Run one side of the knife’s edge along the rod, but don’t apply too much pressure. Imagine you’re trying to thinly slice the honing rod. No matter what technique or equipment you’re using, it’s important that you stroke your blade against your sharpening tool around five or six times before flipping the blade over and then doing it on the other side. Place the blade near the handle of the sharpening rod at a 20-degree angle to the surface. This will also help protect your countertop, which is ideal if you’re planning to sharpen your knives in the kitchen! There Are Many Kinds of Rods. The most common way to sharpen your pocket knives is going to be through the use of a sharpening stone but you can also use a sharpening rod or honing steel can also help you maintain your knife … It’s whatever you prefer, and this will come with experience. Pocket knives, or any kind of knife for that matter, is absolutely no good if it’s dull and can’t actually cut anything. Once both sides are done, flip your stone over onto the fine grit side and repeat the entire process from step two onwards. Sweep the entire length of the blade from handle to point. You need a sharpening stone. Now sharpen your blade! It should be a solid surface with no chance of slipping so that there will be no accidents. No matter which type of stone you select, keeping to one that is at least 2x6 inches will make your sharpening job easier. You can use a torch or a phone light or a ceiling light, but whatever kind of light you use, if the knife is dull, it will reflect the light. A well sharpened blade will cut into the edge with ease. Now do the same on the other side of the blade! … There are plenty of different types to choose from, and it will all depend on your personal preference and how much you’re willing to spend. For extra grip, an old towel or tea towel can be placed down first. They are also dangerous and hard to control. They are also dangerous and hard to control. If you are interested in our articles about knives you can check our guide about the best folding knives under $100 or best Elk Ridge knives. Be sure to keep your fingers away from the blade. However, sharpening a pocket knife properly takes practice and a bit of know-how to get right, so to help you have the best experience, here are the tips you need to know! Firmly grip your knife your other hand. Probably the most common of all honing rods is the steel version. Push into it so the rod is secure and won’t move around quickly. You don’t need to think too much about it and don’t need any tools like grinders or buffers – just a stone, and some lubricant. We’re going to try and cover some of the best and most effective in today’s guide, but you may go to someone else, and they might swear by another method. Since sharpening your pocket knife is literally just the act of grinding and stroking away the surface of your blade, the more you sharpen it, the quicker your knife will become smaller and smaller. It happens. Let’s check out a couple of tools you can use to sharpen your pocket knife. Well, this is simply because people do it the wrong way. If you’re someone who uses knives and your pocket knife quite a lot and you need it to be sharp, it can pay off to experiment with lots of different sharpening tools to see which works best for you and provides you with the final result that works. Using a Honing Rod to Sharpen a Pocket Knife. Another method for sharpening your pocket knife is to use a honing rod. The best idea is to sample different stones if you can and then choose which one gives you the best results. A Sharpening Stone. Once you’ve got the technique down, then transfer this over to your better knives and enjoy sharper results. Another way to check is to hold the edge of the blade up to the light. Place the downward-facing tip on your counter. But how exactly do you sharpen a pocket knife? There’s a lot to cover there, so we’ll talk about it in another article. Hold the sharpening rod with your left hand (if right handed), keeping your fingers on the handle. Instead, buy a really cheap knife that you don’t actually care about and practice on that. Swipe slowly and gently across and down the rod with the full length of the blade, starting from handle of the knife to the tip. Of course, this will happen years, if not decades, down the line, but to ensure the lifespan of your knife is as long as possible, you can check the dullness of your knife and then only sharpen it when you need too. Eventually, you won’t be able to use it! Here are the three ways you can test it. First, and perhaps the most obvious, way of checking is simply by using your knife day by day and noticing it doesn’t cut as well as it used to. Keep your knives sharp and ready with a sharpening rod, also known as a steel. They’re super easy to use and tend to be very affordable. Just like the stone, just swipe the knife down the honing rod at the same angle you defined in step two. The next thing that you will have to do is to position the blade properly. Ideally, you can figure this out for yourself by simply getting a feel for the blade and through sharpening experience, but to make sure you get it right, you can take your knife to a hardware store where they’ll be able to tell you the exact angle. Dull knives make cutting a difficult chore. Take your honing rod and hold it, so the sharpening rod is facing down towards the ground. These types of blade sharpeners are most commonly found in the kitchen, and you may already have one for use with your cooking knives. The first step you want to take is recognizing how dull your knife is and whether it’s ready to be sharpened. Take your stone in one hand find the side with the roughest level of grit. It has a textured surface like an emery board or a fine rasp. All Right Reserved. Dull knives make cutting a difficult chore. Of course, you won’t actually be cutting it, but this is the kind of movement you want to make. To use a sharpening stone, you simply need to follow these steps; As it’s used to ‘hone’ the edge of your pocket knife, a honing rod can be a fantastic investment that you can use on any kinds of knives. Be aware of your surroundings; never use a knife where you can accidentally cut another person. Typically when using your sharpening steel, you should maintain an angle between 25 to 30 degrees to sharpen a pocket knife. If you have oils or lubricant, apply to the stone mildly. Hold your knife to the rod by its bevel edge, which … It’s all about finding what works for you. There are many different types of sharpening rods out there. 2018-2020 - www.geosettr.com. Sharpening a pocket knife is not much different than sharpening a regular knife. We’ve spoken about this a little bit above, but you need to make sure you’re getting the angle of your sharpening knife right. A steel is a specially made metal rod with a handle. Slide the blade across the steel like you are cutting a thin slice off the steel. Whetstone: These stones are generally considered the easiest to use and are mad… If the blade is blunt, you’ll find your thumbnail catches here and there on the blade; this means it’s dull, and it’s time to sharpen it up! Of course, you’re probably going to want to go for quality, but once you’ve found the one you like, you know this is going to be the best for you. Run one side of the knife’s edge along the rod, but don’t apply too much pressure. In essence, it’s basically the same as a sharpening stone, and will give you very similar results. This is the edge of your knife. You’ve probably heard from other people, or even knife-making experts, that you shouldn’t use a knife to sharpen your knife. Try to maintain the same throughout the stroke. Again, this can be around the 10-15 degree marks, although some pocket knives do cut better around 25-30 degree mark. How to Sharpen a Pocket Knife With a Honig Rod. There is a different approach in how to sharpen a pocket knife with a rod. If you pour a bit (and we mean a small bit) of water on it and it absorbs it very quickly, this is the rough grit side. Use the sharpening rod before each cutting job to keep your knife from getting dull. These types of sharpeners are usually made of steel, but also are ceramic and diamond. Okay, just a quick note before we actually get into it. Follow these steps to safely and effectively sharpen your pocket knife: Apply a lubricant. The most common is the steel honing rod also known as sharpening steel. 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