three quick tips sharpen your skills in this trade quick tip video we're going to show you how to put a sharp edge on any serrated knife by using a sharpening rod so hang around to find out how to best keep your serrated knife of choice razor sharp and performing at its best in the field or in the kitchen for some TAS you simply can't beat a knife with a serrated edge however a knife is only as good as its edges sharp with the right technique and tool maintaining razor sharp serration becomes a quick and painless process when sharpening a serrated or partially serrated knife edge in the field it's hard to beat a heavy-duty compact rat tail sharpener like our schrade SC HDDs diamond powder and few sharpening rod a tapered rod allows access to even the tiniest of scallops without damaging the serrated teeth during the sharpening process a crucial factor in maintaining the longevity of the knife itself start by grasping your knife firmly try placing your knife on a stump with the blade overhanging the edge of the stump for added stability during sharpening pull the sharpening rod with your dominant hand place the tip of the rod so that it's resting in the first scallop adjust the angle of the sharpening rod in the scallop so that it mimics the original sharpening angle of the scallop and make one complete pass in a downward motion while applying minimal pressure let the diamond sharpening rod do the work for you sharpening a serrated knife edge is a one-way Road only use the sharpening rod to sharpen downward and avoid pulling the rod upwards towards yourself as this could quickly remove large amounts of metal and miss shape the scallop and don't exceed the width of your scallops with a sharpening rod using a rod that's too fat for the width of a scallop could damage the teeth of your edge once you've made several passes with a sharpening rod in the first scallop repeat the process and do you've touched up all the scallops of the blade make sure to sharpen the smaller scallops that are in between the larger ones using this same technique the very end of the tapered rat tail works great for making short controlled passes in these narrow serrations a variation of this technique is used after a few passes to rotate or twist the sharpening ride in the scallop this is helpful for removing burrs caused by the initial pass of the sharpening rod during quick touch-ups in the field when a leather strap may not be readily available be sure to watch our instructional video on strapping in the field using only a leather belt in this series many EDC knives such as our SCH f5s n neck knife have blades which are partially serrated extending their versatility a diamond sharpening rod can be used for sharpening both the fine and serrated edges of such knives there you have it sharp serrations ready to perform at their cutting best thanks to a diamond rat tail sharpening rod in this quick and easy serrations sharpening technique be sure to click the subscribe button above to subscribe to our trade knives YouTube channel like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram and Twitter ways you can connect with Schrade or in the description below along with other great tips and relevant info to discover more about the gear used in this video check out the links in the video description on youtube visit shred calm or take a trip to your local auto dealer