Sharpening Your Survival Knife in the Wild
When you are in the wild and all you have is your survival knife you will be glad that it is around. Knives have many uses including helping you to make camp, cutting wood for fire, cutting food for eating, protection against wildlife, and as a tool for other miscellaneous survival techniques. To achieve all of these things you will have to have a knife that is both strong and sharp, let’s hope that you invested in a quality knife and not some economy knife just to get by.
In the wild, a knife needs to be durable as well as strong. Avoid purchasing knives with hollow handles for caring emergency supplies. Not only are these knives weak, but if you lose them you also run the risk of losing the supplies that are contained within it. Consult with a knowledgeable outdoorsman to find a knife that helps you to accomplish your goals in the wild.
When you are using your knife for miscellaneous tasks such as collecting edible plants, carving spears, skinning game, and as a piece of silver to avoid eating with your dirty fingers, you want it to remain sharp. Although your knife may have started out razor-sharp, a couple of days in the wild will result in a dull blade which in turn renders itself ineffective at accomplishing anything. Here is how you can sharpen your knife in the wild using just what nature provides.
Sharpening a Knife in the Wild
If you are in the wild and have a dull knife you will need it to be sharp for helping you to survive. Begin by finding a stream or river and look for a coarse stone that will be used to help you sharpen your knife. Smash your coarse stone with a bigger stone to put it in pieces as small as possible. Next, take the bigger stone in your hand, and grind the coarse stone down until it is in even smaller pieces about the size of a bb. Then find a good piece of living wood, about the thickness of a baseball bat handle, remove the bark, and take your bits of coarse stone and rub it around the wood with your hands. This will serve as your sharpening mechanism. Take the knife and pull the blade against the wood and rock pieces until it sharpens to the desired edge. The blade should be held perpendicular to the wood at all times, forming a bit of a cross so that the blade receives the most effective sharpening.