Looking for a fine ceramic stick pocket sharpener

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.

The ceramic stone from my Smith's 3 in 1 fits perfectly. No point in buying something new when I already have something which works fine. It will also do serrations because of the tear drop profile. Until I find some super cool ultra solution to replace it, I'll go with that for a while...I don't field sharpen often enough to warrant spending anything.

SwampDonkey: The LMFII is a horrible bushCRAFT knife. It's beefy, heavy and has a very thick blade...most of the straight edge is covered with serrations...it's designed for helicopter egress after all. Because of that I haven't been using it as my main carry knife when I'm out in the bush and therefore I haven't been using it very much at all and really haven't put it through any serious bush. I've just started to use it as a light weight solution to leaving my shovel, machete, axes, etc at home. It's lighter than any of those tools and can do all their jobs even if less efficiently...and I would trust it to stand up to way more 'non-standard' use than any of my other bush equipment. It's short for a big heavy knife so it's easy to lash to a pack (the sheath makes this easy...lots of holes and slots).

I look at it as more of a multi-use tool than a bush knife at the moment.

You know that LMF stands for "Lightweight Multi-Function", right?

FWIW, I currently use mine as my primary carry knife when I'm in the woods or out camping. I agree with many of the issues that Dave raised, although I don't find the serrations on the rear half of the blade to be excessive.

The handle is pretty large for a knife with a blade this length (4.84" / 10.59" OAL) but I find it to better balanced and much more controllable than my KA-BAR 1211 (7.00" / 11.75") even though it weighs more (11.4 oz versus 10.5 oz for the KA-BAR).

I have a Gerber Big Rock camp knife that used to be my primary carry knife, but it now resides in my vehicle GHB kit. It is a similar sized knife (4.5" / 9.4" OAL) buts weighs only about half as much (6.3 oz). I doubt I could use it to egress from a helicopter as quickly as with the LMF, but it does a fine job slicing through paracord.

Given the price, I was pretty disappointed with a couple aspects of this knife. Having two retention straps not only is unnecessary (the sheath uses a very secure integral tang retention flange) but they are 1/4"-1/2" too short. I tried several sheaths looking for one that I could actually close without using both hands, but they were all this way. I finally gave up and removed them altogether.

The black finish on the pommel (buttcap) looks like ass, and the coating on the blade seems to get a new scratch every time it is removed from the sheath. WTF?

I have a Colt AR-15A3 tactical carbine that is the same way. When you spend $1500 for a rifle (especially when you know that a Bushmaster or DPMS is half that price) I expect the finish to be a bit more consistent, if not damn perfect. Colt's position is that their rifles are built for law enforcement and military applications, neither of which gives a rat's ass about appearance. Apparently Gerber followed Colt's lead with regard to finish...

The integral sharpener and Molle attachments are very handy, and overall this knife will do everything a good survival knife should do.

Jim

Thanks Paragon! I was asked just last night by a friend what 'LMF' stood for and I couldn't tell him...he'll be happy to know it means something.

I have the Big Rock too and it now resides in the trunk of my car as well...a good knife but not what I wanted to carry every day in the bush. Plus I bought the serrated version and haven't ever fully warmed up to the partially serrated blades.

I also agree with you about the sheath. I took off the MOLLE crap and just lash the plastic sheath to my packs. I have a massive thumb so extracting the knife from behind my back isn't TOO hard.

I think that if I were less traditional about knives I would enjoy the LMF more as an all around bush knife but the style and the serrations just don't lend it to working with wood beyond hacking and batoning. As it is I love my Gerber Freeman Hunter in S30V but the more I use it, the more I wish it had a scandi grind.

Hacksaw and Paragon,

Thanks for the 1st hand evaluation of the Gerber LMF II, I need another bush knife like I need another cat (that was for you Blast), but the LMF received excellent reviews on the web and looked interesting. I put a 1/2 price on one on ebay last night but missed it. I think I will wait until I can handle one in a store before I spend the money and run the risk of Pi$$ing-off the DW.

Anyone know of a full-tang, scandi-grind, 4 - 6 inch blade, bush knife of decent steel that will not max out my credit card and cause be to get a divorce?

Appreciate it folks,

Mike

Ask and ye shall recieve:

http://www.skookumbushtool.com/

It's more than I typically spend on a knife but cheap considering they're hand made.

Hi Hacksaw,

Thanks for the link to Skookum Knives, very nice and functional but a little more than I normal spend also.

You know, if I tallyed up the cost of all the low-end knives I have bought in the past 35 years I could have bought some great custom-made knives, live and learn.

Mike

That's the truth (for many of us I'd wager)!

This summer I'm going to 'use' some of my cheaper knives to see if they stand up to 'use' . Whittling fuzz sticks is one thing but I'm seriously curious to see how many of my sharps are completely unsuited for some hard use. I bought knives in such rapid succession at one point that I have sharps which have never seen wilderness!

I will have to honestly say that I will trust(and have trusted) the LMF in any situation. I have never seen a tougher knife. It lacks finess in certain situations but when carried with a good folder or multi-tool you will solve that problem. I have no idea about the torture test some people are refering to but I have personally used mine with a 5 lb sledge and a block of cement to cut through a 1/2 inch thick piece of steel wire rope. The finish is ruined and constant re-sharpening in less than ideal conditions (plus a sheath full of sand)has scratched the hell out of it but it still works just fine.

It is worth every single penny to get one despite the price.(which isnt really that much) I got mine here. http://www.knifezone.ca

Thanks for the solid recommendation on the Gerber LMF II Taurus, I really need to handle one of these knives to get a feel for it.

I may get to a store with one later this month.

Mike

This thread seems to have moved to an evaluation of the Gerber LMFII, but I am gonna throw this in anyhow, mainly 'cuz I just remembered it. Thirty-some years ago my ex-father-in-law gutted an old water heater, and came up with a couple of ceramin rods from somewhere inside. If memory serves correctly (always a doubt these days), they were a fine grit, 'bout 3/8" in diameter, maybe eight inches long. I remember stroking a blade along one, seemed to work fine as a sharpener. And they are FREE!!!

Good tip!

I've been reading up on using everyday objects for sharpening. If you've ever watched the Ray Mears video on knife sharpening he uses Japanese water stones but then 'steels' the edge using the edge of a car window.

"...If you've ever watched the Ray Mears video..."

Nope, sorry. When you are on a slower than dial-up connection, you don't get to watch videos. I have used the edge of glass trick tho, it works...