Who has sharpened a knike with a rock?

dipbait

dipbait

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Feb 9, 2008
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Have any of you been out in the field and needed to sharpen a knife, and used a rock ?If so, what was the rocks characteristics and what was the outcome.
 
i havent done it, but, in the SAS survival book, it shows a way of doing so. you have to find 2 peices of sandstone, then rub them together until you have a flat surface on one of the stones, then sharpen away.
 
Done it mostly when I was a kid - I didn't have anything proper so any suitably flat stone got tried. Kerb-edge stones were good, but that's probably cheating because they are man-made. Slate was good too and I used to try to break big pieces of smooth sandstone in half and grind them together, as mentioned above. I would get the big rounded stones from the river and and often they would break quite neatly in half making the flattening job quite easy.

The end results generally weren't pretty, and certainly not as sharp as my edges are now, but I never seemed to have a problem using my knives.
 
I've done it as a test before. On a beach hike I attempetd to sharpen a SAK main blade and it seemed to work. I don't know what kind of rock it was, but it was black and seemed to be of small grain?
 
I try to avoid it, …but I have done it. :eek:

Generally I pick a hard round stone from a streambed and use it to “steel” the edge back into alignment.



Most of the knives I carry these days stay sharp long enough that it’s not required, plus I usually carry a back up knife (or three). :rolleyes:


PS – stropping an edge on my pants, a belt or the back of my sheath,

...and/or using the spine of another knife as a “steel” are better techniques then reaching for the nearest rock.




"If you're not living on the edge, …you're taking up too much space."

Big Mike
 
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I have done it. You don't get the same nice finish, but the function is there, just like texasred mentioned.
 
Like Big Mike said. I have used a smooth stone to steel the edge back into alignment on my SAK. I have used lime stone but I think you better off stropping it after each use so that the edge doesn't get that bad.
 
i've touched up the edge with a river rock or two, flat, with very tight "grain" I guess. Didn't do that good of a job.

I tell you what I was impressed with though. One time on the beach, I found the bottom of a well weathered wine glass bottle. I have a glorious picture somewhere, It did neat, producing a keen edge. Just something that could cut, we aren't talking hair popping sharp.
 
Never tired it with fancier tool steels, but I've done it with carbon steel and it worked fine. Look for a stone with fine grain and hardness counts. The rock doesn't need to be flat, but should be smooth. River stones worn oval/disc shape will work great-- the same stones you would choose for skipping rocks. Jagged, broken edges will do just what you think they would. You don't need a huge amount of surface area so even a jagged rock may have a small smooth spot. Go easy and try a little spit :)

I add a small diamond or ceramic sharpener to my kit to avoid having to do that to my better knives. A Lansky Dog Bone or one the diamond coated credit card sharpeners will get an edge back to usable shape. In a SHTF situation, I could care less when my knife ends up looking like-- if I end up warm and dry, I can live with a scratched blade. Even that won't happen with reasonable care and an oval stone as only the edge hits the stone. It's simple question of craftsmanship vs. living-- easy choice!
 
I always have a stone with me, but I did once sharpen a Gerber Gator with a piece of limestone for practice purposes.
Limestone is pretty common here in the Mediterranean, especially near the coast. It tends to go dry and brittle once exposed to the elements so I had to smash a good sized boulder to get to the good stuff. I soaked two of the broken pieces in water and flattened them by rubbing together. Once I had a flat side I worked up a slurry and it was ready to go.
The Knife sharpened fast and I got a good edge that shaved hair, but not cleanly.
 
Many times. I've managed a time or three to get a very decent usable edge on my Schrade Old Timers and Case knives with carbon steel blades that I carried as a youth using a flat sandstone rock or some sort of other flat stone found on the ground. Some flake off and are too soft but once you find one with the right consistancy and hardness you can make some progress.

STR
 
I've used sandstone a few times. On several occasions, I've used round rocks that were large enough to grip. I used a cinderblock twice; once on a machete and once on an axe. The sidewalk got frequent use when I was a kid.
 
I sharpen my machete with rocks all the time (try to find the ones with fine grain). but I would never do that to any of my knives, unless i'm in a real survival situation.
it works, but it's not pretty.
 
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I have done it many times with sandstones,riverstones,on concrete poles in vineyard,mostly on folder,and few times on machete.
 
I've sharpened a 12" tramontina machete a few times on sandstone, actually worked better than I expected on the soft carbon steel:)
 
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