How do you maintain/sharpen your knife?

[mycrofft]

Like the G word (starts with g, ends in n, has three letters), lots of people here are very pro-knife. Some want something for self-defense. Some want a multitool type device. Some want a big sheath job, others want a little folder, and some want a lock back model.
Fine.
But if, like I, you carry and use a knife on a daily basis, things happen. The tools and blades get dirty, and dull.

How do you sharpen your knife? Do you have a cleaning regimen you follow? What about any sheaths of holsters you carry these tools in, do they get cleaned often, and how??
NOTE: this is not about knives, it is about maintenance.

 

[DesertMedic66]

I have a sharping stone (3 different stones with different roughness). But since I only use gerber knifes I can just send them in to gerber and they will sharpen their knifes for free (just have to pay a couple of dollars for shipping).

 

[mycrofft]

Better than CUTCO!

Anyone else use this?

Not intense as an ad, and in my drawer are four different carborundum stones, one little natural stone, one ceramic stone, and two variants of this one. I also bought second hand an electric one with three stations, and use very fine grit wet sandpaper to erase scratches.

 

[ironco]

I make custom knives so I sharpen most of my knives with my belt grinder however the sharpener in the pic above I used to buy and sell them with my knives because I loved them so much. They are a very good sharpener. Other than that after my knives get dirty I wipe em down and put a little oil on them. It doesn't matter if they're stainless or not

 

[DesertMedic66]

Better than CUTCO!

Anyone else use this?

Not intense as an ad, and in my drawer are four different carborundum stones, one little natural stone, one ceramic stone, and two variants of this one. I also bought second hand an electric one with three stations, and use very fine grit wet sandpaper to erase scratches.

How does that sharpener work on serated (sp?) blades?

 

[Achilles]

I make custom knives so I sharpen most of my knives with my belt grinder however the sharpener in the pic above I used to buy and sell them with my knives because I loved them so much. They are a very good sharpener. Other than that after my knives get dirty I wipe em down and put a little oil on them. It doesn't matter if they're stainless or not

I understand the people who make knives are rather sharp?

 

[bigbaldguy]

Knifes are for wussies I just shank folks with a spoon. It's more work but it hurts more.

I used to love my spyderco, in 3 years I never had to sharpen it despite using it a fair amount. Not sure how I would have sharpened it come to think of it. Somewhere along the way I lost it and shortly after that they banned pocket knifes on airplanes so I never replaced it.

 

[adamjh3]

Those sharpeners are terrible, they remove way to much metal.

If you're serious about maintenance look into convex sharpening. Once you get the hang of it, it's easy to maintain a scary-sharp edge.

If not, I used the gatco edgemate with success for a couple years. Less of a learning curve involved

 

[Bullets]

Wetstones and honing stones with oil. Those type of draw through sharpeners remove too much of the metal and will eventually cause a curve in the blade and make the blad thinner. The honing stones will just work out the bends and dents in the metal, leaving a finer edge and a better overall knife.

My CRKT knife gets a regular cleaning as needed, including oiling and stripping, if not taking the scales of and cleaning with a q-tip

I keep my fixed blade in a kydex sheathe, and clean that monthly

 

[mycrofft]

No, the little yellow thingee doesn't do serrated knives. Single ground serrations (scalloped on one side) you can use a stone to whet the flat side (no concavities). Double serrated (concavities on both sides) I guess you go in and sharpen each one with a very small diamond wand?

I use a tiny pocket folding knife with serrations for many things, and when I ever get my bench mounted grounder built first thing I take off those consarnded serrations.

My little yellow one doesn't take off much metal and I'm careful not to over sharpen the blades' middles. If you examine what part of your knife you use, unless you are cutting a lot of line as on a shrimp boat, it is the last inch or so.

adamjh3, I'll look into that sharpener.

ironco, yeah I see belt sanders used a lot on videos. I have used a vibratory sander with fine fine wet paper for polishing out scratches.

Cleaning...yeah, have to do it periodically, more than swiping it on the pants leg before it's put away.

 

[Tigger]

I've got a simple two sided whetstone for keeping the leatherman good and sharp. When it needs it I give it a good cleaning with mild soap and water with a toothbrush and q-tips. Liberal use of WD40 keeps it working smooth.

 

[Achilles]

I've got a simple two sided whetstone for keeping the leatherman good and sharp. When it needs it I give it a good cleaning with mild soap and water with a toothbrush and q-tips. Liberal use of WD40 keeps it working smooth.

I would reccomend a Teflon spray or Fluid Film as opposed to wd40.

 

[mycrofft]

WD40's ok if you clean it off often, otherwise it sets up and gets gooey as the volatiles evaporate off.

I use hot soap and water on my swiss army folder, then pour alcohol over and through it to dry it and kill residual germs. WD40 as a drop to each end is enough.

I don't carry a sheath knife or a folding knife in a holster, the sheath would seem to be a hotbed of nastiness.

 

[Bullets]

WD40's ok if you clean it off often, otherwise it sets up and gets gooey as the volatiles evaporate off.

I use hot soap and water on my swiss army folder, then pour alcohol over and through it to dry it and kill residual germs. WD40 as a drop to each end is enough.

I don't carry a sheath knife or a folding knife in a holster, the sheath would seem to be a hotbed of nastiness.

I only carry a sheath knife on packs, like a camelback at long events, and then it is upside down so nasties cant get in the sheath and hang out

 

[mycrofft]

I was thinking about gore, sap, fungus, and stuff growing in the sheath.

 

[Bullets]

I was thinking about gore, sap, fungus, and stuff growing in the sheath.

Like i said, securing the knife inverted, ie tip up, opening down keeps that from happening, but you also have to be sure you wipe down the blade prior to sheathing the knife. This is why though i love the look and feel of a quality leather sheath, like the hedgehog leather works i have, kydex or a plastic coated ballistic weave sheath is the best. They can be immersed on hot water/bleach solution and cleaned with a small pipe cleaner without damaging the sheath. I have a custom kydex made for my kabar, it is one piece, another is two pieces screwed together, which makes cleaning incredibly easy

 

[ltjohnson1979]

Knife Care

I use what ever gets a good edge on my knifes and axes. I carry a Leatherman on me where ever I go. Also fyi Leatherman is introducing a tool for us EMS personel it is called a Z-Rex and it has a carbide tip for breaking windows,a seatbelt cutter and an O2 wrench on it and they included a bottle opener on this tool also. This tool can fit commfertably in the palm of your hand and will be available in August. I will be purcahsing one when they come out.

 

[ironco]

As far as serrated edges go there are several kits with round sharpening stones on the market that are good. With convex edges you can get a knife pretty sharp but it is hard to do and your edge is more brittle because you have less meat. For most working knives a flat edge is the way to go

 

[ironco]

I understand the people who make knives are rather sharp?

Why thank you? Lol

 

[Bullets]

I use what ever gets a good edge on my knifes and axes. I carry a Leatherman on me where ever I go. Also fyi Leatherman is introducing a tool for us EMS personel it is called a Z-Rex and it has a carbide tip for breaking windows,a seatbelt cutter and an O2 wrench on it and they included a bottle opener on this tool also. This tool can fit commfertably in the palm of your hand and will be available in August. I will be purcahsing one when they come out.

Z-Rex looks a lot like the Benchmade 8MED Hook