sharpening your knife in the wild

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kevshin21

Joined
Jan 17, 2007
Messages
108
hey guys I was wondering how would you guys sharpen a knife without a sharpening tool and you desperately need to have a sharp edge? would you guys recommend improvising a sharpening stone out of mashed up rocks, water and stone? or are there better ways to get it sharp?
 
I don't let my knives get too dull without touching them up, but I can hone them nicely on my belt or boot. One could use a smooth stone if need be.
 
Well, if you have nothing, get soft stone from a river bed. I usually carry a wet stone with me in the woods and touch up when needed. But I also have a strap of leather that gets used more often, heck even that back of a leather sheath can be used.
 
sharpen yes, But strop no, You can "touch" up the blade with leather and get a shaving edge
 
kevshin21 said:
forgive my idiotness but isn't leather too soft to sharpen?
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It isn't dumb or idiotic to ask about something you have never tried. Leather has been used for centuries to sharpen knives and razors. You can add an abrasive if you like, but leather itself works fine as a strop. Cardboard works also. Dang near anything that can dull a knife can also sharpen one.

Codger
 
Try the bottom of your wife's best china plates some time. Works like a champ!
 
What Codger_64 said! :thumbup:

You can add verious commercial made compounds to leather. Heck, some plain old sand rubbed into your belt will work when your in a bind.

http://www.handamerican.com/leatherinfo.html
How does leather polish steel? Leonard Lee offers a good explanation in his book 'The Complete Guide To Sharpening' stating that after tanning some animal hides contain a high level of natural silica, a material that polishes and perfects steel.
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Yep, I wear a thick leather belt and use it for stroping. I also carry a piece of 600grit W/D paper in my gear.
 
I'd be interested in finding out more on how to properly strop my blades, I'd even be interested in learning proper ways of shapening, as I just kind of muddle through if anyone could offer any tips or reccomend some useful links I'd be much obliged
 
Kevshin, stropping removes a microscopic burr from the edge, kind of like a comma "," that you can get from using an abrasive. alll the metal you are taking of the edge when you sharpen sort of builds up. A knife you think is sharp can be used to shave with after stropping. (depending on the steel of course)
 
RR,

I use a maple boards about 4"x10". By using boards there is less chance to "roll" your edge. I get my compound from hand american. I use one board with 6 micron/4000 grit silicon carbide paste and the other with their black diamond (boron carbide) 1.8 micron/11000 grit paste. I allways strop with my edge going away. (buttering bread) If I use a 12 degree angle to sharpen my knife I then would use about that or a little higher angle to strop with. It will not take much work. I start with heavier pressure going to light. I do that with both boards. It will push/cut paper with out a hitch and will take some of my arm hairs off without the blade touching my skin. Hope that helps.
 
I have a question is there a proper way of sharpening knives? I have a beater folder that I was playing around with and I sharpened it in a C-ish shape. Also would a spyderco sharpmaker be good for my Ontario RAT 3 knife that I just ordered?
 
There is always a "proper" way to do things. Some here may not agree with my way of stropping. But it works great for me. Sharp is sharp after all. Playing is good. C-ish shape is well..... ahh..... good for a beater. But at least you can show it to your wife and say, LOOK BABY, can you belive that!!!
And tell her if you spend more money on a better one, it won't do that.:)
 
When going light, I sometimes carry one of those diamond eze-lap pens as a just in case. When I have my pack I have a DMT diamond stone and a sandpaper board. 400 grit on one side, 600 on the other.

Since there are lot of people in this part of the forum that hit the field, I believe you we see a greater preference for high carbon steels and scandi grinds as it doesn't get any easier than that to sharpen.

BTW, in a pinch, you can use a rock as previously mention. I have used the top of a truck window before - it did ok.
 
oh when i meant c shape i mean I sharpened it using a C like motion, I didn't sharpen it to look like one haha.
 
Quiet bear and Longbow both mentioned sandpaper, wet dry paper, to be specific. It can be found at the local hardware store and local auto-parts store if they carry any kind of touch paint supplies.

Reading your posts, a light bulb went off.

How bout get two sheets of good grade wet-dry (alum oxide) cloth backed paper, 2 different grits, and using contact cement, glue them together back-to-back?

They could be sliced length wise, afterward, and rolled up fairly tight, taped around a flashlite handle, even around a pencil or pen.

Medium ,Coarse, Fine, you name it. Custom make your own 2-sided sharpening paper.

Any merit at all to this idea?? For impromptu "in the bush" sharpening,
of course.
 
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