I’m going to teach you How to Sharpen A Camping Knife and I’ll show you how to do it using a very simple method that works for virtually any type of knife and blade. It’s easy, cheap, fast, and produces a very good cutting edge. There are several advantages to keeping your tools sharp. Not only does a sharp tool make carving a great joy of bushcraft, but it’s also safer.
When working with a blunt tool, you have to exert more pressure, which increases the chance of a slip, and means that any ensuing cut will be more severe. In order to avoid making the problem worse, it is necessary to sharpen your tools to a razor’s edge. You can use Best Knife Sharpener.
We will cover everything that we have just mentioned, and much more, in the following guide on how to sharpen a camping knife.
How to sharpen a camping Knife Using abrasive stones:
To sharpen your knife you will require a set of abrasive stones, ranging from coarse to fine. At home (or at camp) you can indulge yourself with a set of large bench stones, while in the field you will need a small, lightweight alternative.
An abrasive stone is a device used to remove unwanted layers of metal, plastic, rubber, or other materials from items, such as metal or wooden surfaces, to create an area that is smoother than the original surface.
Firstly water the surface. Lay your knife on the stone and raise the back until the bevel of the blade lies flat on the stone. After that push the blade away from you as if trying to cut a thin layer from the top of the stone. Do this eight times before turning the blade over and sharpening the opposite face towards you.
Now, repeat the entire process. At this point, a paste will form on the stone. Do not wipe this away, since it helps to speed up the process. Keep the stone wet by splashing it with water throughout the process.
After moving on to a finer stone, repeat the process. The 6 000 grit sandpaper needs not to be soaked, only wet. It is preferable to create a slurry of sandpaper prior to use with a small Nagura stone.
After using the 6,000 stones clean the blade, then strop it on the inside of a leather belt 50 times, alternating the blade face on each stroke. This will help to ensure a sharp and durable edge. To complete the process, I run the blade very lightly down the finest ceramic sharpening rod to give the edge more bite. If you don’t have a ceramic rod, use the edge of a car window.
How to Sharpen a Camping knife using a honing rod:
When using a honing rod, the most important thing is to ensure the blade is not moving in the direction of your hands or body. Here’s how it’s done:
Plant your rod:
Hold the rod vertically, with the tip planted on a solid surface and the grip in your non-dominant hand. Press the heel of the blade against the top of the rod and point the tip of your knife slightly upward. The blade should be held at a 20‑degree angle away from the steel.
Sharpen:
To sharpen the knife, slide the blade down the length of the steel while maintaining gentle pressure and the 20-degree contact angle. Pull the knife towards your body as it descends the steel, so the full length of the blade is sharpened.
Repeat the process.
Repeat the above 10-15 times on each side of the blade.
How to sharpen a camping knife using a rock:
If you’re the kind of camper who wants to keep costs to a minimum or simply doesn’t want to carry more gear than is absolutely necessary, you can sharpen your knife using in-situ sharpening devices – i.e. stones – found at or around your campsite.
The best stones for sharpening are usually those found in rivers, mainly because the water has smoothed them out and worn the surface down to a very fine grain that’s more suitable for sharpening. Once you’ve sourced a stone, the process for sharpening is exactly the same as with a whetstone.
A third way of sharpening your knife without using any tools brought from home is to hold two roundish stones of roughly the same size together to create a ‘V’. The two stones are held together so that they form a ‘V’ with the knife being run across the ‘V’ to sharpen the blade.
Sharpen a camping knife using a whetting stone:
Choose your whetstone wisely:
Different types of whetstone have different sharpening capacities. If your blade is severely blunt, burred, or otherwise damaged, your best bet is to start off with a coarser grit in the 200-250 range. If the blade is only dull, then a 600-700 grit whetstone should do the trick. For fine-tuning and honing, a softer whetstone with 900-1000 grit is the way to go. For our money, the best whetstone for camping is the Fallkniven DC3 Whetstone (opens in new tab), which has a softer grit on one side and a hard grit on the other, thus covering all angles.
Prep your whetstone:
Before you start sharpening, pour some mineral oil or water onto the surface of your whetstone, and let it sit there for a few minutes before continuing. Doing this improves the stone’s ability to sharpen while also making the stroking action in step 3 much smoother, thereby reducing the risk of creating more burrs or an uneven edge while sharpening.
Adjust to the appropriate angle:
Start by placing the blade flat on the whetstone and then tipping it until the edge of the blade lies against the stone at the desired angle. Most blades have an angle of roughly 20 degrees. A smaller angle will make your knife sharper, but will also require more frequent sharpening. For whittling and food prep for camp cooking, sharper’s the way to go; for general bushcraft skills and campsite use, a broader, less acute angle will suffice.
Sharpen:
Keeping the preceding angle in mind, and with the blade facing away from you, push the blade towards the opposite end of the stone. As the blade moves down the stone, take care to maintain the original angle and apply light pressure to the top of the blade. Start with the base of the blade and work your way up towards the tip. Repeat this process six or seven times on each side of the blade.
Repeat:
If your blade is still dull after step 4, repeat the same process with a softer, finer grit whetstone
Conclusion:
In conclusion, we are focusing on How to Sharpen A Camping Knife. The best tool to sharpen a knife is the one you use every day. If you want to hone your skills, sharpen your tools, and stay sharp, you have to take care of them. That means keeping them sharp. A great sharpening stone is a hand-made piece of slate, marble, or granite. I recommend buying one that you can put on a flat surface and use daily for at least one year. Then you can pass it along to someone who will appreciate it.
