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Sharpening a pocketknife

Q. When and how should I sharpen my pocketknives?

— Dull Dale, Colts Neck, N.J.

A. How often you sharpen your pocketknife depends mostly on how often you use it. Basically when the blade feels dull to the touch or if it starts to feel awkward cutting with your knife, it’s time to do a little sharpening.

Click here to check out our online video tutorial on how to sharpen a knife.


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12 Comments on Sharpening a pocketknife

  1. bowieknife // June 13, 2010 at 5:38 pm // Reply

    My granpa gave me a knife that sez “old timer” on it. where do they sell these knives?

  2. bowieknife // June 13, 2010 at 5:36 pm // Reply

    i just got a new swiss army knife. it’s really dull. how can i get a nice, sharp edge? i don’t know if my sharpening stone is coarse or fine- my granpa gave it 2 me

  3. How do i sharpen a pocket knife if i dont want to buy a whetstone or any sharpening tool? I might buy a sharpener but right not i cant.

  4. tootalltoreply // January 25, 2010 at 1:14 pm // Reply

    were can i get a whetstone or any stone that can sharpen a knife

  5. Bleeding Fingers // December 7, 2009 at 5:26 pm // Reply

    Most knives come with “factory” edge. In other words, they are unsharpened. If you want a really sharp edge on your knife, try keeping the back of the blade about the width of a dime above the sharpening stone. It’ll take longer, but in the long run, you will have a razor sharp edge if you do it right.

  6. well ill try this on my 30 knifes and re post on how good it works, if i have time to repost. on the farm knifes can get really dull so i might carry a sharpening stone with me……. that would be a good idea if you have to sharpen a knife on the farm or any were else.

  7. connor the man // December 22, 2008 at 1:06 pm // Reply

    i have millions of knives and sharpening stones.the rogher the blade the rougher the sharpening stone (A.K.A a whetstone)

  8. thanks

  9. I will try that THANKS!

  10. you will not need to sharpen a more expensive knife as much Swiss army is a good brand they sell good ones as cheap as ten dollars

    • Knife Xpert 157 (aka Chad 101) // November 21, 2011 at 10:14 pm // Reply

      actually swiss army knifes are most often made of 440 steel. which will dull just as fast as a regular knife. Swiss Army is a OK brand, but their steel is just regular 440, nothing special.

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