We all know that a hunting knife is only beneficial if it has a razor sharp edge.
It is very important for you to maintain the sharp edge of your hunting knife so that you can not get any injury while you are skinning and cleaning your game because a hunting knife having a dull blade is more dangerous than a sharp one due to the following reasons:
- If you accidentally got an injury with a dull knife, the wound takes much longer time to heal.
- You need to apply greater force if you have a dull knife, and that increases your chance of injury if it got slipped from your hand.
- Knife with a dull blade is very difficult to control when precise cutting is required, especially when skinning an animal.
- And we all know that dull knife is less effective in all conditions whether it is hunting, skinning, camping, cutting, survival, etc.
Therefore, it is necessary for you to keep your hunting knives in the best condition possible if you want to get the best results from them.
Firstly, you need to check the sharpness of your hunting knife because you cannot guess its sharpness or dullness by just looking at the blade of a knife. The simplest way is just cut vegetables or meat with your hunting knife.
So, in this way, you will get an idea of sharpness of your knife blade.
Nowadays, there are many different types of hunting knives having hook blades, serrated blades, etc. But all these knives must be in their best condition when you use them for skinning, dressing, etc. to keep away from getting an injury.
Before going in detail, let take a look at top rated hunting knife sharpeners quickly.
Sharpening By Hand?
If you are going to sharpen your knife with hands, then it’s a bit tricky because it is very difficult to maintain proper angle of knife to get a razor sharp edge.
From the last couple of years, some manufactures built high quality knife sharpeners that make your hunting knife blade sharp as new one.
On What Factors Sharpness Mainly Depend?
The sharpness of your hunting knife mainly depends upon the angle between the knife’s blade and stone; the smaller the angle, the sharper the knife. And every hunting knife sharpens a knife in a different way.
We are going to review the best hunting knife sharpeners for your outdoor activities.
Qualities Of Best Hunting Knife Sharpener
- Hunting knife sharpener should be easy to transport, i.e, you can easily carry it with you while on hunting and it is simple to use.
- It should have a zero chance of damaging a hunting knife blade.
- When you are going to sharpen a hunting knife blade, it surfaces off the small amount of metal edge from the blade to increase its sharpness and the best hunting knife sharpener give you a sharp edge without damaging the surface of your hunting knife.
Manual vs Electric Hunting Knife Sharpener
Trying to decide which type of knife sharpener will work best for your hunting knife between manual vs electric knife sharpener?
There is no easy answer to this question since there are so many different types, methods, versions, brands available in the market to confuse you. But, one thing is for sure though, using sharp knives in hunting is very crucial.
Manual Hunting Knife Sharpener
Some outdoor men prefer to use manual knife sharpener because they believe that electric knife sharpener is too aggressive with its sharpness, so having control on the pressure and speed is very important.
Manual knife sharpeners are easier to store as they require less space, they are less expensive than electric ones and also they are best for quick touch ups.
Electric Hunting Knife Sharpener
On the other hand, electric knife sharpeners require minimal effort by the user and job can be done with just a fraction of energy and time.
Electric knife sharpener offers more feature e.g., If you have a set of hunting knives which includes both American and Asian knives, an electric sharpener will give you the option to sharpen all these hunting knives to the exact degree they require.
In this post, we will be going to discuss both manual and electric ones. But if you need a detail guide on electric knife sharpeners, you can see this guide on best electric knife sharpeners.
Best Hunting Knife Sharpeners for hunting knives
1. KME Precision Knife Sharpener System
KME Precision Knife Sharpener System with 4 Gold Series Diamond Hones comes at the top of our list of hunting knife sharpeners due to its quality of sharpening edge, portability and other options available in the toolkit.
KME Precision Knife Sharpener is amazing, it can get you the edge you want. Apparently, it seems like a lot to spend on a hunting knife sharpening kit but in the big scheme of things, it’s worth it.
This system has all the same quality and performance but even better than any other knife sharpener in the market.
The KME System is a high-quality, efficient knife sharpener that is perfect for maintaining a wide range of hunting knives. With 4 Gold Series KME 1×4 diamond hones that come in 140 extra-coarse, 300 coarse, 600 fine and 1500 extra fine grades, you can sharpen your hunting knives blade to a new level of excellence.
With this hunting knife sharpener, you can get pretty damn close to a mirror edge. But if you really want to bring your edges to an insanely high level. Try the lapping films that’s the great thing about this system is there’s so many accessories for it. It’s up to you how far you want to go.
This is for serious outdoorsmen who want to bring their edges to the next level. You don’t need to get all the extras to have a phenomenal system but it sure doesn’t hurt. This basic kit with the 4 stones will get you where you need to go. And if later on you want to get those insanely sharp mirror edges you have that option. We strongly recommend this to any serious knife guy. It’s a must-have hunting tool and look at it this way once you get good enough at it you can start charging people to sharpen their knives for them and eventually you will be making money off the system.
2. Work Sharp Combo Knife Sharpener
The Work Sharp Combo Knife Sharpener has a speed that is really difficult to beat by other similar products.
This is an incredible knife sharpener for people who use their knives often and every day for work and want to get the job done. In my opinion, perfect for and highly recommend to not only hunters but also for fishermen, contractors, chefs, butchers, etc.,
Many hunting knife sharpeners are unable to sharpen the jagged edge of the knives. But this knife sharpener sharpens even the jagged edges perfectly. This product will give your hunting knife edges that will last longer.
This hunting knife sharpener sharpens every sort of knife you have in your knives collection. Serrated, non-serrated, jagged edge, kitchen, camping,hunting and every other type of knife can get a sharp edge using this product.
And at last, when it comes to the belt, you can change its belt very easily just by hands when needed.
Just plug the Work Sharp Combo Knife Sharpener in, turn it on, couple of swipes on either side on the belt, five to ten swipes on the ceramic rod for the finish and you are good to go.
3. BOKER 09DX003 Work Sharp Knife Sharpener
This hunting knife sharpener tool allow anyone to put a truly razor sharp edge on a knife.
This is one of the only tools that can sharpen any type of hunting blades or other accessories. This product is very much useful. Many experienced hunters keep this sharpener in their collection so that they can sharpen their hunting knife perfectly.
This sharpener give knives razor sharp edge for a long time. So you don’t need to sharpen your hunting knives regularly.
So, this is the reason why your blade gets long life. Because sharpening hunting knives frequently reduces their life.
We all know that there are many types of hunting knives. Some are curved, some are fillet, some has straight edges, some are clip point blade, some have drop point blade and some even has serrated sections too. This sharpener is capable of sharpening any type of hunting knife.
Flexible belts are used to sharpen the edges of knives. Despite of its complex structure, you can still easily use it because the manufacturer is proving manuals and guides that can help you use this knife sharpener and also guide you on how to maintain your hunting knife blades.
4. Edge Pro Apex 1 Knife Sharpener Kit
It is one of the best knife sharpening system available in the market. It’s easy to set up and is pretty fundamental to use.
This system can sharpen hunting knife of almost any shape or size blade, along with serrated knife edges. The system is simple can make sure that your hunting knife would sharpen by using best angle. This makes re-sharpening of hunting knives much faster, hence dull blades are going to become a thing of yesterday.
The hunting knife sharpening system could be installed within minutes without a power, you just need to make sure it’s on a smooth surface. This knife sharpener doesn’t generate any heat also it won’t hurt your knives’ temper.
Spending money on a knife sharpening system like this could possibly be the only process to get your hunting knives nearly to that initial factory condition. Because you do need to sharpen your hunting knives on a regular, this eventually ends up spending less time.
5. Smith’s 50185 Jiffy-Pro Handheld Sharpener
This device provides a good collection of sharpener fittings in a single tool. Especially, if you have straight edge hunting knives and thinking of buying a best sharpener for them, then you can buy smith’s 50185 without any doubt.
The manufacturer has included many user-friendly features so that you feel comfortable using this knife sharpener to make your dull blade a razor-sharp one. The large finger guard is also great for protecting your hand while sharpening large knives.
Not only knives but you can also sharpen your scissors by using this product. This sharpener is particularly designed for both indoor and outdoor purposes. You can easily get a razor sharp edge by using preset angle.
For an excellent hunting knife edge, though, go to the ceramic pull through. You don’t need any technique, just keep your knife vertical and use delicate pressure while pulling it through the ceramic. Don’t roll the knife out of vertical or you’ll be blunting the 46 degree edge.
Also, you can put a couple drops of water on the ceramic, because the best sharpening is provided by a wet slurry on the ceramic rather than dry ceramic.
The structure of this sharpener is not only simple, but effective too. The preset angle allows you to sharpen your knife quite well.
6. Spyderco Triangle Knife Sharpener
Spyderco is amongst the most trusted names when it comes to knives, due to its quality and durability.
Made by the best quality parts, the Triangle Sharpmaker is manufactured for storing tools and blades at their best condition. Each component pops into its self-contained base and lid, made out of ABS plastic.
This is an incredible sharpener for hunting knives! The system is simple and easy to master, and gives a perfect edge on anything that have an edge or a point i.e., knives, scissors, fish Hooks, yard tools, serrated blades, etc,.
It won’t leave scratches on the sides of your hunting knife. Maybe this is no big deal to you. But if you have some new hunting knives, it’s annoying to discover that your sharpening system scratched up your knife. With the Spyderco, nothing comes in contact with the sides of the knife. Hence, there are no clamps that can leave marks. Nor are you required to lay the knife on its side, where it can pick up grit and get scratched.
There’s a DVD with videos if you want to see how it works, or a booklet going through the various things to sharpen or hone and how they are done.
You will get the best results by using a moderate, controlled pace and just enough pressure to maintain contact with the stone.
Two sets of stones—a coarser one to get the burrs off, and a finer ceramic set to refine the edge. There are guards to keep your knife ultra sharp blades from slicing your flesh, and it all folds up neatly into a box for easy storage. Because everywhere you go for hunting, there are knives that need sharpening.
7. Sharp Pebble Premium Whetstone Knife Sharpening Stone
This is perfect sharpener for people that are not pros but need sharper hunting knives. The stone works perfectly to restore the hunting blades to their original quality.
Sharpening the knives does take some practice and plenty of time. The 1000/6000 stone is a great entry level stone to practice.
It is easily transportable, and does not require any special care or oil to use.
The base is perfect and does not slide along granite countertops. Soaking the stone is essential and having additional water on hand to keep the stone wet. The angle guide slides well but gets in the way once you move towards the tip of the knife. We’ve found that using your thumbs as a guide works better and gives a natural feel.
You can use sharpening stone not only for hunting knives but also for high quality kitchen knives, giving it another level of flexibility outside of the hunting kit.
If you’ve never used a wet stone you should watch a couple of how-to videos on YouTube to understand the basic process and just start off with a knife that you wouldn’t mind ruining.
8. ALPHA TEK Pocket Hunting Knife Sharpener
Great sharpener for hunting knives in the field. A good combination of price, simplicity, and size and really good for inexperienced people.
The knife sharpener being described as a pocket knife sharpener, but it is not confined to just pocket knives. It can also used as a kitchen item. Kitchen knives also need it too.
It can also sharp any other kind of knives too. Due to its small size, it can be kept anywhere.
This product is particularly designed for outdoorsy people, campers, hunters, and those who like to sharpen their survival or skinning knives and it would be a great addition to your hunting gear.
The best part about this knife sharpener is, its affordable to everyone.
Final Words…
Maintaining a razor sharp edge of your best-hunting knives is every bit as significant as owning the knife itself. A hunting knife is only as good as its blade, and its blade is only as good as you maintain it.
The age of a hunting knife is determined by the quality of knife sharpener you use to sharpen the edge of the knife.
If the knife sharpener fails, then it will damage your expensive knife too. So, always choose the right one that can give your blade a razor-sharp edge that remains sharp for a very long time.