Natural Sharpening Stones.

Discussion in 'Knives' started by randyt, Sep 21, 2019.

0/5, 0 votes

  1. randyt

    randyt Master Survivalist
      415/460

    Blog Posts:
    0
    I was wondering if any of y'all use a natural stone for sharpening your knives? I don't really mean a Arkansas stone or a big round wet stone but a stone found in the woods or cricks.
     
  2. Sonofliberty

    Sonofliberty Master Survivalist
      407/460

    Blog Posts:
    0
    I always carry a file(on my leatherman), so I don't see the need. As a kid, I always had a whetstone with my knife. IMO, they just go together.
     
  3. randyt

    randyt Master Survivalist
      415/460

    Blog Posts:
    0
    I agree but in a perfect world it may no always be so. I often wondered how native folks dealt with it and have read some about it.
     
    TMT Tactical likes this.
  4. Sonofliberty

    Sonofliberty Master Survivalist
      407/460

    Blog Posts:
    0
    Maybe I am wrong here, but did native Americans even have steel before the Europeans showed up?
     
    TMT Tactical and randyt like this.
  5. randyt

    randyt Master Survivalist
      415/460

    Blog Posts:
    0
    Not talking in the historical sense, for instance the tribes in the amazon sharpen their machetes with something. But though with historical context, the native Americans would take pieces of metal and make a sharp edge. For instance a but plate from a rifle. I reckon though if someone always has a commercial stone with them it's nothing to be concerned with.
     
    TMT Tactical likes this.
  6. Dalewick

    Dalewick Legendary Survivalist
      515/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    For years I had a fine sandstone flat from a local coal mine that I used for knife and axe sharpening. Someone stole it. I use a Arkansas set for really dull blades but keep a diamond pen with me for keeping blades very sharp. Learn my lesson on dull blades as a kid when a dull axe ricocheted of the wood I was splitting, and sunk the toe of the axe deep in my knee cap. Pulling it out was weird. It drained clear fluid for a minute before it started pouring blood.

    Dale

    PS - The raw ceramic from a toilet tank will also put a very sharp blade on a knife.
     
  7. randyt

    randyt Master Survivalist
      415/460

    Blog Posts:
    0
    sandstone is awesome. A chunk of it works well as a improvised sharpener. Even though I wasn't really talking about sandstone grind stones here is a link to a place that use to make them. I have a three footer and have often wondered if it came from this place back in the day. Grindstone City

    http://geo.msu.edu/extra/geogmich/Grindstones.htm
     
    GrizzlyetteAdams and Dalewick like this.
  8. TexDanm

    TexDanm Shadow Dancer
      525/575

    Blog Posts:
    2
    We don't have much in the way of natural stone formations here but I have sharpened machetes and garden hoes with bricks and the lid off of broken toilets in the past. Now I sort of have a collection of sharpening tools both natural and man-made. For my carving tools, I love the Arkansas stones and have a pretty large collection of them. I go to a lot of garage sales and flea markets and never pass up on a nice stone. If it is severely worn I recut it and made it into a smaller stone with a diamond tile saw. I also have a large collection of ceramic stones hones and files. The ceramic files are what I used to use to cut and polish the sear and bearing surfaces on revolvers to give them a glass smooth no creep trigger pull. I also like the Spyderco ceramic stones and have a dual grit that I carry for a pocket knife pocket stone. For rough work, I like carborundum stones. Over the last few years, I have picked up a lot of diamond-based hones and like them a lot for general work but still do my finish with natural or ceramic stones.
     
  9. TMT Tactical

    TMT Tactical The Great Lizard ! Staff Member
      510/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    Well, I could not resist. I had to try and sharpen my pocket knife using the inside of the toilet tank. It worked very well. I just learned another trick. thanks Dale and TD.
     
    1. Dalewick
      Flint knappers refer to potty porcelain as Johnny Stone and use it to knap points (arrow, spear, knife) when nothing else is available. It's a little grainy, but works well in a pinch. Just a FYI.
      Dale
       
      Dalewick, Sep 22, 2019
  10. randyt

    randyt Master Survivalist
      415/460

    Blog Posts:
    0
    bottom of a coffee cup works, also the top of a car door window.
     
    TMT Tactical, Dalewick and Morgan101 like this.
  11. Morgan101

    Morgan101 Legendary Survivalist
      515/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    I don't use natural stones, and like SOL, I always have a sharpener with me. Great tips here on sharpening a knife. Thank you all for sharing.
     
    randyt, TMT Tactical and Dalewick like this.
  12. watcherchris

    watcherchris Legendary Survivalist
      510/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    I keep a dual sided diamond hone both here at the computer desk and upstairs in my radio room.

    I also have one at work and another in my daily BOB.

    But....I am aware of many of those ideas posted by the members here....car window ..coffee cup.....,toilet tank...etc etc.

    I keep various grades of files in a Tupperware drink container in my garage filled with oil.


    When I can find them at work.....I break the bulbs off olde mercury vapor lambs...and get the glass element out of them.

    It is about the size of one of those white ceramic sharpening stones so prevalent years back before diamond stones took their place.

    They too will sharpen a knife as does one of those white ceramic sharpening stones.

    I have purchased several grades of sharpening stones ...water and oil ..,.from the hardware store...and put them away...rectangular as well as round. I am not really that interested in putting back diamond sharpening hones..but would rather store back regular sharpening stones...even the dual sided rough and fine ones.

    I store them in several PVC military mortar round canisters...in my garage.

    I have reasoned to myself that at some time SHTF or particularly TEOTWAWKI...that they will be a valuable trade item..
    They are inexpensive and readily available now..


    Not much need for natural stones as of yet as so many are out here ..man made if you know where to look.

    We use them often at work....in shipbuilding...various grades from two sided stones..coarse and fine to gear stones...tapered stones.


    Watcherchris

    Not an Ishmaelite.
     
  13. GrizzlyetteAdams

    GrizzlyetteAdams Crap Creek Survivor
      390/460

    Blog Posts:
    3
    Some years ago, when I was hunting some Novaculite in Arkansas for flintknapping, I came across some awesome flat stones that turned out perfect for sharpening knives. I may very well have found the famous Arkansas sharpening stone in the wild, lol.

    .
    .
     
  14. GrizzlyetteAdams

    GrizzlyetteAdams Crap Creek Survivor
      390/460

    Blog Posts:
    3
    Love this thread! Learning new stuff is gold.


    .
     
    randyt, TMT Tactical and Sonofliberty like this.
  15. TexDanm

    TexDanm Shadow Dancer
      525/575

    Blog Posts:
    2
    My favorite sharpening tool is a 1" X 30" benchtop belt sander. I have belts that are made for making and taking care of knives and I use that for setting the angles on a knife and then finish it on stones and then a leather strop.

    Once a knife is sharp I seldom have to sharpen it again. I maintain my edge with butcher steels and leather strops with a little jewelers rouge on it. The ceramic sticks work well for that.

    I have a lot of things that I use to sharpen my curved chisels and such that I made with emery cloth. You can do a wonderful job with emery cloth and good sandpapers. I glue it onto boards and sticks I make a dowel rod that has the same radius as the chisel or gouge and then put belt emery on the stick to work the inside curved part. I go from 60 grit to Crocus cloth that is about 1000 grit. You can build an entire set of hones for a few bucks with emery cloth sandpaper and a little spray on glue. I use paint stirrers with emery on them for small work.

    The inside of the toilet tank isn't glazed so it is slightly rough and really is a great tool for sharpening a machete. I know a guy that teaches knapping that that is what he uses for beginners. He likes to knap the bottom of old green coke bottles too and those points come out real pretty. Once you learn on the busted toilets you move to obsidian. That is one of the few manual crafts that I can't seem to get good at. Knapping is part magic I think and I don't have the "touch".
     
    Last edited: Sep 23, 2019
    Dalewick, randyt and TMT Tactical like this.
  16. Dalewick

    Dalewick Legendary Survivalist
      515/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    Have you attended any knap ins? Most knappers are very helpful with new knappers. I love knapping.
    Dale

    42462603_1932657240090276_3964554903572971520_n.jpg 44765808_1969815809707752_6636309902132248576_n.jpg
     
    TMT Tactical and randyt like this.
  17. randyt

    randyt Master Survivalist
      415/460

    Blog Posts:
    0
    Ishi would knap heads from glass telegraph insulators.

    In regards to sharpening gouges and such. For my moketagen AKA crooked knife I use a piece of thick leather folded. On the folded edge I apply stropping compound.

    I've also used a rolled up newspaper as a strop, worked well.

    This is a great thread, all the tips and whatnot.
     
    TMT Tactical likes this.
  18. Dalewick

    Dalewick Legendary Survivalist
      515/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    All thick glass is great. Glass makes the sharpest blades known. Where glass breaks at the molecular level , it cuts flesh at the cellular level. A reason plastic surgeons use them for reconstructive surgery (minimal scarring).

    Dale
     
    TMT Tactical and randyt like this.
  19. TexDanm

    TexDanm Shadow Dancer
      525/575

    Blog Posts:
    2
    Obsidian is just naturally made volcanic glass and is many times sharper than a razor. that is a beautiful piece of chocolate obsidian! I knapped for a while but my hands won't hold up to the pressures of the flaking. I gave it up along with Indian beadwork and a couple of other things that were hard on my hands. I never had much talent for it. I do a lot better with metals and wood things. Chip carving is more my speed these days. It uses some of the same motions as knapping without the pressures.
     
    randyt, TMT Tactical and Dalewick like this.
    1. Dalewick
      That's actually not obsidian. It's dacite, which is volcanic but not classified as obsidian. I love the way it works. I need to photograph more of my work. If life will slow down.
       
      Dalewick, Sep 23, 2019
Loading...
Similar Threads Forum Date
Natural Antibiotics For Humans. Natural Medicine and Home Remedies Sep 12, 2021
Natural Barbed Wire-environmentally Friendly To Some Recrafting and Modifying Apr 29, 2021
Can Jen Psaki And The Left Possibly Be That Naturally Stupid..????? News, Current Events, and Politics Apr 24, 2021
Asian Hornet (a/k/a/ Murder Hornet) Has Natural Enemy News, Current Events, and Politics May 7, 2020
Natural Disasters And Coronavirus At Same Time ? News, Current Events, and Politics May 2, 2020
Weather, Natural Disasters,.. News, Current Events, and Politics Apr 28, 2020
Foods To Boost Your Immunity Naturally Herbalism - Medicinal, Practical, and other Uses Apr 15, 2020
Natural Mosquito Repellents Other DIY Mar 25, 2020
Natural Disasters And Children's Prep News, Current Events, and Politics Mar 10, 2020
How To Cure Itching Naturaly Natural Medicine and Home Remedies Jan 31, 2020

Share This Page