Sharpening Equipment: Very necessary

J

JD Spydo

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Nov 20, 2004
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I have just read most of the "How Tough" thread here on the Survival Forum and I must say there were some great posts on that thread dealing with how tough your knives and edged tools need to be for a survival situation. I enjoyed the thread and it was truly educational. I plan on re-reading it this weekend when I have some spare time I truly believe that thread has some very vital information we all can benefit from.

With that said I want to add something that I don't hear talked about much on any of these survival forums and that is the importance of having good sharpening tools handy in a survival situation. No matter what edged tool I take camping, hunting, fishing or in a demanding survival environment I'm going to give very high priority to having the sharpening tools necessary to keep those edged tools sharp.

I don't care if it's an ax, maul, machete, bowie or even just a routine pocket knife>> you've just got to keep them sharp to stay ahead of the game.

What I want to know is what kind of sharpening equipment do you all usually take on your outdoor adventures? So let's talk and try to learn about what sharpening gear would optimize your survival, hunting, fishing or any other outdoor trek.
 
The best sharpening device I have found is the element from a high pressure sodium light bulb. As long as you don't have a big dent in the edge you will be able to shave with a few strops and the elements are about the diameter of a pencil and as short as 3 inches. The only trick is it has to be an element from a burned bulb. When the bulb gets hot from being on it sort of heat treats the element and without that heat treatment the element is no good for a sharpener.

David
 
i recently put a post together listing a bunch of different field sharpeners.

i most often carry the double sided strop and small basic sharpening stone i listed in that post. this allows me to do some pretty heavy sharpening and fine tuning of edges with a grand total of 3 ounces, which isn't too heavy considering.

i agree that a field sharpener is an important thing. most of my excursions are no longer than a weekend, and in that time i don't normally really need to sharpen. my knives all have pretty thin edges that even when "dull", will still cut very well.

but there is always the chance that i will nick the edge (also not a catastrophe) or i will somehow need to maintain my edges.

the thing that i struggled with for a long time was carrying something coarse and fine at the same time, without a bulky or heavy package. i wanted to be able to touchup a sharp edge, or be able to repair a really dull edge, and it is hard to find something that will do both without weighing you down. i came to the above mentioned setup, and have been really happy so far.
 
I carry a small soft arkansas stone with me. It has proved itself very well in sharpening my RC-6, Izula, and even my Dogfather when called upon. I don't know how well it would do on an axe or machette, but I suppose the file on my leatherman would work if needed.
 
I usually don't sweat it since I'm not out for more than a few days at a time and a lot of the knife work I do is actually knife play. Like Simon said, my knives are usually pretty darn sharp and when they dull, they are still very useable edges.

I also have been known to carry another knife as a backup.

If I were to be out for an extended trip like hiking a long trail over many weeks, I'd probably stow a coarse and fine credit card sized diamond hone in my kit.
 
hollowdweller said:
I would consider an actual survival situation one where you wouldn't have access to a sharpener.
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That is a valid point, some people are lucky to have their knives, and much less their sharpeners when actually "lost."

But.....me/myself/and I always takes a small arkansas stone with me no matter how long or short the trip. It sits safely in my camelbak mule, so if I ever parted with my pack it WOULD be a survival situation since it has my water and food in it :D
 
when i used to camp i would carry a ceramic stick and a piece of abrasive cloth. if the edge couldnt be brought back with the ceramic stick i would shape the abrasive cloth over the stick and work up a burr. then i would switch to the ceramic stick to remove the burr and finish up the edge.
 
I personally like the diamond DMT Double Sided Diafold in Extra-Fine/Fine grits (comparable to medium and fine Arkansas level grits).
 
J's Knives-N-More said:
That is a valid point, some people are lucky to have their knives, and much less their sharpeners when actually "lost."

But.....me/myself/and I always takes a small arkansas stone with me no matter how long or short the trip. It sits safely in my camelbak mule, so if I ever parted with my pack it WOULD be a survival situation since it has my water and food in it :D
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Interesting you mention being apart from your pack.

On one of my knife sheaths I have a firesteel, then paracord wrapped around the sheath and under the paracord there is a zip loc with spark lite tinder tabs. Have thought about adding a sharpener or perhaps even a small photon light but almost felt like I'd be going into overkill, since you could build a fire with what I had.:confused:
 
hollowdweller said:
Interesting you mention being apart from your pack.

On one of my knife sheaths I have a firesteel, then paracord wrapped around the sheath and under the paracord there is a zip loc with spark lite tinder tabs. Have thought about adding a sharpener or perhaps even a small photon light but almost felt like I'd be going into overkill, since you could build a fire with what I had.:confused:
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I always have a firesteel in my pocket and my EDC clipped to my front right pocket as well. Usually my leatherman is on my belt, so I would be OK if I did part with my pack......just no more beef jerky and water :yawn:
 
I have carried an old Shrade Pocket hone for many years. It will put a usable edge on any knife, straighten a rolled edge, and makes a fair pry bar.
 

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First of all I would like to say to all of you who have responded thus far>> GREAT FEEDBACK THUS FAR GUYS :thumbup: I'm going to be a bit longwinded here but I want to respond to all of you who have posted to this point.

ECHO-4V> I have 2 of those high voltage/high wattage ceramic bulb filaments you speak of brother and I will agree with you up to a point. I use both of mine ( each has different grit properties) to actually touch up and to fine hone some of my blades like at work or out fishing. Those do a great job for touch up but I personally wouldn't use them in a "survival situation" because I would want something that could do serious re-profiling on my edged tools>> but I am glad you brought that up. If there would be room in your bug-out bag for one then more power to you

SIGUY>> Funny you would mention a strop for a survival sharpening kit. I think that might be a good reason to try to wear some sort of leather boot or to have a strip of leather in your bugout bag because I am a believer in stropping when it's feasbile. But I do like the fact that you believe in a basic sharpening kit for your survival :thumbup:

J.A. Wilder> A lot of people have thought of Arkansas STones as being obsolete and in some cases what some would call "Yesterday's sharpener". But I like your suggestion of a Novaculite stone because with all the newer ceramic and diamond stones hitting the scene I would bet that you could get some great buys on older Arkansas Stones thus making them great for a bugout bag.

P.B. Wilson> Now your answer sort of has me scratching my head. No disrespect intended though brother because I do see your point of view even though I don't agree with it. You are right that for a couple of days or so you could get by. But I feel with some basic sharpening equipment you could get by that much better. My whole point of this thread is how can we survive better and I believe that sharpening equipment would be a great addition to your basic tools.

Hollowdweller> I see where you are coming from. I guess we could look at your answer as a challenge of sorts. Maybe it would be interesting and beneficial to explore the possibilities of finding rocks, sand and other items Mother Nature would provide us that we could use for a sharpener if we didn't have the luxury of having one.

Runningboar> Buddy I can see that you and I are on the same page :) I carry my own Spyderco Doublestuff ( I have 3 of them) to work everyday. I keep one of them in my tacklebox and I have one of them in my machinist's tool box because they make an excellent de-burring tool. Great suggestion Sir :thumbup:

J's Knives N More> I definitely want to make your aquaintance Sir. I have some stuff I want to order from one of the knife dealers here on BF and I'll gladly provide you my contact #. It will probably be a week or so before my GOLD membership goes into effect here. I love your suggestion of a firesteel. I think fire starting ability is slightly more important than the sharpening equipmenet. But I think you get my point because if we do have the foresight to get a bugout bag together I do think that sharpening gear is one main priority. Great suggestion on the firesteel :thumbup:

Richard J>> I just got a video given to me on using sandpaper for sharpening. Your input is very timely because I want to learn more about the use of Emory cloth and sandpaper. I also have other ceramic sharpening tools other than all my Spyderco stuff.

J. Curd>> I think you're on to something with DMT or any other quality diamond sharpening tool for that matter. I use coarse and extra coarse diamond benchstones for serious reprofiling and I do like your suggestion.

Riddle of Steel>> I'm not familiar with Shrade's Pocket Hone. I want to know more about it. I'll probably do some looking on the internet. I know Buck also used to make some good small sharpening tools as well.

GREAT POSTS SO FAR GUYs :)
 
J_Curd said:
I personally like the diamond DMT Double Sided Diafold in Extra-Fine/Fine grits (comparable to medium and fine Arkansas level grits).
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Coarse/fine is a better mix to my estimation. One never knows if you're going to chip/ding your edge or hit a rock. The coarse side would help out with that a lot.
 
I've sharpened a buck 119 on a river rock with surprisingly good results.

I don't carry sharpening gear with me, but I guess if you have the room, it is a good idea.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Coarse/fine is a better mix to my estimation. One never knows if you're going to chip/ding your edge or hit a rock. The coarse side would help out with that a lot.
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That's a great point there "fortytwoblades" :) Your idea of having maybe only 2 grits to use is a great idea when you think about it. Because in a survival situation you're not really trying to get a blade so sharp that you can pop hairs in mid air like I've seen done before. But you want to get your edged tool in a good working condition. And a coarse and moderately fine grit would be just about right when you really think about it.

Also the more I hear you guys suggest diamond equipment it is already becoming a top consideration of mine already. But keep the suggestions coming because this is gettng interesting for sure ;)
 
I personally carry a coarse, fine, and extra fine DMT card, a drag-through carbide sharpener, and two sharpmaker stones broken in half (one medium, one fine) in my backpack for an emergency sharpening kit. It all fits in one small pouch.
 
PrimitiveMan said:
I've sharpened a buck 119 on a river rock with surprisingly good results.

I don't carry sharpening gear with me, but I guess if you have the room, it is a good idea.
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Great point there "PrimitiveMan" :) It's not a bad idea to get a basic knowledge of the rock & minerals in your area. Because if you learn which rocks are super hard like Bethany Falls limestone here in our area is enough to make a saint start cussing really bad :D Up in the north like in South Dakota there is a lot of granite deposits and I've heard that is a good rock to learn to sharpen on.

Not all rocks and minerals are equal by any means because some do have desirable properties that make them great to use for sharpening. I remember in one of the Man vs Wild shows on the Discovery Channel the guy Bear Grylls used a rock with a sand slush and had reasonable results ( at least that's what he said ) but I don't doubt it either. All of your older sharpening stones like Novaculite ( Arkansas stone) and coticules ( Belgium Razor stone) are all rocks right out of the ground. Something to consider for sure
 
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