Review: Work Sharp Pocket Knife Sharpener

I recently reviewed an electric knife and tool sharpener from Work Sharp Tools, and while it works well — after all, it’s essentially a small belt sander/grinder — it can’t go everywhere you go. Sometimes, we need a way to touch up our knives right now, wherever we are. Well, Work Sharp has that covered too.

I’ve had a Work Sharp Pocket Knife Sharpener since last spring, and although I did most of my sharpening during that time with the power sharpener, I’ve kept the manual sharpener handy as well.

This sharpener is not the smallest one ever, but it’s a good size. It measures 6-1/8″ at the longest point, and each sharpening surface is 4″ long. As for weight, mine tips the scales at a mere 1.65 ounces!

It’s thoughtfully-designed, with angle guides at both ends of both surfaces and an easy-to-grip shape. The yellow part is not hard plastic — it feels a tad rubbery, but really tough — so if you accidentally run your knife edge into the angle guide, you’re not hurting the edge.

There’s a hole at each end, so you can hang it up above your workbench or add a lanyard if you wish. Heck, hang it around your neck like Eli Wallach did with his six-gun in The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly if you want to.

As with the power sharpener, my first impression was that the difference between the coarse and fine was pretty extreme, and maybe not ideal… but once again, it works like a champ. The diamond surface is pretty aggressive, which probably means this thing will last a long time — because there’s a long way for it to wear. The ceramic rod is not the finest ceramic I’ve seen, but it’s much finer than the diamond.

The grittiness of the diamond surface means it should also be useful for sharpening other cutting tools as well.

Even when my EDC knockaround knife was dull enough to see glinting on the edge, a few licks on the diamond followed by a few more on the ceramic had it shaving-sharp in no time. The ceramic rod should also be useful for touching up gut hooks on hunting knives.

As you can tell, so far I have no complaints — this is a good thing, because I’ve been called a harsh critic. That, I suppose, is why I look at this sharpener and wish there was a way to rotate the ceramic rod to expose a fresh surface after it’s been used a while. At first glance, it appeared as if the ceramic was molded into the plastic. Alas!

But wait! Turns out, the white rod is not molded in — in fact, it can even be popped out of the plastic holder! This should allow it to be used on any number of curved edges, from gut hooks to (shudder) serrated blades. And of course, you can rotate it into any position, so you can get the most use out of it before it’s worn out.

All I did was grab the ceramic with needlenose pliers and pull gently, and it came right out. Squeeze it back into place and the plastic holds it securely.

Ah me. A product review for something I can’t find anything wrong with. Will wonders never cease?

You can pick up your very own Work Sharp Pocket Knife Sharpener for $14.99 shipped.

Russ Chastain

Editor & Contributing Writer Russ Chastain is a lifelong hunter and shooter who has spent his life learning about hunting, shooting, guns, ammunition, gunsmithing, reloading, and bullet casting. He started toting his own gun in the woods at age nine and he's pursued deer with rifles since 1982, so his hunting knowledge has been growing for more than three and a half decades. His desire and ability to share this knowledge with others has also grown, and Russ has been professionally writing and editing original hunting & shooting content since 1998. Russ Chastain has a passion for sharing accurate, honest, interesting hunting & shooting knowledge and stories with people of all skill levels.