Page 105 - American Survival Guide - October 2017

on the other side.
Pay particular attention to the tip of
the blade, as well as the part of the blade
closest to the handle. These areas tend
to be ignored. Alternatively, it is assumed
they’re being covered. However, they are
often missed completely. The Sharpie
technique will help you visually make
sure these areas are covered. Be sure to
use firm pressure. But if you find you are
gritting your teeth or working up a sweat,
relax a little. Let the abrasive do the work
for you. If your hand is cramping, you’re
using too much pressure.
After two or three rotations of this
grinding or scrubbing, feel the side of the
blade opposite the side you have just
been grinding. With any luck, you will feel
at least a few areas that are rough. If you
wipe that back side of the blade against
a rag, paper towel or your jeans and feel
a snag, you are feeling the burr; and you
should be able to feel that from the tip to
the handle. If you have reached the end
of a cycle and only feel it in places, do not
work harder on that side, because it could
lead to an unevenly ground blade.
Continue to work the other side, again
feeling for those rough areas on the
opposite side. At this point, you are about
to have a full burr, but continue working
the scrub until you feel that both sides
are fairly equal and that you have a good
burr on each side. Note that a little bit of
a lopsided edge is to be expected. It will
‹ Above: The
author uses the not diminish your ability to cut. However,
medium abrasive as you sharpen the blade over time,
to refine the
rough edge he has you will want to try to minimize that
created. While
he will achieve a asymmetrical cutting edge.
secondary burr by Now that you have established a burr
grinding with this
abrasive, he will on both sides, you are ready to change
be using very little abrasives and go to a higher grit. On my
pressure, making
sure the entire sharpener, that would be a 300 grit. I am
edge, end to end, basically going to repeat the scrubbing,
is covered.
grinding off the old burr—but looking to
make a new one with a higher abrasive.
Once this is done, we are going to change
‹ Left: Although what we are doing just a bit.
your knife is
effectively sharp After grinding the new burr—which you
after using the should feel, even though it won’t be as
last diamond
abrasive, Barber aggressive—we are going to go from handle
likes to further (heel) to tip: one stroke, then reverse, then
refine the edge
with ceramic. At do it again. This motion should be a push
this point, you
might want to away from yourself, starting with the heel
slightly increase and fi nishing with the tip, and then back
your angle, pro-
ducing a micro toward yourself; again, heel to tip. This is
secondary edge. the technique we most frequently associate
It’s not essential,
but it is effective with sharpening, and it will feel as if you are
for achieving a whittling at the abrasive.
highly efficient
edge. If you do not feel confident in this part,
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