We've had some more recent traffic about knife sharpening, tools for the occasion, and what is possible for the average person.

There've been a few occassions where I've been able to sharpen pocket knives to rival the finest scalpel edge. It takes me a while, maybe even longer than most, and sometimes I need special tools for the job, but I know it can be done with nothing more than a good set of stones, a little spit, and some elbow grease.

From about 9 years old on, I've been able to keep most all my knives sharp enough to cut hair off my arm. Not what I'd call shaving sharp, but always sharp enough for any and every task I've ever needed. I've used stones, spyderco ceramic sticks, Lansky type sharpeners, diamond wheels and belt sanders to get what I consider an acceptable edge. I've also used those carbide and ceramic draw-through sharpeners that everyone seems to consider mostly worthless, and still been able to get a fairly dull blade sharp enough to cut the hair off my arm as well.

I can get a small diamond stone of suitable grit for about $5, and if I work at it for about 5 minutes from butterknife dull, it will do what I need. I can get one of them carbide/ceramic draw through sharpeners for about $3 and get that same butterknife to about the same sharpness in about half the time.

Now my wife can't sharpen a knife using any tool I can put in front of her, except for these draw through types. This leads me to conclude that although they aren't perhaps the most desirable sharpening device for those of us who can get a hair splitting edge with a $2,000 set of Japanese water stones, it is a fairly practical, foolproof device for the average Joe. The Carbide cutters can be a bit hazardous on making a fine edge if you don't know what you are doing, or get a little too zealous. They also don't seem to work quite right with certain types of blades, but for my $40 stainless Ka-Bar folder, they seem to do okay. For getting a dull edge up to angle quickly, the only thing I've seen go quicker is a diamond wheel or a belt sander. Still, for those too averse to use them, you could just use the ceramic stick type draw through and probably achieve decent results without worrying too much about chipping up the edge.

From a survival viewpoint, I like that they are cheap, functional, small, durable, and easy to operate. I wouldn't really want to consider toting around a Spyderco or Lanski in my EDC, though the small diamond stone I have is as portable as the little draw through tool is. I've also got a little pensized diamond stick that is awful handy, but easily misused, as I discovered when my daughter tried to use it to sharpen a fishing knife.

I've never found much practicality in getting most knives sharper than what it takes to cut the hair off my arm. If so, then I go to my xacto or razor blades and use them for the surgical work I am about to undertake.

I agree with you. I know that a lot of people that are experts at sharpening will laugh at the carbide and ceramid draw thru sharpeners, but I have one of those yellow plastic ones (Smiths) that sell at Wallmart for less than $3 and I have fine results. Besides when I go hunting I carry one in my pocket, for a quick touch up if the blade goes dull.

I have a Double Sided Diafold. The coarse side for my hatchet, and the fine side for my knife.

I've never found the need to shave my arms in a survival or normal outdoor activity. There is an apocryphal folkstory about Richard III meeting Saladin. Richard drew his great sword and cut an anvil in half. Saladin tossed a silk cloth in the air and let it float down over his scimitar, cutting in half as it passed. Both blades apparently did adequate work killing people.You can read the fantastic efforts to sharpen blades online and how they actually lose the ability to cut cigarette papers when to sharp, another activity I've never pursued outdoors. I expect someday lasers will replace knives, flashlights, fire starting devises, emergency signals and firearms. I am equally convinced there will be a forum devoted to tweeking them and complaining bitterly about their shortcomings.

I figure if I can push cut newspaper than I am sharp enough for sport knives, for kitchen knives I usually try to get them razor sharp.

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But seriously. One of the things I learned this year is that there are different kinds of sharp and not all kinds are good for the same things. My pocket knife is sharp but I wouldn't shave with it...a straight razor is sharp...but if you used it as a box cutter you'd ruin the edge instantly. Knowing all the different types of edges, how to create them, and what works best for what is what separates a professional knife sharpener from a guy like me...I still sharpen my own however even if the results aren't always spectacular.

I like hair shaving sharp, but as long as an edge is sharp enough to allow me to do whatever it is I want to do, I am happy. Don't really care what I used to get it that sharp. Lately I am using the mousepad/wetdry sandpaper thing with great sucess...

My functional requirement is tomatoes. Except for a straight razor, I don't shave with any of my knives, but I do slice tomatoes (and other food). Now it's not really a convenient gauge to carry around with you, so I do have a bald spot on my arm. But if there's one task I can think of that really requires a sharp knife its slicing tomatoes.

Unlike the oft-misused "LOL", that truly had me laughing aloud "LA" !!! I think there'd have been less double-takes if Benjamin had written it correctly as "pen-sized"

((( )))

I too am a wet/dry sandpaper guy, and I like them just as sharp as I can get them....however sharp or dull that is.....

Now where'd be the fun in that?

As I don't often carry ripe tomatoes with me, and I know that what cuts the hair off my arm is sharp enough, I do have need for cutting hair off my arm in a survival situation when it comes to sharpening my knife back up out in the field. Just me.