sharpening in the field without a stone/sharpener

clich

clich

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Apr 19, 2011
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ok i came across this video.....its bear grylls...(boos from the peanut gallery).....ok now thats out of our systems in this video he is attempting to sharpen his dull knife with crushed river rock powder on a wet log and stroping it. Does something like this work or is it more bear nonsense? What would you do to sharpen your knife if you were stuck without a actual sharpening instrument?

[video=youtube;0bosp4-pyTM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bosp4-pyTM&feature=related[/video]
 
Some mud on a pant leg makes a decent strop in a pinch. Some plants contain silicates and can make a good strop al lby themselves.

I suppose what is shown in the video could work, but the way it is shown (I think he strops the knife for 14 seconds, then says it is sharp) makes me want to eat the frog in the end of the video. I can just see kids pounding rocks together and getting peppered with shards, and then killing the edge on their BG knife trying to strop on a stick with sand stuck to it.

He is entertaining though.
 
I figured there are better ways since bear ALWAYS does the unthinkable. Do most carry a small stone into the bush with them? ive never had a cenario where i needed one but my camping rips are getting longer and longer and more of the beaten path so what kind of travel sharpening tools would you recommend?
 
I generally carry a folding dual grit diamond hone, but have on more than one occasion shown someone that you can actually sharpen a knife with a piece of gravel. river rock is that much easier, since it's already smooth.
 
Stropping is fairly easy to do and many materials could probably do.
Sharpening would be another story.
 
I take a dia-sharp credit card sized diamond sharpener or Hewlett dual grit diamond wallet sharpener. I've used both extensively and they work well.
 
Bo T said:
I take a dia-sharp credit card sized diamond sharpener or Hewlett dual grit diamond wallet sharpener. I've used both extensively and they work well.
Click to expand...

THIS!
I carry a steel rod and a small flat DMT 300 grit for the first pass or 3. Basically, you can use a good smooth stone, and some spit in a pinch, I did this all the time as a kid, before I had a collection of sharpening stones. I just got another 2 sided stone today at the flea market for FREE. I asked how much, and the kid said "take it" ...I said " OK" and walked away. Man, I hope the kid was the owner..LOL.
 
clichtenwalner1 said:
What would you do to sharpen your knife if you were stuck without a actual sharpening instrument?
Click to expand...

any smooth stone will do - even a fairly small one. it's nice to find a flat one but not easy - often a smooth roundish one is easier to locate. a round stone doesn't provide as much grinding surface as a flat one but it works just as well - takes more time. i've cleaned up an edge on a small machete with a small stone found in a creek - just move the stone along the edge of the knife rather than the more typical method of keeping the stone still while moving the cutting edge. smooth stones are usually best located near running water (or ocean waves) where the constant motion of water has helped to produce excellent in-the-field sharpening stones.

a stone is a stone is a stone - yes, some are less porous, more smooth and harder (like a typical arkansas sharpening stone) but any stone with a smooth surface, either curved or flat, will do the trick. metal is soft - stone is hard. certainly helps to have a carbon steel blade :thumbup:
 
When I backpacked, I carried a pen size diamond stick that worked well for small swiss army size knives. I like the diamond sharpeners because they are mostly plastic. I have brought a medium stone backpacking when we had about 5 in a group and we were catching lots of trout as the knives would get dull.
 
I usually carry a pocket stone in my pack .
I have gone without it , well my kid kinda borrowed it for his pack I found out later , but anyway , I used a concrete table top and some water ... worked a treat .. the table wasnt painted , it was raw concrete , and I figure the cleaned patch on the corner I made charpening my knife would just give the people more space to do more graffiti
Ive used rocks I found in a creek , there is usualy plenty to choose from , its just a matter of getting a good size and shape
the first time I did it , my figuring was , the knife is blunt .. I cant buggar it up any more ... if I fail , its no real loss
Now Im less scared about it but Ill still use a shop bought stone over a rock anyday ... but not having a store bought sharpener doesnt stop me for having a sharp knife :)
 
I've done that before with a machete. It actually does work. I've used a rotten log as with sand, I learned that from a youtube video once.

As far as other place, Limestone rocks for putting and edge on something, and I've used pavement and cement on many occasions for touching up machetes.
One time while on a beach "survival" (not really survival since I meant to do it...recreational survival?), i found the bottom of a well worn bottom of a tossed away wine glass

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I used to take the spyderco tri-angle sharpmaker... but realized i had to leave it at base camp in order to fit more "important" things in my carry load-out for the hikes ect...now i will carry the ceramic rod that comes with the edge pro apex 4... its LIGHT.. and works great for touch-ups...

ALTHOUGH ive heard you can sharpen a knife, AMAZINGLY.. useing a big round clay pot.... you simply run the edge around the inside top/lid of the pot... for a few mins.. and ur set
 
that works with a ceramic coffee mug as well , the bottom of the cup is a fair to middling ceramic sharpener if you need it to be
 
It seems that using a rock would have been much simpler than going through all the trouble with the crushed rock and log and what not. Like most things on Bear's show, it's done for demonstrative purposes, so he probably didn't want to work that edge for 15-20 minutes until it was actually sharp.

And Joe, that chunk of sea glass could sell quite easily to someone who makes jewelry out of it.
 
Fine dust added to your pants or belt can be used to strop. Also, dried horsetail can be used to touch edges. I've used these, as well as a smooth rock, in a pinch when real abrasives were not available.
 
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