5 Steps To Sharpening Your Hunting Knife – Our Guide

What’s a hunter’s worst nightmare? Other than perhaps going home without a kill, we’ve got a close follow-up—a dull knife. As you know, the knife is one of the essentials when hunting in the wild. With it, a hunger can cut up the game they hunted, carve wood, set up camp, and more. 

Unfortunately, every hunting knife dulls over time. If you’ll be heading out on a hunting trip and have a blade you want to bring with you, make sure it is sharp. A little duller than you’d like? Well, you’ve come to the right place. Here are five steps to sharpening your hunting knife:

Step 1. Wet the stone

Before you begin, grab your whetstone and make sure it is adequately lubricated. You can either use a special oil or plain water for this. Either way, make sure the whetstone is soaked before beginning.

Step 2. Angle the knife 

Once the whetstone has been adequately lubricated, grab your knife and angle it down on the whetstone at approximately fifteen to thirty degrees. At this point, also place your fingers on the flat surface of the blade to maintain the angle as consistently as possible. If this is your first time doing this, some practice will be needed before you’ll feel confident and comfortable with the movement. 

Step 3. Sharpen the knife

Once you have the knife angled and ready, slowly begin to slide the knife across the whetstone. In doing so, make sure to move from the tip of the knife to the handle. This will ensure the whole blade gets sharpened. 

After doing this approximately fifteen times, flip the knife over and repeat on the other side. Be sure to maintain the same angle throughout the sharpening process, and be sure that the whole blade gets the treatment.

Step 4. Rinse the knife

Once you are done with the sharpening step, you may be left with some grey material on the knife. Nevertheless, rinse it thoroughly in water then dry it with a towel. Be sure to wipe away from the blade so as not to accidentally injure yourself in the process, especially since it is now extra sharp. 

Step 5. Test the sharpness 

Grab a piece of paper or anything else you feel comfortable cutting, such as an apple or an old book, and test the knife’s sharpness. If it can cut through it without catching onto whatever it is you are cutting, the knife is sharp enough. If you find that some parts of the knife still catch the object or are not satisfied with how sharp the knife is, sharpen it more. Just remember to wipe the knife if you cut something wet like a tomato. 

Conclusion 

With that done, you will get to enjoy your “brand-new” knife! This can be done with pretty much any knife out there, whether it be a large hunting knife or even a pocket knife. Of course, with a larger knife, you might need to put in some extra work. However, the process of whetting the knife will more or less be the same. 

If your hunting knife has been serving you for several years and doesn’t look like it’ll hold up, consider purchasing a new one. That is because an extremely old knife—even if it survives being sharpened—may not last your hunting trip. Newer knives are generally more durable, meaning that it can hold its sharpness for much longer.

Are you looking for hunting gear such as a knife? Outfitters Mega Shop has got the equipment that you need. With the wide variety of hunting equipment we’ve got available, you’ll be spoiled for choice!