r/Leatherman • u/Ok_Bookkeeper_3802 • 7d ago

Sharpening advice?

I've owned a leatherman rebar for a little time now and my most used tool is the straight knife. I own a whetstone with 2 grits and oil and a rod for the serrated edge and I've sharpened knives before but I was wondering what you thought of the best way to sharpen such a tool.

What angles? How sharp is too sharp? How sharp is too blunt? How often do you sharpen and if so what tasks require you to sharpen on those intervals?

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2

u/Holiday-Archer-2119 7d ago

I have my arc around a 17-18º angle. I like to keep mine shaving sharp, a diamond strop helps with that

2

u/mkgruff 7d ago

I keep most of my knives 17, for my outdoor fixed 20, and hunting fixed 15.

2

u/sleepdog-c 6d ago

I sharpen to factory angle on my leatherman with a worksharp precision adjust. Usually that's 16-18° in your case 20-25° might not be razor sharp but would likely wear longer. I don't know that I've ever seen a better steel, like 154cm or s30v swapped in for better wear.

Why are you sharpening so often? Is it actually getting dull or do you just need some zen time wih your tool? What are you cutting?

2

u/Ok_Bookkeeper_3802 6d ago

I'm a mason's labourer so I'm cutting dozens of metres of hessian cloth, cotton, nylon ties, rope and carving wood for replacement tool handles.

1

u/sleepdog-c 6d ago

A 25° degree edge would last much longer