All About Pocket Knives

Hi All. Just curious to get some opinions about the best way to sharpen a knife. I recently purchased a army issued Camillus TL-29. It has a 4 line tang stamp that I think is in great condition. I plan on using it an "everyday" light duty knife. From what I can tell it is in very good condition especially for its age. I don't know if has been sharpened before, but it certainly could use one. I would assume that not all knife blades are sharpened the same way, so I thought I would ask the experts!

If you are good at sharpening, a bench stone is what I'd recommend. In particular, I like continuous surface diamond stones since they're quick and no mess. But since you are asking, it suggests you're learning to sharpen. There are guided sharpeners used by both pros and novices. The Spyderco sharpmaker is nice for touching up an edge that doesn't need much work. When a rougher grit is needed you can buy diamond rods for the Sharpmaker or just lean a coarser bench stone up against the Sharpmakers ceramic rods--that will set the angle. The Lansky system is pretty good. The DMT system is okay but the plastic Aligner clamp isn't as good as Lansky's metal clamp. Guided sharpeners with a clamp work fine on blades the size of the full size spear on your Camillus. On smaller blades the angles can be more limited because the clamp gets in the way.

Are you able to tell from my pictures the condition of the blade edge?

LesPaulGuitars wrote:Are you able to tell from my pictures the condition of the blade edge?

I'm sorry but I can't really tell from the photos. If it doesn't catch a thumbnail, shave arm hair, and cleanly slice paper then I'd touch up the edge.

I'd say that of the three that you mentioned it does neither of them. L.ol.. Thanks!

I have one of these. Any good?

In general, I wouldn't really recommend a pull through sharpener. They can't reach the last bit and they do a mediocre job on the rest. I have gifted the $3-4 Gerber pull through sharpeners to non knife people. If you go that route, I'd suggest sticking to ones with ceramic rods, not carbide. Check whether the one on Amazon is ceramic or carbide. If you're looking for cheap, you might look for a used Lansky or Spyderco Sharpmaker on Ebay. You'll get much better results with the lansky or sharpmaker.

This is not my video, but it is an excellent learning to sharpen tutorial.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?t=2s&v=OPGGo3W15HQ

Some people are very natural at sharpening, some are not. I practiced and got frustrated from a lack of good results for a long time before I became adequate. It takes patience to do it right. Anybody who practices enough can get an adequate edge. It may be (or may not be) frustrating at first, but you can do it.

What really helped me maintain a consistent angle was a tool called the work sharp field sharpener. It would be a great first choice IMO.


I would stay away from the pull through sharpeners, and especially grinders! When one is proficient and experienced at freehand there is really no better way to sharpen a knife.

I would avoid a pull through at all cost, they remove a lot of metal, and only get it slightly sharper than what it was before. Unlike speciality steels like D2, which is a pain to sharpen, the 1095 used by Camillus and other makers isn't hard to sharpen.

My advice is get some stones, find a few low end, garbage knives, and practice, practice, practice. That's the way I learned.

Nice old Camillus knife you have there, guitar man.

I hope you will get yourself some stones.
You can overcome the learning curve like many of us have here and you will be so glad you did.
Because your sharpening options are almost endless.

Get some cheap 6" carbon steel kitchen knives and learn on those.
Last official count was that there are 47 like knives per square acre in these United States.

In sharpening the angle is everything, I have used a Lansky sharpener for over 35 years. Works for me. Originally they came with stones, as they wore out I replaced them with the Lansky diamond hones.

I have worn out about 3 sets of Lansky hones, now have some diamond ones. I also use the Spyderco sharpmaker for quick touchups. After reading Paul's post about the WorkSharp field sharpener, I went down to my local cutlery store and picked one up. I really like it, quick and easy. Thanks to Paul for the recommendation.
Dan

OLDE CUTLER wrote:In sharpening the angle is everything, I have used a Lansky sharpener for over 35 years. Works for me. Originally they came with stones, as they wore out I replaced them with the Lansky diamond hones.

agree - I've worn out a couple Lansky kits - they work great & I'm all about the Lansky system ! Best $40 you'll ever spend

I don't have the talent for stones. Wish I did. That said, I don't have the patience to learn, either.
I found the Lansky 4-Rod Turn Box to quickly put an arm shaving edge on all my pocket and kitchen knives.
https://lansky.com/index.php/products/4 ... -box-copy/
Shop around. I got mine through Amazon last year for $25.