Page 102 - American Survival Guide - October 2017
P. 102
STAY
SHARP
HOW TO GET—AND KEEP—A SHAVING EDGE
ON YOUR CUTTING TOOLS
BY JERRIE BARBER
I ‹ Above: The author bible of the cutting edge.” However, a lot of what was discussed in the book was, at
A popular book at the time was the Razor Edge Book of Sharpening, referred to as “the
have been involved in some type of
selected these tools,
sharpening for more than 35 years.
except the strop, be-
cause he can throw
that time in my life, over my head and mostly boring. Eventually, after much practice, I
I was not so much trained; over
them into a bug-out
time, I was educated as I watched
developed my own techniques.
bag to maintain the
I hope they will work as well for you as they do for me. With the method I use now, I
others—noticing the di erences and
hatchet. Except for
similarities in their techniques, as well as edge of his knife or can turn the dullest knife into a straight razor in about 45 minutes with ease, and I do
the strop, this gear
the stones and tools they used. I also read costs less than $30. that for many people on a regular basis.
and studied the subject of sharpening. I have found that there is no good definition for “sharpening,” so let me share with you
Those were the options we had during the how I define this process that is so critical for anyone who carries a knife. “Sharpening” is
“dark” days of the 1970s and ’80s—before the intentional and purposeful removal of metal from a blade to increase the keenness
the creation of the Internet. of its edge and increase the blade’s cutting ability.
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