Hi, I've enjoyed lurking for a few months <img src="/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" /> and have finally signed up. I appreciate the quality of the discussions.

I've been interested in survival/preparedness skills since a kid. The book "My Side of the Mountain" made a big impression -- remember that? I was in the Boy Scouts and have done a moderate amount of backpacking and car-camping.

Here are a few PSK/BOB thoughts in no particular order:

• If you're looking for a tough little bag, breakfast cereal bags are pretty tough. I've cursed while trying to pull them open more than once.
• A tiny magnetic declination map adds little bulk to a PSK but can be pretty useful. There's around a 40-degree variation across the continental U.S. Here are some links: http://www.geolab.nrcan.gc.ca/geomag/compass_e.shtml , http://www.thecompassstore.com/decvar.html , and http://www.windtesting.com/4.html
• A pair of light work gloves is in my BOB. I'm just about healed from a cut across two fingers due to a stupid move with my pocketknife. I figure if I'm doing a lot of work improvising a shelter and using my knife my tender hands will need some help and protection.

Lastly, a question: if you're using a sharpening stone, how do you keep grit from the stone from getting into the mechanism of your folding knife? Any ideas? I want to take care of my eagerly-awaited Doug Ritter RSK Mk1 !

Thanks!
Steve

Thanks for the information and welcome here.
I use a coarse wet sharpening stone when a blade needs serious touch up. After using it I rinse the knife thoroughly and clean it with an old toothbrush. After letting it dry I put some lubricant on the moving parts. For regular sharpening I use a fine Arkansas oil stone or a diamond sharpener. Both do not produce too much grit. The grit can simply be wiped off with a piece of cloth or in a pinch with your fingers (I don´t recommend this though). For field use I only have diamond sharpeners as they don´t break easily.

Welcome to the forum. Some of the newer folders have folding mechanisms with various synthetic bearings or surfaces. You can actually damage these with lubricants. My Fallkniven U2 folder is an example. If it's a stainless blade a little clean water and drying is sufficient. My pockets accumulate debri that makes sharpening dust look pathetic. Magnetic field maps are a good idea. I also make an impromptu field map and notes in any new area. Topos can be terribly out of date and to a novice ( or even a very tired experienced navigator) look like so much spaghetti. The human mind creates a mental template of it's environment constantly. Has anyone driven home and can't remember the drive? My stretch of the California Coast is on a W/E axis. Yet the Pacific Coast Highway to me is either N for San Francisco or S for San Diego. This is allright, until the drive in movie screen you saw tastefully painted in 1957 is being bulldozed in 1997 <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />. it's embarressing having to ask a vietnamese gas station owner for directions where you grew up <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />