We have recently begun a ‘Loadout Room Approved‘ series of articles where we recommend specific gear for you to purchase and use. We test and evaluate quite a bit of gear, clothing, firearms and firearms accessories. Our goal with this series is to sift through all those articles and give to you what we actually use and recommend. Our past two articles covered EDC Bags and EDC Knives. In this installment we are going to cover Knife Sharpeners. Many of you own, carry and use knives on a daily basis. Keeping your knife maintained and sharp is critical.

Lansky Sharpening Paddle

Loadout Room Approved Knife Sharpeners

The Lansky Sharpening Paddle is one of the most efficient sharpening paddles on the market. Efficient is both its effectiveness and its size. It’s a folding device that functions a lot like a Balisong. It folds into its handles for easy carry and storage. The folding nature also protects the sharpening paddle from being damaged or chipped when carried. It’s a dual side device that packs in a coarse and fine side for easy sharpening. It’s nice and easy to carry via bag, belt pouch, or even on a plate carrier. It fits an SMG pouch too!


DMT Dia-Sharp Credit Card Sharpener

Loadout Room Approved Knife Sharpeners

I really like the DMT Dia- Sharp Credit Card diamond  sharpener. It fits nicely in  your wallet or any other  place that you would put  credit card sized objects  into. When you’re on the road  or out on patrol and board,  pull this handy tool to  sharpen your blades. It comes  in three different colors  that easily identify the grit  needed; course, fine, and  extra-fine for this model.  DMT describes the surface of  this whetstone as continuous  diamond, which; Made with the  same consistently sized  preferred Monocrystalline  diamond as our ‘polka-dot’  interrupted surface products  but performs with slightly  less aggressiveness. Well  suited for small contact  areas and pointed tools as  well as sharpening, honing  and deburring. If you have  been using a traditional  whetstone some of which weigh  a few pounds this credit card  sized sharpener will meet all  your requirements while  keeping the minimalist ideals  well intact. The thickness (1  mm) of this whetstone is also  great for sharpening those  serrated grooves.


Lansky Sharpening Puck