Sharpen Your Knife with a Coffee Cup

reply to post by Ahmose



I hate to keep going on about this, but I don't want people to get the impression that this would be good to do in a survival situation.

As someone who knows knives, I just can't recommend this method, especially since some people here seem to see it as a good tool for survival. A ceramic mug can really screw up the edge of any decent knife and, again, most people will probably screw up trying to sharpen freehand. If anyone is actually serious about sharpening knives, they should either get a guided sharpening system or some decent whetstones.

This is a bit like trying to saw wood with an electric carving knife. Sure, you might get the job done to some extent, but something will probably get ruined eventually. Get a circular saw for the wood and a proper sharpening system for the knives.

reply to post by Tsuki-no-Hikari


I certainly respect your POV friend, but I (would like to!) think that the majority of folks who post and lurk in the survival forums know how to freehand sharpen a knife. Of course there are some who don't have a clue, so your warnings aren't without some merit.
Just remember that a good chunk of folks would have the sense to make it work by selecting a proper surface, and keeping the angle true across the stroke!

I've gotta go grab me a coffee mug and hone my pocketknife now...

Originally posted by Gazrok
I personally like my Ginsu knives for cooking. Remains one of the only As Seen On TV items my wife ever got, that actually seems to live up to the claims. The other is the Foreman Grill, man I love that thing....and the Magic Bullet (a must have at parties).

Of course, there's plenty of other crap she's bought that just collects dust....lol.

You know I used to joke around with my wife about how I just HAD to have a slapchop...Vinnie was so damn convincing! Well, Christmas came, and lo and behold I got me a slapchop. I frackin' love that thing!

This tip has already been shared by member DaddyBare. Its a good tip but he has beated you to it.

There is a difference in sharpenning and honing. Sharpening grinds a new edge on the blade and really has to be done by someone with some level of skill or the edge will be destroyed.

Honing is just smoothing out the existing edge of the blade by running a firm surface with a slight pressure along the edge of the blade. This needs to be donebequally to both sides of the blade, so count your reps on each side. Also, you can hone each time you use it, but you only need a very small number of reps. A large number of reps can do more harm than good.

The thinest part od the edge of a blade is very malleable. Once you understand what honing actually it is easier to find solutions to hone a blade.

I usually will not buy serrated blades as they can not be honed or sharpened. It is a lie that they don't ever need sharpening and they actually tear rather than slice even when absolutely sharp.

Cut a peice of meat with a sharp serrated blade and a sharp straight edged blame and you will see a difference.

On the plus side a sharp serrated is less likely to slice you as deaply as a straight edged blade so they can be considered safer in the kitchen and they need less maintenance. This is why all steak knives in resturants are serrated.

Becareful though really cheap serrated blades are better than really cheap straight blades as the cheap ones will not hold their edge slicing thorugh anything. It's always safer to cut with a sharp knife than to force a dull knife.
Slicing should require little extra pressure other than the weight of the knife itself.

Feel free to disagree.

Also as another poster seemed to suggest excessive or improper honing will destroy your blade's edge. At that point it will require skilled sharpening or replacement. The take away is that honing is not sharpening.

Originally posted by blamethegreys
reply to post by Tsuki-no-Hikari

 

I certainly respect your POV friend, but I (would like to!) think that the majority of folks who post and lurk in the survival forums know how to freehand sharpen a knife. Of course there are some who don't have a clue, so your warnings aren't without some merit.
Just remember that a good chunk of folks would have the sense to make it work by selecting a proper surface, and keeping the angle true across the stroke!

I've gotta go grab me a coffee mug and hone my pocketknife now...

I don't know how to sharpen freehand.

Originally posted by Tsuki-no-Hikari
reply to post by Ahmose

 

Get a circular saw for the wood and a proper sharpening system for the knives.

But if I am in the woods lost, how would I find the electricity or gas for a circular saw, and why would I have one with me anyway. I think perhaps you are thinking survivalist as someone who gets ready to survive but for people like me, survival means to be in a position of immediate need to survive. In that case, I hope I may have a knife, but I don't see myself carrying a circular saw in case I get lost.

In the case I do have a knife when I need one, can a rock do the same job as a coffee cup?

thanks ill try to keep it in mind

lol i just sharpend a few swords, a couple kitchen knives, and all my pocket knives this way.

dosn't work to well on high carbon stainless tho.

i see no problem sharpening knives this way. Sheesh!

even if it does cause a problem, just use your real sharpener to fix it.

no big deal!

LOL my mate has just done this in front of me and then i log on here and this thread is here the worlds a funny place hey.

Interesting tip,thanks OP.

Might try this on a couple of my cheap blades.

Cheers

Well now, THIS will indeed come in handy.
I applaud the OP for posting this.

For kitchen knives I use a ceramic V sharpener but for my personal knives I use a different system.

I put an edge on my knives with wet/dry automotive sandpaper. 400 600 and 800 grit, on a neoprene pad.
I keep a few small pieces in my wallet.
At home, after sanding the final edge I I buff the edge with white polishing compound.
The edges on my EDK ( every day carry) knives are sharper than most people can comprehend.
Shaving sharp isnt even close to the edge I keep on my knives.
I tell my friends not to touch.. they never listen. Every time they touch the blades they get cut.


As I said, as soon as I can get a few more quality posts in, I'll be able to post threads, and I'll elaborate with some tutorials on sharpening, making knives, and making sheaths.
.

I use my coffee cups for my Jamaican Blue mountain roast java.

Sandpaper ATSers.... it's the best DIY sharpener in existance, light, portable and works better than99% of the sharpening systems on the market.
you just have to learn how to recognize the factory bevel on your knife, and work it, without changing it.
freehand knife sharpening, and the understaning of a knife blade, grind, and bevel is one of the most important survival skills you can learn.

saw this a bit ago and didn't think about it till today when my kitchen knife was blunt. It actually worked