FallKniven DC4
Ask anyone who owns a knife the best way to sharpen it and you'll get a very varied response indeed. Some swear black and blue that water stones are the best way, arguing even further that Japenese stones are the only way to go, others will rave about their various sharpening system like the Lansky system, others still a sharpening steel. The truth is, if it sharpens, its the right way for you.
That being said I suppose there are limits to the way you can effectively put and edge and keep an edge on a good knife. Any method that compromises the integrity of the blade or is a dangerous to use is obviously not a good method, but its more a case of trial and error when it comes to the system you adopt.
This leads me nicely to the subject of this article. The DC4 sharpening stone from FallKniven is, in my opinion the premier compact sharpening tool on the market. There may be others out there, but the price, quality and design make it the best of the best.
It may be small at only 32mm x 100mm, but it packs an awesome punch. Its double sided, with one a fine diamond (25 micron) side and the other a "special ceramic stone, made of synthetic sapphires". This basically presents a very comprehensive way to sharpen practically any blade, with the ability to re-shape a damaged edge and then hone a fine and very sharp edge with the ceramic side. You can see Ray Mears using one here. Here is mine: (somewhat used)
I bought mine from Ray Mears himself. Well, his online shop, I had a voucher to spend, but, you can grab them online from FallKniven direct in Sweden, or anywhere else. Just be wary of cheap copies, I've heard of a few dodgy suppliers palming off cheap versions. It depends on where you live in the world as to how much you'll spend, but its a good investment no matter what. The stone comes in a real leather pouch stamped with the brand on one side and if you get it from Woodlore it has Ray's Logo on the other...
All in all, I now favour this method above all others for a great edge on my knives. The single bevel or scandinavian grind that I use is spectacularly easy to sharpen and maintain, so a simple system like this makes it even easier to keep a knife in the best shape.
I will undoubtably opt for a more snobby way of sharpening in the future, like Japanese water stones, there's definetly something important and impressive about using such ancient tools like water stones, but for now this is by far the quickest and easiest way to keep a good edge.
GB
