Ridiculous: Survival Sharpeners

Dangerously

Dangerously

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Jan 8, 2013
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Every other sub forum does this except MT&E, because of all the sane, practical people here. But I’m bringing the craziness.

Say you had to get by for the rest of your life with a minimal kit. The grid’s down, Godzilla is roaming the earth, whatever. You get to bring a couple of stones to your lake cabin in the woods, where you’re hiding out, repopulating the earth.

What stones do you bring?

First, I think I’d have to go with a DMT double sided stone. XC/C. They’ve done great work for me on pretty much any steel, and lasted a long time without needing flattening or reconditioning.

And then maybe a ceramic for polishing and touch ups, like a Spyderco double stuff, or double stuff 2.

Roll your eyes! I know this is crazy. But I’ll bet you still have an opinion on this!
 
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How many stones can I have? That'll impact my decision.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
How many stones can I have? That'll impact my decision.
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I originally thought 2, but then I picked 2 two-sided ones. So I have no credibility on it. I’d say 2-3, single or double sided stones.

Let me guess, American mutt, Arctic fox, and ptarmigan! :D
 
lex2006 said:
If I don't have to carry them around in my pak sack it would be these,
Should cover most anything for a while anyways.
a8UZmAv.jpg
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Whatcha got there?

Looks like a norton crystolon C/F, a Spyderco UF, and a strop with… 1 micron spray? (Really guessing at that last one.)

I’d agree on all points. Although I’d drop the strop first. The other two are essential.
 
Dangerously said:
I am always trying out the three grades of Spyderco ceramics for apexes. I am starting to think the UF is really the only one I need. Which grit would you go for?
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Of the Spyderco models, the fine.

I'm using something else, though. :)
 
Ya crystolon and Spyderco UF , the strop is green compound, I have a leather one with .5 spray but it is too fine for me.
Might try the 1 micron someday though
 
I'd want stones appropriate for the blades I'd be sallying forth with in this brave new world of yours.

So, diamond plates (or bonded diamond) and ceramic for high carbide blades, or really, anything else. Not ideal, but neither is the scenario being faced...

...Or Crystolon / India for everything else...

...Well, or Shapton Glass...

...Or, better yet, maybe I just kidnap and indenture a "knifemaker, craftsman, service provider" and have him do all the work while I go out in search of honeys to help us keep mankind alive. :p

(You gotta pass tough tests like these to get the much vaunted Super Mod badge. It ain't easy but the pay sucks too.)
 
Blues said:
So, diamond plates (or bonded diamond) and ceramic for high carbide blades, or really, anything else. Not ideal, but neither is the scenario being faced...
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That’s what made me post this. Although I have all sorts of stones, I end up with diamond/sintered ceramic almost all the time. Water stones for the rest.

But I think diamond and ceramic would do for anything, even if it would be poor for some things. At least one wouldn’t be stuck with the impossible situation of an Arkansas stone and a 4% vanadium steel.
 
Well in the field I bring a Fallkniven DC4 stone and a Brummeland pocket strop. Keeps my (and every other guy in my platoon’s edges Hahahaha) good for the duration. As long as I’ve been able to work on my blade ahead of time and am only doing touch ups, that’ll be fine by me for Godzilla.
 
In an 'End of Civilization' scenario such as described, I'd think it more important to choose & take one or two knives that I know I can repair and sharpen with whatever I might find available. I'd certainly take my 'credit card' DMT hones (C/F/EF), assuming I haven't already lost them in the chaos of the apocalypse; I carry those in my wallet everyday anyway. In extreme survival conditions necessitating much heavier use and repair of my knives, whatever I drag along won't likely last long enough anyway and I have to assume I'll either lose it or it'll be worn out long before I'm gone.

If I'm smart about it, I'd instead choose a blade or two that won't NEED those diamonds to get the job done. So, being that there'll likely be lots of rocks and broken concrete and cinderblocks and bricks and broken ceramic houseware & kitchenware laying around in the remains of civilization, I think I'd just grab a couple knives in simple carbon or low-alloy stainless steel, going on the assumption I'll have to rely on some of that debris to improvise, at some point. Make like MacGyver and make the best use of what's available within my own abilities to utilize it. And like MacGyver, I'll bring a SAK if I somehow remember to do so, in all that mayhem and chaos... :D
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
In an 'End of Civilization' scenario such as described, I'd think it more important to choose & take one or two knives that I know I can repair and sharpen with whatever I might find available. I'd certainly take my 'credit card' DMT hones (C/F/EF), assuming I haven't already lost them in the chaos of the apocalypse; I carry those in my wallet everyday anyway. In extreme survival conditions necessitating much heavier use and repair of my knives, whatever I drag along won't likely last long enough anyway and I have to assume I'll either lose it or it'll be worn out long before I'm gone.

If I'm smart about it, I'd instead choose a blade or two that won't NEED those diamonds to get the job done. So, being that there'll likely be lots of rocks and broken concrete and cinderblocks and bricks and broken ceramic houseware & kitchenware laying around in the remains of civilization, I think I'd just grab a couple knives in simple carbon or low-alloy stainless steel, going on the assumption I'll have to rely on some of that debris to improvise, at some point. Make like MacGyver and make the best use of what's available within my own abilities to utilize it. And like MacGyver, I'll bring a SAK if I somehow remember to do so, in all that mayhem and chaos... :D
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It's one of the reasons why I like low-carbide steels in general. You can viably use natural stones on them if need be. And if you're good at sharpening, it means maintaining a good geometry on it is easy regardless of what sharpening equipment is at your disposal. I once honed a gut hook for someone in the field by cutting a small piece of wood to shape, pricking it with the tip of my knife, and grinding a bunch of fine sand into the wood, then using it like a strop. Such methods were once commonly used historically, and in English such an implement was known as a "strickle". Grease was typically used to stick the sand in place.
 
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