Work Sharp Field Sharpener Review- Can I give up my replaceable blade knife?

Several years ago I made the decision to switch from a traditional fixed blade knife to a replaceable blade Outdoor Edge knife for hunting.  I was tired of the hide and de-boning process dulling the knife I was using and then not getting the knife back to razor sharp with the small, packable sharpeners I tried.  With a replaceable blade knife you can just pop in a new blade and be back to work in seconds.

I do still appreciate the feel and strength of a good, fixed blade knife however and have been wanting to level up my field sharpening skills to prevent the sharpener from limiting my options in the field.  Recently, through Expert Voice, Work Sharp sent me a Field Sharpener to review.  They requested that I make an honest review and didn't ask for anything specifically in the review.  Simply, that I test it out and be honest.  While it was a little too late to take it out hunting for the year, I wanted to share some thoughts after using it on a little over a dozen knives, from fixed blade, to kitchen knives to a variety of pocket knives.  

Features:

This sharpener is about 4.6 ounces and 6.75" long.  It isn't the smallest sharpener out there, but the weight, size and balance makes it relatively small, but not so small that it is difficult to use.  It offers five options for getting your blade sharp, it has a course diamond, fine diamond, two ceramic grits and a built in leather strop for getting your blade truly honed.  It also has angle guides built into the frame, a small ceramic rod for serrated edges, a broadhead wrench, a hook sharpener and some storage space for the instructions or other small items.  

Again, for the size and weight, this sharpener does have a lot of options.

In use:

So how well does it actually work?  I started out with my EDC knife.  A SpyderCO Manix 2 knife that I like to keep sharp.  I knew I didn't really need to use the diamond surfaces on it, so I just used the ceramic rod, starting with the coarse and then the fine.  Then I used the leather strop, which I don't think I have ever used with this knife.  The result was a razor sharp straight edge that would bite into my fingernail or slice through a sheet of paper without an issue.  I found the angle guides easy to use and the sharpener worked great with either holding on to it, or placing it on a table.  The edges of the guides have almost a hard rubber feel and do a great job of keeping the sharpener from moving around when it is on the table.

As I continued to get used to the the angle and sharpening methods available on the Field Sharpener I worked my way through a handful of pocket knives that are generally kept fairly sharp.  I was pleased with each of them as just a couple minutes with the ceramic and the leather strop brought knife after knife to a level of sharpness beyond what I normally get them to.  

A variety of knives I sharpened with the Work Sharp Field Sharpener.

One of my next tests was an older, cheap paratrooper knife that I have had since I was a teenager (just left of the sharpener in the photo above).  It was a cheap knife that I bought at an Army surplus store and I never really have bothered to sharpen it to a point that it was razor sharp.  It was more of a novelty knife and something that I have never really bothered to carry or use.  This one was going to take all of the available options and I started with the coarse diamond plate.

After running it through both of the diamond plates, then the ceramic and the strop, I found I had sharpened the knife beyond anything it had ever seen before.  Now, it wasn't quite razor sharp, due to a large difference in the blades original angle and the 20 degree angle that the Field Sharpener guides you to, I didn't quite work at it long enough to re-shape the blade.  I do think I could have achieved a sharper blade, but for the cheap knife I got it to where I was content and moved on to other knives.

What I like:

I really like the size of this sharpener.  It is small enough to make it easy to throw in a backpack and carry, but large enough that I can sharpen kitchen knives or fixed blade knives.  It seems to be a good balance.

Using fine ceramic rod of the Work Sharp Field Sharpener.

I also like the 5 grit options.  While you don't always need the diamond grit, especially when you just need to touch up a blade, I like having the options to go from dull to sharp, touch up a sharp blade and everything in between.  I think this really gives you the ability to address any sharpening need that you would have in the field.  The leather strop even helps to bring that final razor edge, a step I often wouldn't take with a pocket knife.

For the weight and size of the sharpener it will be finding it's way in my backpack when I'm hunting and if not in the backpack, at least in my vehicle or camper when I go camping.

What I don't like:

There isn't much that I dislike about the sharpener.  The only real complaint that I have is the ability to sharpen serrated edges.  It does have a small ceramic rod that will allow you to sharpen relatively large serrations, but if you have a knife with narrow serrations, even the smaller ceramic rod is a little large to get down into it.  That's were I will probably continue to use the Spyderco Tri-Angle Sharpmaker with the triangle stones to get into the smaller serrations.

Final Impression:

I like the weight and size enough that on a hunting trip, even if I am backpacking in, I will add this to my pack to make sure that I can keep my knife sharp.  For a shorter day trip, or a simple backpacking trip I probably won't bother with carrying it.  The sharpener is also a good size for using it around the house.  Although something a little more substantial would be nice for sharpening a full drawer of kitchen knives or tools, it works well enough that I will break it out to sharpen a couple kitchen knives, or the occasional tool or pair of scissors.

For now this sharpener will take the place of my Spyderco Tri-Angle Sharpmaker for most of my sharpening needs.  I will likely still break out the Sharpmaker for finer serrations, such as some of my pocket knives and kitchen knives with fine serrations.  For most other sharpening needs I will be using the field sharpener.

This sharpener should meet most of your needs for a lightweight sharpener with a lot of options.  You may have to look elsewhere if you are needing ultra-lightweight, or need a more substantial bench top setup, but for most average uses, you should be pretty well set with the Work Sharp Field Sharpener.