Customer Reviews

Gerber 22-41846 DF6 Compact Sharpener

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I've only used it a few times but it worked well. Its made of several interleaved spring fingers about 3/8" wide with diamond grit on them. It takes a few tries to get the hang of using it. If my memory serves it creates a 35 degree edge. The gerber knifes I tried all sharpened easily and I'm guessing they already start with this angle on their edge. The chinese knives I tried took 8 or 9 swipes before the edge really started to form. Short knives, 1 1/2 " or less, don't work well with this sharpener.

This sharpener is well made and sharpens a knife blade well but for small knifes it has a big flaw. You can't seem to get the last 1/2 inch or so against the handle sharpened. For a long blade that wouldn't matter but I mostly use small pocket knives and missing a quarter of the blade is isn't good.

This little sharpener is good for on the go sharpening, in that it is small, compact and light. I sketch and paint outdoors, at times in wilderness areas, so I keep it in my art bag in case I need to sharpen a knife on the spot. It would also fit in a pocket. It does a good job of putting a workable edge of a knife, provided the knife does not need grinding. By "grinding" I mean the knife is really dull and you need to start from scratch to achieve an edge that can be sharpened with a little hand-held device. You can use this sharpener on really dull knives, but I think you'll be in for a long sharpening session. But for knives in reasonable shape, with a serviceable edge on them, this sharpener will hone them to a usable sharpness and pretty quickly.

Small and compact and relatively easy to use but just didn't give a quality edge to any of my blades. Definately not for smaller pocket knife as previous reviewers have mentioned. From a company like Gerber I expected this sharpener to produce razor edge effects.

Just does not work well even for small knives. With enough time and effort it will improve the edge but a compact whetstone works better. I would not buy this again.

This sharpener is about what I expected. I was looking for something to take along hunting and camping so I could sharpen my knife when needed (skinning a deer, etc.). An electric sharpener was out of the question, and I've used diamond stones before, and they aren't feasible for "in situ" sharpening. This sharpener works great for hunting-sized and larger knives (4" blade and longer).

I let a "friend" use my hunting knife and he mistook it for a hatchet and took some chips out of the edge trying to hack thru a deer pelvis... After 7-8 swipes with this sharpener, the edge was definitely more uniform, and the chips are definitely smoothed out.

My one gripe is that you're supposed to push the knife down thru the spring fingers and then pull back. After a few swipes, you end up with the finger pattern showing up on the knife edge. I can't tell that it hurts the knife at all, but it is slightly disconcerting.

Obviously, outdoor knives are stout cutlery and are meant for spirited and reliable use (aside from hacking at deer pelvis'), but I would definitely not recommend this for kitchen cutlery.

I have owned and tried many knife sharpening systems over the years. I have tried everything from the multi-stone types to the very simple "crock" stick pocket units. This Gerber sharpener puts the finest edge on every knife I have tried it on, in the shortest time imaginable. For well-maintained knives, it only takes a few strokes to hone the edge to perfection. For dull knives, it takes a few more strokes but rarely over 20. The compact size of this sharpener allows me to slip it into my range bag easily. I would highly recommend this sharpener to anyone seeking an accurate, fast way to put a perfect edge on your knives.

What I expected: A quality product from Gerber, a quality knife company.
What I got: A much smaller than expected knife sharpener. Granted, it's small enough to take along camping, but why? It is only useful for long thin blades that are resonably sharp already. You'd think that a small, portable knife sharpener would be ideal for smaller knives (i.e., pocket knives, pin knives, etc.)? But this Gerber sharpener is almost useless for such knives because you can't get up next to the handle. For knives that it works well on, it does a pretty good job of maintaining the edge... but don't expect a razor sharp edge... just a serviceable edge.

good for a fast touch up or a quick field sharpening but not strong enough for a seriously dull or damaged blade.

Though it is a bit hard to hold , even on a flat surface, it does a great job and produces a fine edge.