Jun
Let’s face it, sharpening a pocket knife can be a bit of a bind. Obviously, it’s an essential task but it is very easy to do wrong and can be a right pain setting up whetstones or rod systems especially when you need a sharp knife straight away.
What about when you just need to maintain a blades edge and need something whilst you’re out and about? You need a sharp knife there and then, not just when you’re near all your sharpening tackle.
The Lansky Diamond Pen is ideal for your emergency sharpening needs as it is pocket sized so can be part of your EDC. It even has a pocket clip to stop it jiggling around or falling out of your pocket when you move.
What exactly is the Lansky Diamond Pen?
The Lansky Diamond Pen is a handy sized pocket sharpener. It is similar in size and shape as a permanent marker and at only 5″ long it is really pocket friendly.
The 600 grit rod is trilobal in design. The three sides give amazing flexibility – use it for sharpening pocket knives, blade serrations and even fish hooks. All in all, a very handy tool.
To extend the rod, simply twist the ‘cap’ counter clockwise, extend the rod to the desired length and the turn the cap clockwise to lock the rod in place. When the rod is extended, the pen is 8.5″ in length.
How Does The Lansky Diamond Pen Work?
The instructions are really simple. Here they are as provided by Lansky themselves:
Loosen the cap at the end of the Diamond Pen. Pull the sharpening rod into position and tighten the cap. Hold the Diamond Pen with one hand, and the tool you’d like to sharpen with the other.
Sharpening pocket knives
Use the flat side of the sharpening rod. Draw the knife edge down the sharpening surface as if you were attempting to slice a thin layer off the surface. Repeat this motion 3 – 4 times using light to moderate pressure. Repeat on other side, always making sure the blade is moving away from you as you sharpen. Maintain a consistent angle for best results.
Serrated knives
Use the corners of the sharpening rod for serrated knives. Slide the rod across the serrations, moving the blade away from you. Repeat until desired sharpness is achieved.
Fish hooks
The Diamond Pen has three V-shaped grooves on the sharpening rod for sharpening fish hooks. Hold the hook and choose a suitable notch, then place the hook in the notch. Move the hook back and forth until sharp.
Cleaning
Clean the surface of the sharpening rod after each use with a bit of water, and wipe with a dry rag, or soft-bristled brush. The rod should be completely dry before next usage. Loosen the cap on the Diamond Pen and push the diamond rod back into the tube, and then tighten the cap.
What is the Lansky Dimaond Pen Like To Use?
I decided to put the Lansky Diamond Pen to the test. To do this, I took a suitably blunt folding pocket knife – in this case a Kershaw Duck Commander which has a 3Cr13MoV steel blade.
Just to prove it was blunt before I started this test, take a look at this attempt to cut a sheet of paper!
As you can see, the Kershaw is one blunt knife!
To remedy this, the specific instructions provided by Lansky were followed to the letter.
Firstly drawing the blade down the flat side of the rod as if trying to slice off a thin layer, then repeating this on the other side.
The provided instructions stated this only needs doing 3 – 4 times, but I’m sure this entirely depends on how sharp the blade is to begin with.
I must admit to being a bit sceptical that only a few passes on the rod would make any difference….but I was pleasantly surprised!
The knife is now sharp enough to cut paper – after only 4 passes on each side of the blade.
Is the blade as razor sharp as if I’d spent a lot more time and effort on it than the four passes per side?
The blunt (excuse the pun) answer is no.
To get a really fine grained, super sharp edge takes time and effort, and this is not really what this tool was intended to for.
The knife is definitely now sharp enough to be used safely and effectively.
I also think that I could get a much sharper edge by spending more time on the blade with this sharpener. If it was this sharp after only 4 passes I can only imagine what it could do with more time and effort.
If were out in the wilds and only had this as a sharpening tool, I would be really confident it would do a good job.
It’s quick AND effective, which is ideal.
The Lansky Diamond Pen isn’t designed as a replacement for your normal knife sharpening routine but, as a handy, in-the-field tool, it’s excellent.
Another word of caution when using this or any sharpener – beware angles! If you don’t get the angle right when sharpening you can end up not sharpening the blade much and wasting effort as well as scratching the blade itself. Given that many blades have a coating or special finish, this needs to be watched out for unless you want your shiny new knife to look real, old real fast!
All in all, an item I’d definitely use again.
It’s handy, portable and really effective.
At less than £25 it is a worthwhile investment for your EDC or back pack. A lot of tool for not a lot of money.
