What do you sharpen your knives with?

[KonoctisWigwam]

I'll start, as I have 3 primary methods I use.

1) Japanese water stones. This is my favorite stone, but it's messy but one of the best, IMO. Can be the quickest once you have a nice edge. Being able to sharpen by hand is the best, and most useful.

2) India stone with oil. This is fastest in a pinch, and good in the field, but these days I tend to take a tiny folding diamond stone key chain. You can still sharpen by hand on these, it's just more course.

3) Workshop Elite manual.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09FWWDFF9

Once you learn how to use this the edge is second to none, but it takes time to learn. This holds an angle for you to sharpen to, leaving a mirror finish on the edge. I was able to get a couple of my knives razor sharp. Both my Bugout and Kritzman flipper were done on there, and the Kritzman is an AWESOME steak knife. It's thicker and more bulky than the Bugout, so I carry the Bugout as my EDC. You can almost see the mirror edge on this Kritzman knife. It has S35N steel. The Bugout is S90V. The S35N is a bit easier to sharpen. Both are XLNT steels, and will easily last an entire animal without resharpening.

How do some of you guys sharpen?

 

[jhonrey]

I really believe that having a range of sharpening methods at your disposal is essential for tackling any situation. I completely agree that using Japanese water stones is a delight, even if they can be a bit messy. There’s something truly satisfying about the whole process and the level of control they offer. It feels like a little art form, and the results are always stunning.