How do you sharpen your knife in survival situation?

[POCEH KOCEB]

Lots of great ideas above… Unfortunately if you’re get lost in Florida swamps, no decent wood or stone will be available to you…
Carrying sharpening tool with your small, of modern stainless steel fixed blade is the answer to me, and try not to lose it.
Plenty of options when there is a fire starter and sharpening rod, attached to your belt or knife sheath, I’d stick with those. I found that two sided diamond sharpener with 2 grits works best, usually around $19 in Home Depot or Lowe’s,
the sheath becomes handle and it is very convenient to work on small, large blade or axe. White and gray Lansky ceramic rods work fine to, those are find in most online stores selling sharpening supplies, they are long and convenient to use or store and cost almost nothing.

 

[Zulus]

Lots of great ideas above… Unfortunately if you’re get lost in Florida swamps, no decent wood or stone will be available to you…
Carrying sharpening tool with your small, of modern stainless steel fixed blade is the answer to me, and try not to lose it.
Plenty of options when there is a fire starter and sharpening rod, attached to your belt or knife sheath, I’d stick with those. I found that two sided diamond sharpener with 2 grits works best, usually around $19 in Home Depot or Lowe’s,
the sheath becomes handle and it is very convenient to work on small, large blade or axe. White and gray Lansky ceramic rods work fine to, those are find in most online stores selling sharpening supplies, they are long and convenient to use or store and cost almost nothing.

My Grand Aunties sharpened their kitchen knives
on outside door wall opening edge, for literally decades
Luckily they didn't carry that building into Florida swamps :^D
It was in Prussia ...

 

[rhino]

You can prolong the life of an edge significantly by stropping. You can strop on a lot of things effectively, including the leg of your pants, your leather belt, or even the palm of your hand.

 

[POCEH KOCEB]

You can prolong the life of an edge significantly by stropping. You can strop on a lot of things effectively, including the leg of your pants, your leather belt, or even the palm of your hand.

Very true. I had a belt, rubbed with green compound on inside. It was a working belt and I never used it for stropping but done it specifically with this purpose, basically for fun. With the years the belt kind of shrunk so I can’t fit in it anymore…
I cut it off and made two nice strops that I’m using to this day.

 

[S-3 ranch]

Muchachas!
I carry A diamond steel ( SAK brand) its weight is light, sharpen any steel good enough to survive
some times good enough is all that matter
i strop also on anything leather

 

[Zulus]

Hold your sheats guys
OP problem is what to do without help of civilisation purchases !?

 

[rhino]

Very true. I had a belt, rubbed with green compound on inside. It was a working belt and I never used it for stropping but done it specifically with this purpose, basically for fun. With the years the belt kind of shrunk so I can’t fit in it anymore…
I cut it off and made two nice strops that I’m using to this day.

It's funny how belts and pants shrink so much over the years!

 

[GutWrench]

I carry a sharpener in my bag. The bag goes with me damn near everywhere that could potentially turn into a "survival situation."

 

[a_dub]

They do? Always? Sounds like an opinion stayed as a fact.

Have you ever been backpacking (or read about it)? It’s one of my favorite things to do (e.g. put myself away from human habitation while relying on the gear I bring along).

If so you’ve probably heard these bits of advice:

1) Wear your knife, fire starting equipment, and ideally first-aid items secured ON YOUR PERSON.

2) When crossing a creek, etc. (which happens frequently if you like to backpack in pleasant areas) you should always undo your sternum/belt straps so your backpack doesn’t drown you if you go in. The idea is you get out of your backpack, lose your gear, but don’t drown.

Now, if we put #1 and #2 together, you’ll see that we have a situation where someone with “skills” can end up with just a knife and fire making equipment a few days from home.

Now let’s add in a broken ankle for fun, so no walking out. (Again, I’m not saying this will happen to me -really hope it doesn’t in fact - but I can use my IMAGINATION and put myself in that scenario easily).

I’ve also been temporarily lost in the woods (for about an hour until I figured out my mistake). Not a fun experience, but an experience that I KNOW can happen.

Do you know why they say to keep your knife and fire on your body? Because those tools are the most likely to help you survive.

Do you think it’s silly to bring a sharpening device on a backpacking trip?

There’s a guy in a post above that EDCs a sharpener. Anything wrong with that? If not, then what could possibly be wrong with learning a skill that allows one to leave an additional item of gear at home?

Leaving things at home through skill development is one of the goals in backpacking FYI…

I mean, if you break an ankle and lose all your gear crossing a river solo when you're a multi-day hike from anybody and nobody knows where you are... you've made a string of mistakes that I would suggest means you're probably not as skilled as you thought you were and the likelihood of you making even worse mistakes under those circumstances is very high. Crossing a deep river alone like this is probably the most dangerous thing you can do and I just wouldn't do it under those circumstances unless I had no choice and I knew that SAR is coming for me if I fuck it up. I have a three week solo trip coming up later this year and I'll have a sat messager and a route filed just in case something like this happens.

Do you really think that your broken-ankled self is now going to survive only if you can manage to find an appropriate rock and rub your knife on it? Just keep a flat DMT card or other very portable sharpener attached to your sheath if you really think you're going to dull your knife and die for want of a sharpening stone. Most people are in very serious trouble in this scenario you describe even if they had all their gear with them and a sharpening stone. What exactly are you going to do with your knife to save yourself now that you've lost everything and can't walk? I don't expect to change your mind here so I'll leave it at that, I hope you never land in one of those situations.

 

[scdub]

I mean, if you break an ankle and lose all your gear crossing a river solo when you're a multi-day hike from anybody and nobody knows where you are... you've made a string of mistakes that I would suggest means you're probably not as skilled as you thought you were and the likelihood of you making even worse mistakes under those circumstances is very high. Crossing a deep river alone like this is probably the most dangerous thing you can do and I just wouldn't do it under those circumstances unless I had no choice and I knew that SAR is coming for me if I fuck it up. I have a three week solo trip coming up later this year and I'll have a sat messager and a route filed just in case something like this happens.

Do you really think that your broken-ankled self is now going to survive only if you can manage to find an appropriate rock and rub your knife on it? Just keep a flat DMT card or other very portable sharpener attached to your sheath if you really think you're going to dull your knife and die for want of a sharpening stone. Most people are in very serious trouble in this scenario you describe even if they had all their gear with them and a sharpening stone. What exactly are you going to do with your knife to save yourself now that you've lost everything and can't walk? I don't expect to change your mind here so I'll leave it at that, I hope you never land in one of those situations.

I never said anything about hiking where “nobody knowing where I am” or “crossing a deep river alone”, but I will certainly agree with you that both of those things are bad ideas.

Besides warning me against those scenarios, (thank you), you seem to be arguing that I definitely won’t need to sharpen my knife on a stone that I find. Ok that’s a possibility.

Then you go on to say I should BRING a sharpening stone with me if I think I might need to sharpen my knife. So presumably you agree that a sharp knife might be nice to have, you just don’t want me/people to learn alternative methods to get there because it’s not something you value.

Again, thanks for the suggestion, but no, you didn’t change my mind. Besides I already learned this skill so it would be hard to forget at this point.

Edit: Just remembered that I DID have a scenario where nobody knows where I am that involves driving off a cliff. Certainly not a position I would put myself in on purpose, but that’s one of the reasons there is a fixed blade and folding saw in all of my families vehicles…

Sharpening a knife on a rock isn’t likely to make the difference between life and death, but in combination with other knowledge and skills it could certainly help, and it’s a fun skill to learn. I don’t get the negativity.

 

[rhino]

I can't remember if I read about it on a web site or I saw it on a youtube video, but I saw a guy rub clay into a boot lace or a piece of 550 cord, then use it to strop/sharpen a knife.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

(...)

Sharpening a knife on a rock isn’t likely to make the difference between life and death, but in combination with other knowledge and skills it could certainly help, and it’s a fun skill to learn. (...)

This.^

Completely agree. In almost any scenario, I feel it's likely survival will come down to something other than how sharp one's knife happens to be at the time.

But having said that, it's still worth learning what actually works, and what likely won't, in such a situation. It's very encouraging and somewhat empowering to have that extra bit of knowledge in your toolbox, even if you never have to use it except for fun's sake. Maybe most of its value is just in finding something to focus on while biding one's time waiting for the search & rescue people to show up. I, for one, find exercising my sharpening skills to be very calming and a great stress reliever, when I'm trying to distract myself from other worries.

 

[a_dub]

I never said anything about hiking where “nobody knowing where I am” or “crossing a deep river alone”, but I will certainly agree with you that both of those things are bad ideas.

Besides warning me against those scenarios, (thank you), you seem to be arguing that I definitely won’t need to sharpen my knife on a stone that I find. Ok that’s a possibility.

Then you go on to say I should BRING a sharpening stone with me if I think I might need to sharpen my knife. So presumably you agree that a sharp knife might be nice to have, you just don’t want me/people to learn alternative methods to get there because it’s not something you value.

Again, thanks for the suggestion, but no, you didn’t change my mind. Besides I already learned this skill so it would be hard to forget at this point.

Edit: Just remembered that I DID have a scenario where nobody knows where I am that involves driving off a cliff. Certainly not a position I would put myself in on purpose, but that’s one of the reasons there is a fixed blade and folding saw in all of my families vehicles…

Sharpening a knife on a rock isn’t likely to make the difference between life and death, but in combination with other knowledge and skills it could certainly help, and it’s a fun skill to learn. I don’t get the negativity.

I think we're talking past each other here. OP is talking about a survival situation, whch isn't camping or hiking or whatever else. The 'survival' thing is brought up all the time to justify a bunch of MacGyver fantasies and guys do all kinds of silly things without a clear idea of what they're actually solving for. There's a lot of magical thinking around long term wild living with no tools and no companions that is just an utter waste of time to consider. I know guys who don't know how to use a tourniquet properly but they spend hours practicing hand drill fires "just in case" they find themselves in a "survival" situation. If you want to do something because it's fun that's fine, if you're an ultralight person who gets a kick out of learning a new skill to save carrying a two ounce sharpening stone that's fine too. I just wish guys would distinguish between critical skills and having some fun in the woods.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

I've personally run into a bunch of circumstances that weren't survival situations where I was away from a dedicated sharpener for whatever reason and needed to sharpen a tool, and while it wouldn't have been dangerous for me to be unable to sharpen the tool in question it did make it easier to get the job done in the situation. Understanding the fundamentals of sharpening mechanisms does definitely help with being able to improvise ways of getting your tools back in working order when presented with less-than-ideal circumstances.

 

[David Mary]

You can strop on the cut edge of corrugated cardboard. Great for surviving long cardboard processing sessions.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

You can strop on the cut edge of corrugated cardboard. Great for surviving long cardboard processing sessions.

Especially if you use the bottom of the box where it slid over the aluminum floor or shelf of a UPS truck. It actually has some aluminum oxide acquired in the form of oxidation rubbed off the surface.

 

[elasmonut]

Hello,
I am looking for knowledge about sharpening your knife in survival situation. I've found a few articles, but nothing in depth. Really no more than "pick a stone and just do it" type of articles . Can you recommend me some articles, books or your own experiences/about about this topic?

Tuck a little diamond plate or ceramic rod in your pocket , and use a benchstone or guided system at home.
For epic battles that last years and years, hone your edge on the bones of your enemies???

 

[scdub]

I think we're talking past each other here. OP is talking about a survival situation, whch isn't camping or hiking or whatever else. The 'survival' thing is brought up all the time to justify a bunch of MacGyver fantasies and guys do all kinds of silly things without a clear idea of what they're actually solving for. There's a lot of magical thinking around long term wild living with no tools and no companions that is just an utter waste of time to consider. I know guys who don't know how to use a tourniquet properly but they spend hours practicing hand drill fires "just in case" they find themselves in a "survival" situation. If you want to do something because it's fun that's fine, if you're an ultralight person who gets a kick out of learning a new skill to save carrying a two ounce sharpening stone that's fine too. I just wish guys would distinguish between critical skills and having some fun in the woods.

I understand your point about distinguishing between critical skills and fun pass times for sure, and I wouldn’t put sharpening on rocks in the first category.

I am also talking about survival situations however. I’ve never intentionally put myself into a survival situation, but I do like to get out into different parts of the natural world. For me, I’m most likely to suddenly be in a survival situation while engaged in having fun outdoors - hiking, camping, or backpacking.

These are the times when I bring out my survival equipment, even though I don’t intend to need most of it. That’s also where I do lots of my survival “practice”, which might include foraging for food or fatwood, practicing fire-making (yes, I’ve spent some hours trying to make friction fire; no, not successfully), or finding a nice sharpening rock

I’m not struggling to survive, but I am PRACTICING survival, which is a healthy pass time imho. Are there things I focus on that you might not? Yes. Are there things that I’d encourage someone to know BEFORE they learn about natural rock sharpening? Yes.

You have no idea what I might or might not know, or weather I’m engaged in magical thinking or MacGuyver fantasies. I guess I’d just suggest that you give people here the benefit of assuming they’re intelligent practical people just like you, rather than the morons that they possibly could be. If you make a mistake in this direction it’s usually not a difficult fix.

 

[Zulus]

Boys
cardboards aren't available in the jungle, or desert, or Ocean ...
You are mentally in Urban Jungle :^D
Question was and still is
what to use when you GOT NOTHING !?

I got one very old idea left,
use OTHER knife :^))
Patience and handjob may save the day :^)))

 

[damib]

I understand your point about distinguishing between critical skills and fun pass times for sure, and I wouldn’t put sharpening on rocks in the first category.

I am also talking about survival situations however. I’ve never intentionally put myself into a survival situation, but I do like to get out into different parts of the natural world. For me, I’m most likely to suddenly be in a survival situation while engaged in having fun outdoors - hiking, camping, or backpacking.

These are the times when I bring out my survival equipment, even though I don’t intend to need most of it. That’s also where I do lots of my survival “practice”, which might include foraging for food or fatwood, practicing fire-making (yes, I’ve spent some hours trying to make friction fire; no, not successfully), or finding a nice sharpening rock

I’m not struggling to survive, but I am PRACTICING survival, which is a healthy pass time imho. Are there things I focus on that you might not? Yes. Are there things that I’d encourage someone to know BEFORE they learn about natural rock sharpening? Yes.

You have no idea what I might or might not know, or weather I’m engaged in magical thinking or MacGuyver fantasies. I guess I’d just suggest that you give people the benefit of assuming they’re intelligent practical people just like you, rather than the morons that they very likely are. If you make a mistake in this direction it’s usually not a difficult fix.

I've read through many of the posts above that are talking about MacGyver fantasies and so on. All I can say is that you may not really even need a high end knife but you still buy one. It's the same with knowledge. The more knowledge you have, the better in 99 % of situations.

Let's thing about it this way. You may not need to grab rock next to a road to sharpen a knife, but you may learn lots of new interesting things you didn't even know about sharpening/rock/you location etc... that may be way more useful in survival (or any other) situation than the skill itself.