Knife Sharpening in a Survival Situation

by Tom Brown Jr.

In most survival situations, when people do have knives, they don't have the luxury of a manufactured sharpening stone. But this should not hinder the experienced survivalist. Go to a stream and pick a rock that has been flattened by the water action. A fine grained flat rock can produce almost the same results as a sharpening stone. Rocks can also be used for sharpening axes and scraping tools where no manufactured stones are available. In fact, a belt or the side of your boot can be used to strop your knife or scraping tool. Stropping should be done frequently. You will find, in most cases, stropping is all that is needed, unless you have done heavy carving that would be damaging to the blade.

From The Tracker magazine, Summer 1982, published by the Tracker School.
For more articles from The Tracker magazine, visit the Tracker Trail website.

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