Question for the sickle hook fans: I like to keep my hooks needle sharp, and I re-sharpen often. The sickle hooks I tried were about the sharpest thing I've ever used when brand new, but for me, they didn't seem to re-sharpen very well after the original point was messed up.

It seemed to me that I could get a lot better re-sharpen from the plain old non-sickle style. Has anyone else experienced this?

I may have just had a bad experience with the first ones I tried, and given up too easily. The one's I tried were the Matzuo 9024 size 4 that came from Barlows. This was right after they started to become popular so it's been a while and I haven't tried any since then.

Man, I lose my jigs too often to worry about re-sharpening my jigs. And they ae only about 10 cents a jig so I don't even worry about it when I take one off and put a new one on because the hook is a little bent or dull. If you want a better longer lasting sharpness go for a jig with a higher end hook like black nickle or something along that line. They keep their point a little better and don't add to the cost too much maybe a penny or two.

Just a guess..those are chemically sharpened hooks and probably don't have the proper temper and/or hardness to re-sharpen correctly

Hmm....Interesting responses, thanks for the viewpoints.


Personally speaking, I'm just not going to be happy with any hook I can't sharpen regardless of the type or style. I can sharpen one faster than I can tie on a new one and even if they're only 10 cents each, I could never feel good about throwing one away just because the hook point was bent or dull. Even more so if it's a hand tied jig whether it's my labor making it or someone else's, we're now talking about way more than 10 cents worth no matter how you slice it. No way I'm going to waste that work that goes into a hand tied jig if it can be fixed by a quick simple resharpening job.

Gamblinman, you may very well have hit on the answer about the chemically sharpened hooks. For a time, I was setting some lines suspended across the open end of our boat slip for big catfish in Ray Hubbard, and the chemically sharpened hooks I was using would lose their point within 48 hours in that water. Corrosion or electrolysis, or alien-blood lake water, I don't know but something was eating the points right off those high dollar hooks. Those suckers would never sharpen back up right either.

Besides all that - with the exception of the chemically sharpened hooks, I've had too many various brand new ones fresh out of the package that weren't no where near sharp enough to suite me. I'll admit that I may be getting anal about it, but for me a really sharp hook makes a huge difference on fish landed vs. fish missed or getting loose before I can land them. So, I guess I'll just stick with what I've been using.

Thanks again everyone, for the replies...Jon

Have you ever even tried a sickle hook? You might be surprised how sharp they are. One other thing to remember is your fishing for crappie....they don't have a really hard mouth.

Maybe i wasn't very clear in my original post, but yes I have tried them which was the whole reason for me posting the question...Can they be sharpened?

Sorry, guess I should read closer before I pop off....

Yes They can be resharpened ,But remember these are a needle point design main reason they penatrate easier You'll need a fine diamond and You'll have to do at least 5 side's to do any justice to clear up 1 issue chemical sharping is done before heatreaing and coating process'es are done ,normally in suspension tanks a needle point penatrate's quite easier and more consistently.

Maybe they are "case" hardened. Just like knives heat treated that way, once they lose their edge, they will never be as sharp again. Just like an M&M. Hard on the outside, soft in the middle. Yeah, like me too.

How are you sharpening the hooks I do it all the time and the sickle hooks hold up great. I carry a sharpener in my pocket all the time and generally have a couple of extra sharpeners on the boat for guests to use. The one I use I bought at academy it has a very narrow groove as well as flat side. Two swipes in that narrow groove and I am back on the fish.

Patmando, I usually sharpen 3 sides - first one is straight opposite the barb and the other two 120 degrees each way off the first one. I had been using a small silicon carbide aka carborundum commonly called a "pocket stone" back in the old days. These are sorta hard to find now, but mine has a groove in one side for hooks, would be considered a medium grit, and that is the type I used on my unsuccessful sickle hook sharpening attempts which was probably 5 or more years ago.

I now use a little small half round diamond rod with a groove that I found at BassPro. The working part of the diamond rod is about 3/16" wide x 2" long held in with a collet that unscrews to loosen so you can pull it out. It would probably be considered medium-fine and works great but I haven't tried this new one on the sickle hooks yet. I like it a lot better than the flat gray pocket stones, and it is small enough to sharpen fly hooks as small as size 18.

Crazy Angler: I am willing to do 5 sides if that's what it takes. I would not be overly concerned about getting them back to that micro-needle point they come with when new if I could just get them repaired back to sharp as opposed to dull. Thanks for the info on the chemical sharpening process.

Mike: No worries brother, my tired old eyes often miss seeing things that I'm reading. Now what you want to worry about is when you start seeing stuff that isn't there! LOL.

Now that I've heard from some folks who have successfully sharpened the sickle hooks, I'm going to give it another go.
Thanks everyone, for the information!