Keeping your hunting knife sharp

What do you guys use to keep your hunting knife sharp. I Was looking at a wicked edge but they are proud of those things $$$$$.

I use the electric sharpener they sell at Bass Pro, I think it is called Chefs Choice or something like that. Couple pf passes through it and instant VERY sharp knife. I am not any good with a wet stone.

JK Henckels pull thru sharpener

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d.html/ref=redir_mdp_mobile/184-5580621-5495040?a=B00004RFMD

When processing, I keep a smooth honing steel tethered by a lanyard to my belt and hit it often, especially when skinning a hog caked in mud. That is usually all I need for keeping a keen edge, but if it does start to dull up I will hit it with a ceramic "steel" first, and then to a small whetstone I keep on my belt if needed.

I have seen too many blades wrecked with both electric sharpeners and those drag through carbide jobs. The ceramic drag throughs are probably safer, but I would probably have to regrind most of my blades to match the angles they use and years of muscle memory from working a stone might prove too hard to change...

Another thing to remember is that an edge angle does not have to be particularly acute (or acute even) to be sharp, and that the smaller the angle the harder it is to keep sharp and to resharpen. That is the biggest mistake I see most people make when trying to work a stone. They have the blade almost flat against it and even if they get a sharp edge it is paper thin and will fold over at best and chip at worst with the first bit of hair or bone it encounters. A hunting knife is not a fillet knife or a chef's knife.

Best bet is a good steel, in a pinch though I have used the back of another knife - just make sure there are no nicks on the knife back or you will nick the blade you are honing. Just my $.02, YMMV...

-W

I agree with Wader

I have see to many knives wrecked by using electric sharpeners and those cheap pull throughs just make a knife dull in my opinion.

Best thing I have found is a diamond steel, order a good diamond steel in EXTRA FINE from an online meat processing equipment website you can get them for $20-$25 and I usually order 5-6 of them and give them out as christmas presents to people that hunt, fish or cook a lot. These things last FOREVER and in just a few passes the blade is razor sharp.

heres the exact one I use
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=diamond+steel&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=12032075633438695143&ei=cH8zTIucGMPflgfuwP2_Cw&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CDkQ8wIwBA#

But the best advice is to have it sharpened to start with by a good knife sharpener, some one who knows what they are doing. There used to be a guy at the Gander mountain in college station every saturday that would take any knife and get it Razor sharp with a fine grinding wheel and polish it for you for $3. After that 4-5 passes down the sharpening steel is all it needs....For a long, Long time.

I guide deer hunts and skin 20+ deer every year and cape 5-10 bucks and I have the old man sharpen mine once a year weather they need it or not and use the diamond steel.

I love the Smith's pocket pal pull through sharpener. However, what Wader said is true. You can ruin an edge pretty quickly with a carbide sharpener. If you don't apply any more pressure than the weight of the knife, then they work great to set the angle and then follow up with the ceramic side.

Smith diamond stil.

I've got a diamond sharpener, but I don't use it that much. My Dad owned a business with a couple of friends for around 30 years before he retired, and on the counter in their shop they had just a plain old gray whet rock in a wooden holder. I can remember that whet rock being there on the counter since I was a kid. When they all retired and sold the shop I told Dad I wanted it and he gave it to me. I have no idea the brand or anything else, but that thing will get a knife scary sharp!! I just spray a little WD 40 on it and go to work.

I use a dmt coarse and fine stone when out in the field.

I like the Lansky Sharpening System. It clamps the knife in a jig so that when you use the wetstones it comes with, you get a perfect angle everytime. Best to wrap the clamp jaws in a cloth or paper towel to keep from scratching the side of you blade. There are different kits including diamond stones and ceramic. Works great.

I've had a Razors Edge Systems kit for several years now. Sold off the Lansky kits. People can tell when I've been sharpening cuz my arms have bare spots all over.

I use Razor Sharp Paper Wheel in my shop and get them super sharp super fast

buy you a 3 stage chefs choice and youll be so glad you did. But buy it on ebay for about 90 compared to 150 at academyu

i never believed in the pull through kind but i could not get my knives sharp with a stone. (my lack of knowledge). i have a few guide friends that use a redi edge and they swore by it. i used one and was sold. it is great and will sharpen almost any knife especially gerber, buck, and the knives that come with softer metal. I have a problem sharpening my knives of alaska knives though they have a really hard blade and it will sharpen it but it is not as easy as most others. $18 bu8cks at sportmans and 15 on ebay

I prefer to never sharpen. I use a havalon with replaceable blades. I can usually get through a couple whitetails or black bears with fresh new blade. The processing is much faster. Granted, you'll want a stronger blade or saw for bone work, but for skinning and caping you can't beat the havalon for speed, and precision.

Havalon knives

I take them to Bass Pro Shops. Costs $3 to sharpen. Do this once or twice a season. Always done right, and no fuss.

Knives of alaska are D2 steel which is well known to take a mediocre edge and hold it forever. If you can be consistent and get the right edge on it it will last, and last, and last.

field use Norton pocket Sportmans stone
usually use a common butchers steel for
touch-up when processing along with
Forscner boning , skinning , and butcher
knives , white cotton gloves and apron
if a lot of work is to be done
seldom use carry knife other than to
get guts out and trim brush etc.

I use a diamond bench stone, with both a coarse side and fine side. In the field, whitch is hardly ever needed for me, because I hunt here at home so a bench stone is always close by, but it would be a pocket sized diamond stone, or an oil stone. In the shop when making a new knife it is sharpened on the Bader at a very slow speed, and polished with a felt belt to get hair poping sharp. Also a leather strop will really bring that edge back in shape if it is not real dull. And D2 when it is real dull is very hard to sharpen, the trick is to not let it get dead dull, and use a diamond stone.

I agree the best way to have a sharp knife is to keep it sharp, don't wait until it won't cut. Keep a small extra fine diamond pocket stone on you and do like the old barbers use to do with their razors. Cut a little while, then hit it a few licks on that extra fine stone, keep it sharp.
D2 will get extremely sharp it's just a different kind of sharp. A D2 knife edge will have a rough edge sort of like small burrs or serrations that makes them cut like crazy. Not good for shaving hair off your arm, but will cut like a buzz saw and hold their edge extremely well.

use the small diamond sharpener that cabelas and bass pro shop sells never let knife get that dull ! also woodcrafters sell a system that goes on a grinder that will put an edge on a plastic knife !!

I don't know about the fast part but I can attest to the fact that Frank's knives are razor sharp !!