Knives

[Sean Molina]

I have the FE x Wenger Companion. I have a small collection of knives but it's my favorite so far. It's my only fixed blade that doesn't look ridiculous in my pocket. I have some bigger ones that are just fun to play with.

I'm curious what others recommend and what folks are using to sharpen their blades. I use wet stones. Seems to work.

 

[jaycobkelsey]

I have the FE x Wenger Companion. I have a small collection of knives but it's my favorite so far. It's my only fixed blade that doesn't look ridiculous in my pocket. I have some bigger ones that are just fun to play with.

I'm curious what others recommend and what folks are using to sharpen their blades. I use wet stones. Seems to work.

I have the FE x Wenger Micro Skinner and use it daily. Haven't sharpened it yet (haven't needed to), but when I do I'll use a stone. It's my preferred sharpening method.

Other knives I have are a Glock 81 I take while camping, and a ton of Gerbers my dad gave me (I hate them all except my Dime multitool). Oh, and I have a CRKT Obake, holds an edge really nicely. I like my knives but eventually want to get a nicer knife like a Toor or Winkler.

 

[Ron Dan]

I have the FE x Wenger Companion. I have a small collection of knives but it's my favorite so far. It's my only fixed blade that doesn't look ridiculous in my pocket. I have some bigger ones that are just fun to play with.

I'm curious what others recommend and what folks are using to sharpen their blades. I use wet stones. Seems to work.

Glad to hear you like the companion. When you get a chance, give us a little 60 second review on the knife.

 

[Ryan Horst]

For my knives, if I’m doing touch-up, I usually use a Fällkniven DC4 (or DC3 if I’m on the go - it’s a great pocket stone) followed by a strop.

If I’m doing an actual resharpening due to heavy use or damage, I use my WorkSharp Ken Onion Edition belt sharpener. Got one after seeing Benchmade using them at SHOT years ago. We bought one immediately after for use in the gun shop where I worked at the time. I bought mine after leaving the shop and have used it since.

If you want a cheaper method, a mousepad (or gun mat, or old phone book) with a sheet of wet-dry sandpaper in an increasing grits (start around 400-600, then 1000, 1200, 2000) works great. I use this method with one of those cushioned manual hand-sanders (made for the wet-dry sandpaper sheets) for my axes/hawks and big blades.

 

[HowieR]

I have spent so much on stones, rods and even the belt sander @ryan was speaking of and have come to the conclusion that this is the finest investment in my spending range, the consietent angle is the key and this setup does it , I have had it for a couple years and all of my knives are hair poppin sharp. Just my 5 cents.

 

[Terry Houin]

I have spent so much on stones, rods and even the belt sander @ryan was speaking of and have come to the conclusion that this is the finest investment in my spending range, the consietent angle is the key and this setup does it , I have had it for a couple years and all of my knives are hair poppin sharp. Just my 5 cents.

View attachment 4783

this is the way for me as well. Pre and Post hunting season everythuing gets tunes up and during season I'll touch up with my field sharpener or the belt.

 

[Steve Johnson]

On the sharpening front... Years ago I came across the paper sharpening wheels, (linked below) I gave them a try and they have been a fixture in my shop ever since. They are very simple to use and don't remove a bunch of material, which, typically isn't required. One wheel has glued on abrasive, the other uses white jeweler's rouge and is more of a power strop. They are best on a 1/2 arbor buffer from Harbor Freight, etc, which was under $100 last time I checked.

Knife Sharpening Wheel Set 6" or 7.5"

Want longer lasting knife blades? Maintain your blade - Bestselling sharpening and honing kit for knife blades | Shop →

knifemaking.com

 

[YETI]

Daily carry is an Emerson CQC-7BW which I sharpen on a whet stone because it's a single edge with a corner.

I have hunting/skinning knives from Montana Knife Co, Benchmade, Havalon, etc. Most are fixed blade which I sharpen on the WorkSharp and touch up on a portable stone in the field if needed. I use the WorkSharp to sharpen my kitchen knives as well, all Shun.

Then I have three or four Ka-Bars. One in my office at work, one in my office at home, one in my truck, and one in my nightstand. The two in my offices are true Ka-Bars. The one in my truck is a modern Ka-Bar (black with rubber hilt) which I carried when I was in. I have no idea where the one in my nightstand came from but it's sharp as shit and scares me

 

[Ron Dan]

Daily carry is an Emerson CQC-7BW which I sharpen on a whet stone because it's a single edge with a corner.

I have hunting/skinning knives from Montana Knife Co, Benchmade, Havalon, etc. Most are fixed blade which I sharpen on the WorkSharp and touch up on a portable stone in the field if needed. I use the WorkSharp to sharpen my kitchen knives as well, all Shun.

Then I have three or four Ka-Bars. One in my office at work, one in my office at home, one in my truck, and one in my nightstand. The two in my offices are true Ka-Bars. The one in my truck is a modern Ka-Bar (black with rubber hilt) which I carried when I was in. I have no idea where the one in my nightstand came from but it's sharp as shit and scares me
View attachment 5226

How old is that Emerson?

 

[YETI]

How old is that Emerson?

I have two. My original is from 2003, my wife gave it to me as a 10th Anniversary present. (I asked her to lol) I retired that one a few years ago and got a new one. The handle on the new one is thicker and is an open design.

 

[Ron Dan]

I have two. My original is from 2003, my wife gave it to me as a 10th Anniversary present. (I asked her to lol) I retired that one a few years ago and got a new one. The handle on the new one is thicker and is an open design.

How do you feel about the quality between the two?

 

[YETI]

How do you feel about the quality between the two?

Good question.

Blades: The blades seem the same to me. The new one holds an edge well. The coating on the older blade, they call it "Thunderstorm" (black) is darker. One difference is that my original has serrations while the new one is all edge. Both blades are 154CM steel. One cool thing about the original knife is that the year of manufacture is on the blade, not so on the new one.

Handles: The original knife's G-10 has worn to the point that it's almost smooth. The G-10 on the new one is thicker. As you can see from the image below, the new one is what I would call open whereas the original was a solid steel. I imagine this helps clear stuff out of the hilt. (The old one is at home, I can share pictures of that one when I get home if anyone is interested.)

Function: Both of my CQCs have the "Wave" chinga which opens the blade as you pull the knife out of your pocket. (Circled in red in the second picture.) That functions equally well in both knives. For flip opening, the old one wins hands down. Yes, it is older and more broken in, but it has been easy to flip open since new. The new one is not easy to flip open. I have tried loosening and tightening the tension screw and flipped it thousands of times by now. It has not loosened up at all.

Overall, I feel that the quality of the two is very similar but like the feel of the older one. I like the thinner profile and it just fits my hand a little better. That said, I would trust my life to the new one too. In years of carrying, not a single screw or fastener has come loose on either. The blade tension screw stays put. Neither knife has ever rusted despite plenty of wet use.

 

[Ron Dan]

Good question.

Blades: The blades seem the same to me. The new one holds an edge well. The coating on the older blade, they call it "Thunderstorm" (black) is darker. One difference is that my original has serrations while the new one is all edge. Both blades are 154CM steel. One cool thing about the original knife is that the year of manufacture is on the blade, not so on the new one.

Handles: The original knife's G-10 has worn to the point that it's almost smooth. The G-10 on the new one is thicker. As you can see from the image below, the new one is what I would call open whereas the original was a solid steel. I imagine this helps clear stuff out of the hilt. (The old one is at home, I can share pictures of that one when I get home if anyone is interested.)

Function: Both of my CQCs have the "Wave" chinga which opens the blade as you pull the knife out of your pocket. (Circled in red in the second picture.) That functions equally well in both knives. For flip opening, the old one wins hands down. Yes, it is older and more broken in, but it has been easy to flip open since new. The new one is not easy to flip open. I have tried loosening and tightening the tension screw and flipped it thousands of times by now. It has not loosened up at all.

Overall, I feel that the quality of the two is very similar but like the feel of the older one. I like the thinner profile and it just fits my hand a little better. That said, I would trust my life to the new one too. In years of carrying, not a single screw or fastener has come loose on either. The blade tension screw stays put. Neither knife has ever rusted despite plenty of wet use.

Nice. I have know Ernie for years and did a training class with him at The Crucible probably more than 15yrs ago. I am a fan of his knives, especially the Karambits.

 

[YETI]

Nice. I have know Ernie for years and did a training class with him at The Crucible probably more than 15yrs ago. I am a fan of his knives, especially the Karambits.

The Karambit is on my list for future acquisition. I met Ernie once but it was just at the shop and I was looking around. He wouldn't remember me

 

[Hammer]

1) I tend to stay away from steels with a hardness so high that they're a nightmare to sharpen. I live in the very arid West, stainless isn't that important to me, though I fully recognize that in other parts of the country, that's not the case. With my carbon steel blades, I use them until they develop a good honest patina, and wipe them down regularly with a rag soaked in mineral oil.

2) After owning many knives and using them for decades, I'm convinced that heat treatment and geometry are a lot more important than the steel. Unfortunately, most knife manufacturers do not do a good job of providing this information (probably because they'd rather sell you on whatever over-hyped "super steel" is the new hotness this season).

3) Frequent stropping is key. I never use a knife until it is totally dull. If I use it for anything other than mundane tasks, I strop it (with compound) and this goes a long way toward avoiding long sessions at the sharpening bench.