Field Sharpening of Convex Edges

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I'm not one who goes off into the wilds for months at a time. I barely have time to manage a few days once or twice a year.

That said, if I were going off and making a list of things I find crucial to carry and weight was an issue, I think I would rather have a Mora and a small flat diamond stone than anything convexed. Scandi grinds aren't bad to maintain with a bit of practice.

Now, since I am khukuri guy, I know a whole lot about a convex edge. It has been my preferred edge of choice for nearly 20 years. My suggestion would be a small piece of leather loaded with stropping compound. Make it a 4"x6" square that either fits in your back pocket or slides inside the pocket of your pocket. It weighs next to nothing and will maintain a razors edge as long as you strop the edge often between chopping and don't dull it completely before you touch it up. If you are packing a lower Rockwell hardness, a ding in an edge can be worked back into place with a hard rock. Damage to the edge of a traditional khukuri is generally burnished back into place with a piece of flat hardened steel.

I dont think any field maintenance can mimic a workbench full of specialty tools. IMHO, if you are trying to maintain an edge in the field, you are most likely trying to just keep the edge working and not optimal. Anything is better than nothing in that regard if you don't want to bring along the proper tools.
 
I get trying to save weight or trying to be self sufficient, but as stated a small stone or strop is a valuable thing well worth a few onces. And you talk about loosing or breaking a stone? If that were the case and survial depended on not being able to maintain a convex edge ... then so what? Sharpen the tool to a secondary bevel anyway you can to get by. It isn't going to matter what type of grind your knife has or if it's a perfet angle etc... And as mentioned you might find it difficult or impossible to find anything hard enough to sharpen many of the newer high carbide steels so if that is a requirement be careful to choose a simplier softer steel. Even doing that carrying a small stone or strop would save far more time and energy than trying to find and use something found in nature.

Just a FYI ... peoples who have relied on stones found in nature to sharpen their tools didn't usually sharpen a tool and toss the stone. They packed it because they had found one that was good to use for the job. Just food for thought.

In a pinch you won't be worrying about the type of grind or a mirror polish or even if the tool is really sharp. You'll only care that it does what you need it to.
 
Wild Willie said:
From what I've gleaned over the years, a lot of hardcore ultralight hikers don't even carry a knife... So if you're unwilling to listen to any advice maybe that would work. You save the weight of a sharpener, a knife, AND the trouble of the search for suitable material along the way.
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Thats crazy. What kind of person leaves the house with out a pocket knife let alone goes traipsing off in the wilds with out a knife of any kind?

At least they won't be slitting their wrists I suppose....;)
 
garry3 said:
Thats crazy. What kind of person leaves the house with out a pocket knife let alone goes traipsing off in the wilds with out a knife of any kind?

At least they won't be slitting their wrists I suppose....;)
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I feel the same way. Today's easy open package society has given people a few a false sense of not needing a knife. Most people I know aren't necessarily into knives, but at least they carry one.


Another suggestion for the op could be to put a piece of emery cloth in the bag, I don't know how it would work with a vanadium rich powder metal, but it should be sufficient to maintain an edge on a simple carbon or low alloy stainless.
 
There is a lot to unpack here. First and foremost, natural stone suitable for sharpening is not universally available, nor even suitable grades of sand for making strickles or the like from, and there's a reason why in the era before synthetic abrasives that different grades of natural stone were highly prized and traded along extensive routes for literally thousands of years. Bringing at least a small hone is strongly suggested.

Secondly, virtually all edges that are hand-sharpened are convex to some degree. In terms of maintaining a preexisting one in such a way as to PERFECTLY match its factory geometry...why worry about it when in a survival situation in the first place? That just takes extra time and you can worry about it later when you're not in the middle of a job, which you probably are if you're discovering your edge needs touching up. Just hit the apex at the appropriate angle and it's good enough for getting back to work. You can worry about working the shoulders of the convex later.

Fundamentally a convex edge is like a flat bevel of equal angle with the shoulder rounded off.

Scandi grinds are not rendered useless by the edge geometry being altered in the field. Don't sweat it.
 
campandtravel said:
To start with, let me define what I mean by "field sharpening." I mean a method of sharpening that uses materials you will find in the field. *Not* a method that requires you to bring things with you into the field. That is still a dependency.
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Wait a minute. Taking a steel knife into the wilderness is also a dependency, no? As is wearing boots and clothes, carrying food and water, or traveling to the trailhead in a vehicle. Or hiking along, depending on your feet and legs to remain strong and uninjured. Perhaps the road to success (however you define it) lies not in the direction of totally eliminating dependencies, but in making good choices as to which dependencies to accept. A person unwilling to accept any dependencies, who asks for advice, doesn’t give us much to work with.

Maybe your definition of field sharpening merely trades one dependency for another. “Don’t depend on the effective thing you brought along, depend instead on your chances of finding a less effective thing at random.” (I realize that David expressed this much better above, sorry.)

So I guess I’m questioning the premise now as well. You can ignore me for my rudeness and retain a potentially flawed premise, or re-examine the premise and adjust it if you choose. Your choice, your results. Best of luck.

Parker
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
There is a lot to unpack here. First and foremost, natural stone suitable for sharpening is not universally available, nor even suitable grades of sand for making strickles or the like from, and there's a reason why in the era before synthetic abrasives that different grades of natural stone were highly prized and traded along extensive routes for literally thousands of years. Bringing at least a small hone is strongly suggested.

Secondly, virtually all edges that are hand-sharpened are convex to some degree. In terms of maintaining a preexisting one in such a way as to PERFECTLY match its factory geometry...why worry about it when in a survival situation in the first place? That just takes extra time and you can worry about it later when you're not in the middle of a job, which you probably are if you're discovering your edge needs touching up. Just hit the apex at the appropriate angle and it's good enough for getting back to work. You can worry about working the shoulders of the convex later.

Fundamentally a convex edge is like a flat bevel of equal angle with the shoulder rounded off.

Scandi grinds are not rendered useless by the edge geometry being altered in the field. Don't sweat it.
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Let's not get all bogged down with facts.
 
When I was young I lived every year, for 20 years, 6 month at the time, in the mountains above the Arctic Circle. It is total wilderness,, no bridges, no roads and very few people.
The only tools I use was rwo knifes, one chopper and a normal sized beltknife - and a sharpener. I never walk in the mountains without a sharpener becouse my life could depends on the quality of my edgesi carryed a knifebelt bexouse that is practical to do, easy to take on and off.

It was during those years I found out that it is impossible to maintain a flat edge flat by freehand sharpening, flat edges become convex edges after 1- 2 month. When you sharpen by hand and try to hold a fixed angle, and you are good on yhis, the edge will be 3 degree convex. You can not come below 3 degrees wobble - so sharpen a convex edge in the wild are no problem at all.

You can use flat surfeses on stones and slide along the edge, not across the edge. You can hone your edges on your walking stick or on your belt. All materials ar hooning materials.

Your use your knife to make tools you use so that your knife dont get destroyed - so never throw your knife, dint use your knife "hard" or batone it. Make wedges in wood and use a sfone as a hammer - if you work like that your edges hold and your knifes get a long life.

You can normally use two methods to sharpen your knifes, often and little, seldome and much. In the wild I use: often and little as the method - and it works fine normally.
Polished edges dont work so good in the wild. When the first diamond sharpeners come i use 25 mikron as the end sharpener. It works fine and it is a pratical edge to work with. I don know any Sami or mountain pwople that go finer then that on their edges.
What I used was a EzeLap small and simple diamond sharpener mounted on a red plastic stick. I cut of half the handle, drill a hole in iy, and hang it in my knifebelt in a small leather "purse". So it was always on me, allways ready to use.

Thomas
 
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I’m a big fan of finding/using found sharpening stones - I got this one on my last backpacking trip. I also had a little diamond stone available but didn’t need it.

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As has been mentioned, there’s no difference in sharpening a convex edge in the field vs at home - it’s a matter of technique, not tools.

Also as has been stated, a convex edge is almost impossible to avoid when freehand sharpening, which is why almost all of my knives are convexed to some degree just like the one pictured above.

campandtravel said:
Plus it's extra weight to carry and if you spend any real time in the field you'll know that ounces matter. That might be find for weekend warriors, but someone who is in the field for months at a time would be in a bad situation.
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campandtravel said:
You're trying to question the premise instead of answering. I am so glad this board has an Ignore feature.
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Your premise seems to be that your opinion is the correct one, and that anyone serious about the outdoors would agree. Not the best premise imho.
 
Murray Carter's take on it. He also mentions boards and mud or ashes. Pants legs and even skin like an arm, palm or a thigh makes a pretty fine strop too.


This guy demonstrates on an axe and then shaves his arm hair. He likes to finish on a smooth piece of quartz.

Maybe if a guy was stranded in the ocean in a rubber raft or on a glacier it might be pretty difficult to find something to sharpen on, but other than that I can't see not having a serviceable edge.
 
It's certainly possible to sharpen using found stones. The issue is less whether or not it's possible, but whether or not in the moment you need it (which is often when your edge takes damage or wear while doing a task of some kind) if there's a suitable stone handy. In many areas the stones may be too sharp and irregular, or not in abundance at surface level, necessitating now spending time looking around for something that either already is suitable or something close enough that can then further be processed to become suitable. That may take time that you don't have. Once you've obtained this rock you'll then probably want to keep it on you, at which point you're then down a bunch of time with a less-than-optimal stone compared to just...taking a lightweight sharpener into the field with you. By all means keep an eye out for stones as a potential resource in case you manage to lose or damage the one you have past the point of use, but it's not likely to happen. Sharpening stones are generally something to spend time finding when either you happen upon a bunch of potential candidates by chance or when you don't have other tasks you need to accomplish during daylight hours. In some places, yes, you may be able to easily just run and grab something. But there's also a chance you won't be able to, and just having a sharpener on you from the get-go means when you need to maintain your edge the end result is a better one, as well, and will probably be accomplished in less time than on improvised stones in most cases.

This from someone who happens to have a local source of stone that makes for good sharpening stones and is fairly easily processed to flatten it further than it already comes.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
It's certainly possible to sharpen using found stones. The issue is less whether or not it's possible, but whether or not in the moment you need it (which is often when your edge takes damage or wear while doing a task of some kind) if there's a suitable stone handy. In many areas the stones may be too sharp and irregular, or not in abundance at surface level, necessitating now spending time looking around for something that either already is suitable or something close enough that can then further be processed to become suitable. That may take time that you don't have. Once you've obtained this rock you'll then probably want to keep it on you, at which point you're then down a bunch of time with a less-than-optimal stone compared to just...taking a lightweight sharpener into the field with you. By all means keep an eye out for stones as a potential resource in case you manage to lose or damage the one you have past the point of use, but it's not likely to happen. Sharpening stones are generally something to spend time finding when either you happen upon a bunch of potential candidates by chance or when you don't have other tasks you need to accomplish during daylight hours. In some places, yes, you may be able to easily just run and grab something. But there's also a chance you won't be able to, and just having a sharpener on you from the get-go means when you need to maintain your edge the end result is a better one, as well, and will probably be accomplished in less time than on improvised stones in most cases.

This from someone who happens to have a local source of stone that makes for good sharpening stones and is fairly easily processed to flatten it further than it already comes.
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Question about stones you find on the ground. Can you carry them along with you for the rest of the hike or are you obligated to leave them where you found them?
 
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