Smith's Pocket Pal Sharpener

Not sure if this was mentioned on here before, but I bought one tonight at Dick's sports and it's a pretty neat pocket sharpener.



Only cost $12 and has a carbide and ceramic pull through sharpeners with a diamond stick type sharpener. It isn't perfect, but it's cheap and it works fine on both plain and serrated blades. It's pretty small too, only 3 1/4" x 1" x 3/8". I would check it out if you're looking for a cheap sharpener thats small and easy to use.

I have never had much luck with "pull through" sharpeners, but that does look at least a little bit interesting...

The pull through type sharpeners seem to work best on thinner blades, but that is one of the good things about this one. It has both the pull through type and a diamond stick. Therefore, chances are you'll be able to get a suitable edge on almost any blade.

I was in Skagway, AK, last summer, and was dumb enought to let the owner of a knife shop handle the Mora that I happened to be carrying. He suddenly drug that thin blade thru a sharper a couple of times, and REALLY messed up the edge I had on the blade. I haven't managed to straighten out that mess yet. I will pretty much skip most pull thrus...

If you convex your edge, they'll ruin your day.

But I have one similar to these in my ditch kit, I've used it on most of my knives. It even does well on a machete. It doesn't replace my good stones, but for emergencies it's fine. Five passes on the carbide and twenty on the ceramic will put an edge on a SAK that I can shave leg hair with. (If I test on my arms, I look like have mange or something.)

"...one similar to these in my ditch kit..."


That is what is best about it. Maybe not the best sharpener in the world, but you would have it when you need it. I carry an ez-lap (the one that stores in the brass handle) in the little elastic compartment on my Leatherman pouch for the same reason...

Though I haven't purchased one yet (it is kind of expensive) this looks like a good bet for easy field sharpening with a 5.25" X 2.5" case, 4" long rods, a pair of ceramic rods, a pair of diamond rods, and a 30 degree angle (the same as the Rittergrips):

http://www.agrussell.com/accessories/sharpening/a_g_russell_field_sharpener.html

I reviewed Smith's 2 in 1 pull through pocket sharpener in another post and it did not do well with thin blades. I tested it on a SAK and it couldn't cut paper afterwards.

I picked up one of these a few years ago:

http://www.knifezone.ca/misc/meyercosharpener.htm

They were cheaper then (what wasn't?), but it has served me well.

Because of the thinness of the grind on a MORA I have never put one through it, but, as with others, I have used it on pocket knives to good success.

The Superior sharpener that Doug recommended in the past works pretty well for a quick touch up. It is small and flat and got a SAK shaving sharp in short order. Works great on a machete too.

I haven't tried it on my F1 though as I am not sure what it would do to a convex blade.

I carry this one in my tobacco tin kit:
http://www.bensbackwoods.com/servlet/Detail?no=129

"Eze Lap keychain sharpener w/fishhook groove
SKU: EZLH
NEW EZE LAP KEYCHAIN DIAMOND SHARPENER IN 600 GRIT,ALSO HAS A GROOVE TO SHARPEN FISH HOOKS AND SUCH.VERY HANDY ON A KEYCHAIN...COMES IN DIFFERENT COLORS (random pick, all are 600 grit) MADE IN USA
PRICE: $5.99"

It is very small, flat and thin, maybe 3/4 x 2 x 1/8 inch.

For everyday home use, I use the Lansky Deluxe Diamond Knife Sharpening System or the Spyderco Tri-angle Sharpmaker. In the field, I use one of those ones with the foldover handle and diamond-embedded little disks on about a 1 x 4 inch plate. I am well satisied with all of them.

Jeff

Hi,

I also carry the "Eze Lap Keychain Sharpener" that Jeff mentioned above. I bought it to put in a small survival/hunting kit but it is so handy (with key clip removed) that I have started carrying it in my wallet. It does a reasonable job of touching up a small knife in the field but you have to be very careful as it is easy to cut the fingers of your holding hand (I have a bandage on my thumb right now).

One trouble with having a sharpener on you is that if someone sees you using it you end up sharpening everyone elses knives, not an easy task with a sharpener this small.

Mike