Sharpened knife matters, so knowing how to sharpen a knife without your sharpener can be a lifesaver when it matters. Your knife is essential to you as a prepper. It is an everyday carry gear, thanks to its hundreds of possible uses. However, what happens when you’ve misplaced your sharpener in the middle of the wilderness & are not yet done with your hunting? Or what if you just realized that you’d forgotten your sharpener at home?
Whatever the situation may be, chill. There are several ways to sharpen your survival knife & get your groove going.
4 Ways to Sharpen a Knife Without a Sharpener
Using the Bottom of Your Coffee Mug
In the absence of your knife sharpener, a coffee mug, most preferably of a ceramic build, can do just perfect. The rough bottom of your mug can sharpen your knife by holding the blade at a 20° angle & rubbing against it. The bottom roughness is why I prefer ceramic mugs for this purpose.
This idea will work just fine with other ceramic objects, whether a plate or a large flower vase. You don’t have to worry about the sharpness of your mug. Just rub both sides of the blade, one after the other, against the rough bottom & you’re sharp to go.
Using a Nail File
The chances of you not having a nail file are very slim — except you’re a savage. That’s that. This prevalent household item can be used to sharpen your knife, courtesy of the rough surface you use to file your nails. In fact, the textures of a knife sharpener & a nail file are very similar. Remember to carry one whenever you have your knife with you: they are small, lightweight & great for hiking trips.
To sharpen your knife using a nail file, place the file on a hard surface like a table. Set your knife to a 10° angle, and holding the file down with one hand, rub the blade up & down against the file’s length. Do this for as long as you consider necessary on one side before turning to the other side.
Cement or Slate
Sometimes, when SHTF, it may be easier to find slate cement than a nail file or coffee mug. When this happens, don’t bother. All you need is a flat hard surface to swipe your blade back & forth on for some time. You can try this out now to see how it works
This unconventional sharpening method works fine with other household items like bricks & stones lying about. However, be careful of extremely rough surfaces as too much roughness causes your blade to corrode. No one wants that. I believe that a slate is the best thing you could find in this situation.
Broken Glass
The pieces of broken glass or even their complete form (providing it has an edge) can be used to sharpen your knife. As usual, the process is to tilt the blade & swipe back & forth against the edge of broken glass.
While this method is one of the easiest alternatives to sharpening your knife, it is also dangerous. Be very careful when using a broken piece of glass to sharpen. Remember, a polished glass does not do it well.
Concluding The Ways to Sharpen a Knife Without Your Sharpener
Do you now know how to sharpen a knife without your sharpener? All you need do is assess your surroundings & take advantage of whatever you can find. That’s what makes you a prepper, isn’t it?