Hunters, fisherman and survivalists all need to carry a knife in order to perform simple tasks such as cutting, digging, splitting, and defense. More often than not, they also carry an everyday watch too, like a Casio (I have the F-91W myself). Dull knives are pretty useless and every knife can lose its sharp edge over time as a result of repeated cutting which dulls the cutting edge of the blade. There are three ways to sharpen your survival knife,
- freehand
- a guided system
- or the more clumsy powered system
Sharpening a knife is not that difficult once you understand the basics and learn a few expert sharpening tips.
Knifemakers shape a particular “bevel” or angle to a knife that is based on how the knife is used or what the knife is designed to cut. Skinning and fillet knives have acute angles while knives with heavy blades such as chopping knives have a more acute angle. Anyone experienced at knife sharpening will tell you that the steeper the angle – the sharper the blade will become.
Caring for your knives properly will keep them in top performance for years. We have gathered not only these tips for you but also some cool facts about caring for your hand made knives as well that will help you keep them in good condition too.
Knife Sharpening Tips
The following knife sharpening tips will help you understand what you are doing and keep your knife sharp for a long time to come.
- Start with a clean sharpening stone this is really important for those guys who use an oil lubricant as oil tends to clog the stone. Use a brush and scrub under cold water for up to two minutes
- Maintain the correct angle while sharpening
- Start with a coarse stone (100-200 grit) then move to a medium stone (400 grit) for the majority of your sharpening work. If you are just looking to touch up your knife, a finer grit (600) should get the job done right
- Count strokes and use the same number of strokes on both sides of the blade
- If you are using a rock from a stream then use one with a smooth section
Sharpening Stones
A sharpening stone will always yield the best results and are perfect for those quick touch-ups to keep your blade sharp.
- It is important to sharpen your knife regularly.
- Infrequent sharpening will require more work in order to restore the sharp edge you desire.
- Your knife will last longer and you will see better results using it when you take the time to care properly for the blade.
The following are a few sharpening stones that are some of the best and affordable on the market.
- DUAL-SIDED KNIFE SHARPENER - Made from durable silicon carbide, this two-sided sharpening stone comes with both a 400-grit side used for sharpening and returning knives to their original shape and a 1000-grit side used for smoothing and polishing edges.
- WET STONE - An economical accessory for maintaining your tools, this water stone for sharpening knives does not use expensive honing oil. Simply soak the sharpener stone in water for 5 to 10 minutes before use, and lubricate as needed when sharpening.
- WHETSTONE KNIFE SHARPENER KIT: This set of knife sharpening kit includes high quality grit 3000/8000 water sharpening stone with a beautiful nonslip bamboo base and non-slip rubber bases for holding the waterstone securely during the sharpening process, a flattening stone used for leveling of knife sharpening Stone. Angle guide for beginners can be a great idea for household gifts.
- HIGH QUALITY WHETSTONE 3000/8000 GRIT: Chefic sharpening stone is made from professional grade white corundum with 17 processes, which is durable, corrosion resistant and heat resistant. The 3000 grinding wheel side is used to smooth the blunt edge, while the 8000 grinding wheel is used to polish the blade. professional double-sided grits design makes sharpening easier and more effective.
- Premium Quality: Not all sharpening stones are created equal. We only import & source premium quality material for the manufacturing of our Whetstones. Our proprietary composition of Aluminum Oxide along with sharpening compounds provides you with a superior cutting performance
- Superior Bundle: Sharp Pebble knife sharpening kit comes with double-sided (#1000/ #6000) whetstone knife sharpener, a sturdy bamboo base for holding the stone, knife sharpening angle guide, a simple instruction manual & detailed ebook with lots of Tips & Tricks which will appeal at every skill level
Which Sharpening Angle Should You Use
Many hunters and outdoor enthusiasts have a personal preference when it comes to the angle but you can use this handy guide as a base for deciding what is the best angle for your type of knife:
If you are sharpening hunting knives, pocket knives, survival knives or sport knives keep the angle between 25 and 30 degrees. If you are sharpening fillet knives, or X-Acto knives keep the angle between 12 and 18 degrees. If you are sharpening smaller knives, or boning knives keep the angle between 18 and 25 degrees.
During the process of sharpening your knife steps in the process can be made easier if you know the following tips about the importance of cleaning the sharpening stone, and also best angles for cutting certain materials. Did you know that when cutting softer materials the knife should be under 10-degree angles and that when cutting meat a knife with an angle between 10 and 17 degrees will work quite nicely? A pocketknife or hunting knife has to be durable so the best range of angle is between 22 and 30.
Now that we have shared our sharpening angle guide, our sharpening tips and our tips about caring for your hand made knives what comments would you like to share about your own sharpening tips?
Ron Shinall is the product specialist at TopSpecUS.com. He enjoys hiking and camping. In addition to the outdoors, he is a watch enthusiast and owns several military watches.