How to Sharpen a Knife

It doesn’t matter if you’re a hunter, outdoorsman, knife enthusiast, collector or even an experienced survivalist or do-it-yourselfer, learning the basics of knife sharpening often takes a backseat to more pressing matters. It’s a question on everyone’s mind—What’s the fastest, easiest way for me to sharpen a knife, and what’s the best sharpener on the market? Unfortunately, there’s no one right answer, but through researched and developed, step-by-step articles on knife sharpening, we’ve made it easy for anyone to learn the basics, and even some of the more involved methods of honing blades.

The “Sharpen A Knife & Care For A Collection” digital download is an easy-to-navigate, read and enjoy eBook.  This digital guide is a PDF file you download and access with any home computer, lap top or digital device with the Adobe Reader program installed. In this guide you’ll find 11 chapters covering various facets of knife care and sharpening, written by noted knife industry experts, including Dexter Ewing, Durwood Hollis and James Morgan Ayres.

Here’s an excerpt:

It’s one of the oldest methods of honing a blade bevel, the most traditional, conjuring up images of ancestors, grandparents, even Japanese bladesmiths working edges on whetstones or oilstones, fingers blackened from the grit. Stone remains a popular sharpening medium. It might not be the Stone Age, but you would hardly know it by perusing the rock-hard offerings of knife or knife sharpener and accessory companies.

Unlike traditional stones bought for pennies apiece at the old hardware store, the Smith’s 2-Stone Sharpening Kit (www.smithsproducts.com) comes with a 5-inch, medium-grit stone, a 4-inch fine Arkansas stone, honing solution and a sharpening guide. The medium-grit stone, meant for quickly setting an edge, comes mounted on a molded-plastic base that features a built-in storage area at the bottom for holding the fine Arkansas stone, the latter of which is ideal for finishing or polishing an edge. The manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP): $15.99.

“It is everything you need to put a razor-sharp edge on your large or small knives and tools,” Richard Smith says. “The neat thing about this kit is that, although you get two stones, they only take up the space of one bench-mounted stone. I never lose the fine stone because it’s always stored in the base, and it allows me to take the fine stone into the field with me if needed.”

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