Coast LEDs & Knife Review | Blog | Coast Portland

Coast recently published a new article on their web site dealing with hunting knives, specifically, how to sharpen them.  With hunting season just getting underway, the article is extremely timely.

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Through proper care and maintenance you can keep a knife in good working condition for years. Keeping a blade sharpened is fundamental to ensuring a long life for your knife. There are a number of options available to you when you’re looking for a knife sharpener, from simple whet stones to more complex electric sharpeners. Not every type of knife sharpener will be right for everyone, of course, or even for every knife.

One thing that you should consider is how much work you want to put in to sharpening your knives.  Manual knife sharpeners and whet stones can give you more precision while sharpening your knives, but require a lot more work to create a good edge.  Electric knife sharpeners may not be quite as precise, but are less likely to miss spots or create an uneven edge.  You should also keep in mind the types of knives that you’ll be sharpening, as certain types of knives require specific sharpening tools.  Solid blades can use most types, whereas serrated blades require special attachments so that you don’t damage the knife itself.  Regardless of the knife sharpener that you choose, be sure that you always follow the directions to prevent damaging your blade or the sharpener itself.

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A hunting knife is pretty useless if it isn’t sharp. It is not easy to field dress a large deer or elk, no matter how many years of experience you have, if you do not have the properly maintained tools for the job. When the quality of the tools you are using is undermined by the dullness of the blade then the hunting knife is essentially useless. It is difficult to assess whether your hunting knife blade is dull simply by looking at it – it does not have to be visibly dull to be ineffective.  Before going on your next hunting trip, test your knife to make sure it is properly sharpened and ready for use. 

Doing this is really easy and takes very little time.  Take a sheet of regular writing or printing paper and run the blade of the knife against a sheet. If the knife cuts right through the paper cleanly, the knife is properly sharpened and ready for the rigorous tasks you have for it. If the cutting is jagged or the paper crumples as you cut it, the blade needs to be sharpened using the proper knife sharpening kit.
 
Maintaining a sharpened knife will make your hunting or camping trip a little less burdensome.  Make sure to pack your knife sharpener in with your gear as well in case the blade dulls during the course of your outdoor adventure.

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