Pocket Knife Reviews and Information

Slicing Steel Sahlute!!  (Yeah, sorry about that pun there…..)

Sharpening and honing your pocket knife are different although similar.  I have however found that the first and last steps in whatever you're doing to establish
your edge are key……for me!

I do my sharpening/homning by hand on stones.  And I will say the LANKSY system is my personal favorite way for creating a new edge, but the first thing I do, and 
recommend you do also is to stroke the knife "backwards." And the last step I use is stropping against a flat leather belt.  I imagine any flat piece of leather will do, I 
just happened to find this perfectly flat one at an estate sale for $.50.

I also have a near marble-like finish stone.  It's ultra smooth and helps me create a hair-popping edge on my pocket knives. That stone and the leather belt
are all I use in most cases.  If a knife needs a new edge I'll go to the Lansky system.
 

Step 1).  No matter what I'm doing I stroke the knife backwards.  In the pics below (I'm right handed by the way) I place the edge of the knife at the 1/2" mark
on the ruler. I stroke to the right to the 6" mark…..in essence going the opposite direction, or backwards of normal knife use. Get it?  

I lift the knife, head back to the
1/2" mark and do it again.  I do that4 or 5 times ONLY! Keep in mind, I stroke….LIFT……return to original destination…..stroke….LIFT.  So I'm heading the
same way 4 or 5 times.  Then…….I flip the knife over and go from the 6" mark to the 1/2" mark backwards…..4 or 5 times. 

(Previously I never stroked the knife edge backwards, I always started with Step 2.  I've found that using Step 1 dramatically enhances my sharpening/honing skills). 

Step 2). Same as step one, just stroke the knife in the normal use of movement direction.  In this case, start with blade facinf same direction, towards the 1/2" 
mark, but place the edge down at the 6" mark and stroke FORWARDS to the 1/2" mark.  Get it.  Do that, all in the same direction 4 or 5 times.
Flip over and stroke from 1/2" mark to 6" mark 4 or 5 times.

Step 3). My leather belt.  I recommend a nice flat piece of leather.  I then become like the barber and strop my blade edge back and forth attempting to remove
whatever microscopic burs I may have created.  I backwards stroke to the right, backwards stroke to the left, and do that 4 ofr 5 times.  

(BY THE WAY…….you don't have to stroke only 5 1/2" inches….just using those marks as directions ;-))| And, in addition, I use these same 3 steps for my MORA, CASE XX,
Edge fixed blade knives!  Or for that matter, for my kitchen knives.  Just remember to start backwards……on purpose!! 

And yes, I just sharpened those 3 KERSHAW knives using these exact techniques.  

Steel Sahrpening Sahlute!!
Scott