As nice as it would be to have an electric sharpener, a stone, or any other sharpener at the ready when knives need to be touched up, life doesn’t always work in your favor.
The fact is that situations occur that may be out of our control, leaving us stranded without a conventional way to put an edge on our knives. It might be as simple as going camping and leaving it at home, or it could be something as drastic as a survival situation occurring deep in the wilderness.
Hopefully, you never find yourself in a survival situation where your life depends upon having a sharp knife nearby, but if it does, will you know how to maintain the sharp edge on your trusted tool? No matter your experience level, there are simple ways to keep your knife in good working order. Additionally, these techniques do surprisingly well at sharpening just about any style of knife.
AN ASSIST FROM A CUP OF JOE
A ceramic coffee cup is something many campers, hikers, and all-around outdoorsmen have with them. If not, the world is full of litterbugs and it really isn’t difficult to find a piece of ceramic along a riverbank. With a piece of ceramic from the cup, you can sharpen your knife with a little improvising. All that you have to do is to turn it upside down and run the blade against the raw, rough part that’s at the bottom of the cup. Hold the mug upside down in one hand, and then place the base of the knife blade at a 45-degree angle against the exposed ceramic rim at the bottom.
Keeping a firm grip on both the mug and the knife handle and maintaining that 45-degree angle, drag the knife against the rim using even pressure as though you were using traditional sharpening steel.
This story is from the January-February 2021 edition of Knives Illustrated.
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This story is from the January-February 2021 edition of Knives Illustrated.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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KITCHEN KNIVES DON'T HAVE TO BE DULL
I have a confession to make. See if this sounds familiar. I take meticulous care of the knives I use for everyday carry, hunting, and general woods wandering. I wipe them down with an oily cloth after use and I never let them get too dull. Seldom do I have to restore a damaged edge. Most of the time I simply touch up the edges of my pocketknives with a few careful strokes across the rough bottom of a ceramic coffee cup. That’s usually all that’s needed. I don’t use my knives as screwdrivers or pry bars. As a matter of fact, I still have the very first knife I ever owned, an old Boy Scout knife that was handed down from my older brother. The blades have a deep patina that comes with using carbon steel over the years, but the knife is very usable still.
