of modern high quality steel should stay sharp enough for typical outings. Perhaps if you're doing a month long hike of the AT or something you might need to sharpen but you shouldn't need to on a typical hunting trip. I view sharpening as something done at home or in the shop with the proper equipment, good lighting and a solid, steady surface.

In my mind a small ceramic hone is a good implement for doing touch ups in the field. A few licks will bring back the edge most of the time.

The Lansky or Gatco can do a very good job if you're patient, but they have limitations. It's very time consuming and annoying to do longer blades with them since you have to unclamp and move the device frequently.

Small diamond plates such as the DMT DiaSharp line are good for situations where you have to do actual sharpening or repairs (chip removal, reprofiling, etc.). All you need is a spritz of water and you're good to go. Small oil stones are messy and not very effective on modern PM & crucible steels (eg. VG-10, 154CM, S30V, M390, M4, etc.). Water stones work great but are a bit fragile and need to be soaked (generally, not always- Shapton Pro and Shapton GlassStones, for example, just need a splash and are good to go).

I'd rather make sure my knives are sharp at home, done on water stones and/or my Kalamazoo belt grinder, then do light touch ups in the field. Of course, always have more than one knife along- problem solved!

I always recommend a DMT Diafold sharpener. It's great for a quick and dirty field sharpening, regardless of steel type. Just a splash of water, or spit on it and its ready to eat steel.

I carry a Gatco Tri-Ceps, it is chear, very fine and effective. Works great on a SAK.

My favorite is a Gerber Pocket Steel, unfortunately now discontinued. It is a 4" flat bar sharpened at one end to a good chisel edge and coated with medium and fine diamond dust. It makes a great knife sharpener as well as a good digging tool for fossils and the like. If you run across one, grab it!

I would now purchase a DMT steel...

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

I used to carry a small, medium grit, diamond hone (see link), but more recently I optimized and carry a Leatherman Juice XE6 in my kit which has a small diamond file among a variety of other useful tools. It wouldn't be optimal, but it could get the job done.

Diamond hones are nice for this kind of task because the diamond coating is fast, lends itself to small, light sharpeners (since it is only a coating) and is very long lasting with the light use that you might see in a kit.

Phaedrus, I agree that it is much better to sharpen at home, but I do think there is a use case for a sharpener. Basically if you are forced to use your blade in a way that damages or significantly dulls the blade, you want something better (faster) than trying to use a rock to repair it.

As long as it doesn't take much weight/space, why not?

FWIW, I feel the groove type sharpers not only don't do a great job, but can be harmful to the blade and try to avoid them unless I have no other options (in other words, never :-)

-john


Leatherman Juice XE6 (small but complete multi-tool)
http://www.leatherman.com/product/Juice_Xe6

Eze-Lap Diamond Hones (small, lightweight diamond hones)
http://www.amazon.com/Eze-Lap-Diamond-Hone-Kit-Sharpeners/dp/B000HDXDDG

This.

There are a couple of sizes and although I don't edc mine, I've had it with me on extended trips and used it touch up everything from my edc knife to an axe. Works great.

i've carried a $10 SpeedySharp in my EDC kit for years.

its carbide scraper puts an instant sharp edge on just about anything, but isn't for someone interested if a finely honed polished edge.

i've used it on tiny swiss knives up thru machetes. even works on many serrated blades (if you follow instructions).

very small, lightweight, tough, never wears out and pretty safe to use (compared to some sharpeners).

http://www.speedysharp.net/