I agree with you and CAS on knives--every man ought to carry one, at all times, and keep it in working order. I have mine with me most of the time. However, I'm not particularly good at sharpening.... I have a sharpening stone, but no one seems to agree on the best way to go about the business...the angles, the directions, oil vs. dry, etc.--and my father sure as hell doesn't know how, so I'm out of luck there ;)

Very impressive that CAS did such wonderful carving with one knife! I'd love to try it, only I don't know where to get stone, nor which sorts are the best. I've considered trying whittling, as well--surely a small block of wood could yield a grotesque head or idol? But then it wouldn't have the horrifyingly immemorial quality of stone....

K_A_Opperman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I agree with you and CAS on knives--every man
> ought to carry one, at all times, and keep it in
> working order. I have mine with me most of the
> time. However, I'm not particularly good at
> sharpening.... I have a sharpening stone, but no
> one seems to agree on the best way to go about the
> business...the angles, the directions, oil vs.
> dry, etc.--and my father sure as hell doesn't know
> how, so I'm out of luck there ;)
>
> Very impressive that CAS did such wonderful
> carving with one knife! I'd love to try it, only I
> don't know where to get stone, nor which sorts are
> the best. I've considered trying whittling, as
> well--surely a small block of wood could yield a
> grotesque head or idol? But then it wouldn't have
> the horrifyingly immemorial quality of stone....

The old whetstone for sharpening straight razors is best - no oil - spit on it - then rub in an elliptical motion with the back of the blade slightly elevated so there is just a bit more pressure on the side you are sharpening - for large item (axes, shovels, picks, machetes, et al) the old stone wheel, pedal turned was far and away the best - easier to control than the constant speed power grindstone - after all, even the best surgeon's scalpel is not as sharp as the cave man's flint knife - and flint knives have been re-introduced just a few years ago for micro-surgery - but a really sharp pocket knife will cut paper held loosely in the air - One of my favorite scenes from an old movie - don't remember the name of it - has Richard the Lionheart confronting Saladin and shows the strength of his steel blade by whacking an iron bar in half - Saladin respond by tossing a silk veil into the air and letting it drift across his Scimitar, quietly dividing in half - ah, Damascus steel, if only we knew how. By the way, the best pocket knife you can buy in general is the one made for the Boy Scouts of America - really high quality. In Clark's day Montgomery-Ward (wonder how many of our correspondents ever heard of the first great catalog company?) made first class stuff - and, indeed, Clark's knife was ordered from the catalog, which, once the year was out found its continued use in the Outhouse - and oh, how we hated the "slick pages"!

If I remember correctly, in one of his books Jack Vance described an knife made of proteon. The edge is so sharp that it consists of only a single string of molecules. It cuts through wood like soft butter. And it's impossible to touch it without cutting yourself.

Farmer,

Thanks for the sharpening advice. I've heard of the elliptical method, and will try it shortly. I own no large blades--yet--so will not require a wheel. Hmmm...I do have one pretty big one--but it's still a knife--but it dwarfs my tiny sharpening stone! (which I think is really meant for touch-ups).

I have experimented in knapping, but only with glass--which lots of people do, actually. I have knapped 5 glass arrowheads, which I suppose could be utilized effectively in a pinch. Obsidian, I hear, is of similar hardness, but I haven't tried it. In future, I'd like to knapp a 'primitive' stone knife--but that requires a much higher skill level than I currently possess.

That Jack Vance knife sounds pretty scary.... Honestly, I wouldn't want to own one.... Merely drop it on your lap and you could loose a whole leg--or worse!

K_A_Opperman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Farmer,
>
> Thanks for the sharpening advice. I've heard of
> the elliptical method, and will try it shortly. I
> own no large blades--yet--so will not require a
> wheel. Hmmm...I do have one pretty big one--but
> it's still a knife--but it dwarfs my tiny
> sharpening stone! (which I think is really meant
> for touch-ups).
>
> I have experimented in knapping, but only with
> glass--which lots of people do, actually. I have
> knapped 5 glass arrowheads, which I suppose could
> be utilized effectively in a pinch. Obsidian, I
> hear, is of similar hardness, but I haven't tried
> it. In future, I'd like to knapp a 'primitive'
> stone knife--but that requires a much higher skill
> level than I currently possess.
>
> That Jack Vance knife sounds pretty scary....
> Honestly, I wouldn't want to own one.... Merely
> drop it on your lap and you could loose a whole
> leg--or worse!

I don't know where you can get high grade obsidian in California - surely somewhere - but at Paulina crater in Eastern Oregon there is a massive slope on the crater wall of the finest obsidian found anywhere -has been mined by our ancestors time out of mind.

Farmer,

I would love to get my hands on the stuff--someday. But I haven't been doing any of that lately. It requires a dedicated area, and I don't have one. I suspect I will get back into it in the future, at which point I will seek out some suitable stone. I'd prefer the adventure of finding it myself, but if I must, chunks of obsidian can be easily ordered online. Good to know the 'finest obsidian found anywhere' is only a state away from me....

You want rare? Try getting a mineral called poppy jasper. The only place on Earth it can be found is in Morgan Hill California USA