Sharpening Stone Really Necessary in Survival Kit?

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MilliePop

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Aug 21, 2008
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For those of you with experience...is it really necessary to carry a sharpening stone with you in the field? I mean if you plan on only going out for a few days. Even if a emergency survival situation should arise a knife isn't going to go dull before you're rescued? I plan to carry a larger knife with which a small stone wouldn't properly sharpen anyways so I think the weight of a larger stone will be a hindrance to my mobility. What do you guys think?
 
MilliePop said:
For those of you with experience...is it really necessary to carry a sharpening stone with you in the field? I mean if you plan on only going out for a few days. Even if a emergency survival situation should arise a knife isn't goig to go dull before you're rescued? I plan to carry a larger knife with which a small stone wouldn't properly sharpen anyways so I think the weight of the stone will be a hindrance to my mobility. What do you guys think?
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If you only have one knife and you drop it and it lands on the edge and damages it then you are outta luck without a stone. So yeah you should have a good stone.
 
I carry a full sharpening kit, mind you I'm usually away from my home kit for a few weeks at a time.

Ceramic Rod,
Norton stone
Leather patch.

Razor sharp every time.

I would certainly say bring something with you, natural products can be used, river stones for instance, but I would take it if you have it. Maybe a DMT for any chips you might get.
 
I think if you have room in your kit then it cant hurt. I would use a med stone or a pocket tri-ceramic
 
I like to carry one of those dmt folding sharpeners, you can get really small ones, and for how small they are, its really nice to have the capability of maintaing your knife out in the field
 
Probably not depending how much you use the knife and how sharp you like it.

There's no need to carry a big "stone". One of the credit card size or smaller diamond hones would work fine in a pinch. You could also bring along a few small pieces wet sand paper in a couple of grits and touch up the edge on your knee.
 
DMT Diafolds. Two sided (two grits), fold down small, and weigh next to nothing. Why wouldn't you carry one?
 
I carry one of these from Kellam Knives. I really like how fast it brings back an edge. Works great with a little water.

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It's CONVENIENT though.

I have sharpened knives several times in the field with a river rock to shaving sharpness.

My survival instructor at Oregon Firearms Academy was Joel Lisson. One of the first things he said was "Welcome to my Walmart", and he was right.

Everything you need is out there, you just need to shop in the right aisle. Including the tools necessary to keep your knife sharp.

Carl-
 
For me, it's a must.

Not because I really need to sharpen my knives regularly when I'm in the bush, but because it useful and because it has an important psychological value. There is something relaxing about sitting down with a pocket stone and sharpening a knife blade (even if it's already shaving sharp!). I always try to ensure that my PSK has some 'comfort' items in it, just to bridge that gap between sheer survival and making the best of a bad situation. Warm beverages are my go-to comfort item, but the value of being able to sit down and lose yourself in the movement of steel on stone shouldn't be underestimated. Plus, I find that I am more confident and less hesitant with my knives when I know that I can touch them up if need be.

All the best,

- Mike
 
dawsonbob said:
DMT Diafolds. Two sided (two grits), fold down small, and weigh next to nothing. Why wouldn't you carry one?
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I'm not familiar with them...I usually use large stones because my knife is a large "bowie" type. Would those small sharpeners work well with a large knife?
 
MilliePop said:
I'm not familiar with them...I usually use large stones because my knife is a large "bowie" type. Would those small sharpeners work well with a large knife?
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I use them for everything from my little pocket knife up to my machetes. I think you'll find the there are many people here who swear by them.

You might want to take a look at http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_6_3?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=dmt+sharpener&sprefix=dmt or any number of other online sources. Many places carry them.

Hope that helps.
 
I like the folding DMT product. Then again, I rarely go over 4.5 inches of woods blade too.:D
 
MilliePop said:
I'm not familiar with them...I usually use large stones because my knife is a large "bowie" type. Would those small sharpeners work well with a large knife?
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Small sharpening stones work just fine as long as your knife does not have a recurve. Even if it does have a recurve, you will be able to sharpen the end of it which has an outward curve. Many traditional "Bowie" knives dont have a recurve anyways.

A larger "stone" is always better to use, but in the field a small one is more appropriate.

+1 to the DMT products. I have a "diafold" and a small "credit card sharpener." I really like the credit card sharpener. You can glue some good sand paper to the back to get different grits for sharpening.

I use mine mostly on my SAK but I have used them on my larger knives as well. You could even use it to sharpen a machete if you wanted to. (edit -dawsonbob beat me to the machete comment:thumbup:)
 
Mentor said:
For me, it's a must.

Not because I really need to sharpen my knives regularly when I'm in the bush, but because it useful and because it has an important psychological value. There is something relaxing about sitting down with a pocket stone and sharpening a knife blade (even if it's already shaving sharp!).
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Especially if you start doing it when your companions can't decide if they want to bet or not in a card game. :D
 
A small stone will sharpen a large knife, just takes a little longer. Instead of sharpening the entire length of the edge in one stroke, you have to sharpen the edge in sections. No big deal.
 
dawsonbob said:
DMT Diafolds. Two sided (two grits), fold down small, and weigh next to nothing. Why wouldn't you carry one?
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What he said. Do yourself a favor and pick up a coarse/fine diafold. Weighs virtually nothing, folds down real small, and it can be used with the same motion as a file. I use one to touch up my machetes, so it'll work on a large fixed blade without trouble. ;):thumbup:
 
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