Bushcraft/Survival Knife Sharpening System

Norton 4000/8000 grit synthetic stone (Very Top)
King 1000/6000 grit natural waterstone (Middle)
Homemade Leather Strop (Bottom)

Recently, I've had several folks ask me about my knife sharpening system and how I get my knives so sharp. I have mentioned in some of my posts that I exclusively use waterstones to hone the edges of all of my knives and a leather strop to maintain a scary sharp edge. Now, I realize that there are several sharpening systems available to choose from like diamond sharpeners from DMT or the Lansky sharpening system. I have no doubt that these work great to hone an edge; however, I have found that the versatility and performance of waterstones and a leather strop work best for me.  I use this particular sharpening system on all of my knives; from pocket knives, bushcraft/survival knives to kitchen knives.  This system also is the best method to use on straight razors.  I have always been able to get a super sharp edge on a variety of edge types including scandi, flat and convex grinds.




As it is implied, the waterstones are designed to be used by soaking the stone in water and then keeping the stone wet throughout the sharpening process. The two brands of stones, I'm most familiar with are the Japanese Waterstones made by King which are natural stones; the other is the synthetic waterstones made by Norton.  The combination Japanese waterstone that I have is a 1000/6000 grit.    Because of the design of this stone and the slurry that it creates, this stone alone will handle almost all of your sharpening needs.  The 6000 grit is capable of putting a very decent final polish on the blade edge.  The Norton stone that I have is 4000/8000 grit which I used primarily as a finishing stone for my straight razors; however, I also use this stone for the final polish on my scandi grind knives.

This photo shows the mirrored finish on the Enzo Trapper
with a scandi-grind blade.

My final effort on sharpening any blade is to strop the blade on a leather paddle strop.  The strop that I use is "homemade" from a piece of 3/8" thick plywood, shaped to my liking with scrap leather glued to it. One side has a smooth finish and the other side is rough. This is a very economical way to maintain that hair popping edge on the knife.  I will often take the leather strop with me on camping trips just to keep a keen edge after working the knife in a variety of bushcrafting tasks. With just the leather strop, I have always been able to keep my knives sharp, even when being out on a multi-night trip.  It is incredible to me that a piece of leather on a paddle can be so effective in getting that hair popping edge.

As I've said before, this is the system that works best for me.  While there may be other good sharpening systems; I've found that I can get a knife scary sharp more effectively and efficiently using the combination of waterstones and a homemade leather strop. Having confidence in a tried and true system that gets the job done is important to me...  I know when I've gotten my knife sharp enough when I get those fine curly shavings when making feather sticks.  ~Keep it Sharp.