Sharpening with the Schmiedeglut Diamond Leather Essential: Here's how!

04/09/2025 | Blog

The Diamond Leather Essential is a handy sharpening tool that accompanies you on your travels and adventures, allowing you to quickly and easily resharpen your knives anywhere in the world. The little brother of the Diamond Leather Unlimited comes into play whenever your knives have lost their sharpness and need to cut reliably again. With its combination of a diamond plate and a leather side pre-treated with diamond polishing compound, it restores your edge quickly and precisely – without complicated technique or significant time investment. Particularly practical: thanks to its compact size, it fits into any kitchen or outdoor equipment and is therefore always ready to hand.

The most important features of Schmiedeglut Diamond Leather Essentials

Two sharpening sides: 15µm diamond plate & 6µm leather side with polishing compound.
Compact dimensions: 20 cm sharpening length and 60 mm width.
Ideal for short to medium-length blades.
Also suitable for longer kitchen knives – simply work in sections (first the front part of the edge, then the rear).
Perfect for refreshing and maintaining sharpness.
Beginner-friendly: Intuitive handling, movements quickly become routine.

Step-by-step instructions: Sharpening knives with the Schmiedeglut Diamond Leather Essential

Step 1: Refreshing on the 15µm diamond plate

The 15µm diamond plate is ideal for bringing slightly dull knives back to their former sharpness.
Place the blade at the correct angle (18° for outdoor knives, 13° for kitchen knives).
Draw the blade slowly and evenly across the diamond surface – without applying pressure. The diamond surface sharpens in both directions.
After a few strokes, a fine burr will form, which you can feel.

Tip: For knives with longer blades, we recommend working in sections.

Step 2: Removing the burr

First, let’s look at the question: What is a burr? A burr forms when sharpening the edge of a knife. A thin, bent-over strip of metal develops along the edge. The knife may seem sharp at first glance, but the burr results in an unstable and brittle edge. Only once the burr has been removed will the blade glide cleanly through the material being cut.

Removing the burr – here’s how!

Draw the blade alternately and against the cutting direction over the diamond plate (3–5 times per side).
Alternatively, you can remove the burr by cutting into a piece of soft wood.
This step is important to ensure the edge remains stable and retains its sharpness.

Step 3: Fingernail test

Before moving from the diamond side to the leather side, you need to check whether your knife’s edge is ready. The best method for this is the fingernail test.

Place the blade on your fingernail at the angle you previously used for sharpening.
If the blade catches without slipping, you’ve achieved a good level of tomato sharpness.
If the blade slips off, continue sharpening on the diamond side. Important: Maintain the sharpening angle!

Step 4: Finishing on the 6µm leather side

Important: The leather side does not sharpen in both directions. Never work in the cutting direction; always move the blade away from the edge, towards the spine!
Draw the blade alternately over the leather 5–10 times per side.
Check the angle regularly.
A burr can also form here – remove it again by alternating strokes.

Your leather surface has turned completely dark from material abrasion? Time to refresh it! Simply sand it down (grit 60–100) and then massage in a thin layer of fresh diamond polishing compound.

How to keep your knife sharp for longer – the most important tip!

To ensure your knives stay sharp for as long as possible, you should regularly strop them on the leather side before or after each use. This polishes the edge, immediately removes small irregularities, and keeps the blade sharp for much longer – without needing to resharpen with the diamond plate.

Conclusion

The Diamond Leather Essential is the perfect choice for anyone looking for a compact and easy-to-use sharpening system. With just two sharpening sides – a diamond plate for refreshing the edge and a leather side for fine honing – you can restore your knives to sharpness in no time and maintain that edge long-term!

Thanks to its 20 cm long and 60 mm wide sharpening surface, it is ideal for short to medium-length knives, but can also be used for longer blades when working in multiple stages.

With a bit of practice, sharpening becomes routine – and your knives will always be ready for use.