Last sharpening stone on earth

I

ichor

Joined
Aug 27, 2002
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OK....questions are always coming up, on the General Discussions forum, regarding .."if you could have only one folder (one Benchmade, one fixed blade.....whatever). What if you could have only one sharpening stone. In the wilderness.....to last....say five-ten years. Without it you use rocks. For use on your 9" Becker, Trailmaster, Tigershark, or one of those really expensive jobs.....from your 20" AK, all the way down to your Victorinox paring knife. What would it be and why? (it would be nice to hear some expensive and not so expensive choices....and....is this too much to ask?..........some fairly inexpensive stones). Real stones, synthetic stones, diamond stones.....have at it. Remember, you're in the middle of no where, so no EdgePros and stone pools.

I posted this on the other forum but always want to back it up with opinions from the master khukuri sharpeners. :D
 
Low end (no electricity) - One of the double sided diamond plates from Ragnars.

High end (electricity) - My lovely Delta with one of the A30 Trizact belts Warren gave me! Optional - The A16 and my leather belt with green compound.
 
Let me suggest a homemade job. Take a good 12" Nicholson fine file, and turn one side into a steel.

I'm the kind that would rather have several SKS's, Makarovs, and break open single-shot shotguns, with a lot of cheap ammo than sinking a lot of money into a couple expensive guns.

So I'd do a couple basic good quality bench size stones, and then a bunch of flea market steels, cheap crock sticks, carbide sharpeners, diamond stuff, whatever !@#$%^&* so I'd have SOMETHING no matter what.
 
If it is forever, I'd have to say a good steel.

You can find a rock or stone powder for the grinding stuff, you'll never find a rock that does what a steel does.

EDIT--I see Rusty sorta beat me to it.
 
Rusty said:
Let me suggest a homemade job. Take a good 12" Nicholson fine file, and turn one side into a steel.

I'm the kind that would rather have several SKS's, Makarovs, and break open single-shot shotguns, with a lot of cheap ammo than sinking a lot of money into a couple expensive guns.

So I'd do a couple basic good quality bench size stones, and then a bunch of flea market steels, cheap crock sticks, carbide sharpeners, diamond stuff, whatever !@#$%^&* so I'd have SOMETHING no matter what.
Click to expand...

That's the way I normally think too, Rusty. My idea of survival firearms is not semiautos with high capacity mags........no, It's a good, accurate .22 with lots of ammo. Along this same line, remember.....you have to carry this stuff. I meant one......one, one sharpening stone/steel/diamond/compact system......something that is practical to be carried with all the other stuff.
 
alternatives:
Cheap but good - Combination coarse/fine India stone if you have oil or kerosene

Or
combination India/soft Arkansas by Norton

or

Shapton 1000 grit + Norton soft Arkansas and use water for both

or
Full set of oilstones - (this is cheating) - use the Norton IMI313 all-in-one hone with India, Soft and Hard Arkansas stones (not cheap, but it is one setup)
 
I'd take a Spyderco sharpmaker. It is actually portable and field usable and very easy to use. Plus it would sharpen anything I could throw at it.

Neko2
 
Proven over and over:

Scratch or rub beneath the surface of the Himalayan Imports Forum and find bunker mentality shining bright.


I'm with Rusty. I like the guns. And I'm with Ichor- a .22 is all that's neccesary. You could probably gather more if needed, Road Warrior.


munk
 
When my family left California in the mid 50's, my dad left a Thompson SMG greased up and buried. After he died, I couldn't find out where to take the metal detector.

Small town Nevada is still pretty much that way fifty years down the road. AK's and SKS's, AR's, Garands, Mausers, SMLE's etc.! All the old guys have them stashed away somewheres. And their old hunting rifles and shotguns too. And off-paper bought handguns - passed on by guys in their sixties and seventies who'll sell them rather than let them get on the books if they don't have family to take them.

Did I mention that a 50 caliber ammo can will hold 12 bricks ( 500 rounds per brick ) of 22 L.R. for a total of 6,000 rounds? That would take a while to shoot up using a Savage 24 ( 22lr/20ga ) over-under.

Interesting observation, munk. Wonder how many of us "bunker mentality" folks really are out there? ;) :D :eek:
 
Home Depot usually has a pretty good selection of Nicholson files. They make surprisingly good hones.

That chakma/file/saw/chisel I made a while back out of a Nicholson file has proven so far to be such a good sharpening surface that unless I really do a number on the edge, I seldom need to use the EZE-Lap Model M diamond rod sharpener I keep in a loop on the frog.
 
What can I say? I live in Oklahoma, land of the abrasive rocks. Sandstone and shale in abundance along with a rock I call siltstone or mudstone also abrasive. Some work better than others, read faster than others. Some are extremely friable in that they wear down really quickly while others are pretty damned hard. There can also be a difference in grit size as well.
I think it was Jeff Randall that says the South American indigneous people carry their natural whetstones around with them wherever they go because there are no rocks in the rain forest.
Noviculite appears naturally over in Arkansas and also comes in different grit sizes.
Ed Fowler said he picked up a rock in Idaho and sharpened his knife with it in an emergency. People started writing wanting a rock like Ed used. He invited them to Idaho to pick up their own.;)
 
Yes...Ed picked up a lot of flak because of that comment....still gets requests to buy an authentic fowler sharpening rock, IIRC....:rolleyes:


I'd go with a folding DMT.....except that I don't even own one yet...!

Talk about rotten advice...:D
 
Proven over and over:
Scratch or rub beneath the surface of the Himalayan Imports Forum and find bunker mentality shining bright.
I'm with Rusty. I like the guns. And I'm with Ichor- a .22 is all that's neccesary. You could probably gather more if needed, Road Warrior.
munk

Well...duh...'course! :D

Chainsaw file is handy as well, can grind down one side a bit as chakma-ish tool. Very few folks will be "shaving hair" in such a situation.

(OT (HAH! [What's On-topic?]) Been selling a few things, and ended up with a cash/trade deal which resulted in getting a late-40's, early 50's Springfield model 84C .22 rifle---raccoon hunter's gun. This was a Savage/Stevens/Springfield model with a 5 shot clip. It has been a long time since this thing was blued. I cleaned up 50 year's worth of fence scars and gouges, sanded and restained it, put some muted polyeurethane on it, cleaned and lubed the action, and have fallen in love with the little darling. I called my friend down at the sporting goods store and he said, in working shape, he might ask about $50-$70 for it, depending on condition. What a marvelous, dependable little tool for $50! Accurate beyond my worries, and just a delight to shoot.)

Look for the old .22s...they will just keep on truckin'


Kis
An added advantage is that IF the clip should fail/get lost, it is a bolt gun and you can single-shoot all year long.)
 
For the money and the simplicity, probably the best off the shelf hone to grab would be a 1"x3" EZE-Lap diamond hone. It with it's leather pouch is sold at every Walmart on Earth for usually under $6.
 
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