This reminds me of something I heard somewhere - If you're ever just really lost in the wilderness, here's what you do. You take out your knife and start sharpening it. Really put some effort into it. You want to make it super razor sharp. It won't be long before somebody comes along to tell you that you're sharpening it wrong. Then, you can just ask that guy for directions.
Honestly, when it comes down to it... Yeah. It does depend on how attached you might be with the sword. It could be a gift or an heirloom, or it could just be something you bought for defense without caring for anything else.
There's a Japanese youtube channel that makes knives out of random materials(mostly food) that had a video of him going to a river and put a lot of hard labour preparing sharpening stones by lapping them together to make a flat surface. Lapping is theorized to be part of the process of Egyptian precision in their masonry.
@@Terrivel119 True, but just think of the convenience he left behind, now if anyone happens upon that site, they can sharpen whatever they like. Even chocolate!
I appreciate you guys covering topics like whetstones and sword sharpening that most kind of overlook. I am a little curious about how you guys view oils against pop culture like the witcher 3's mechanics? Either way you guys cover a lot of cool topics over time, and I owe you probably a little more than YT premium views give.
Interesting topic, especially from a historic point of view. It might be a myth, but afaik it was considered unknightly to use venoms and poisons in warfare. I don't think it was as popular in europe to apply toxics to arrowheads or blades. Like it was in asia or if you think about american natives. But ofc oil was used for maintanace of weapons and other equipment. And then there was stuff like greek fire applied in sieges.
@Muis! None of those malfunctions would happen because of a "sharpened" bullet, the sharpening would just unjacket the bullet's tip, making it a soft tip (common style of bullet for hunting). It would definitely have the opposite effect on penetration than intended though. What those malfunctions do sound like is the effects of the Eldest Son project. Eldest Son was a US black ops program of seeding Communist Asian ammo sources with over powered ammo that would detonate the gun. This ammo has spread to the Middle East and Africa.
I found a smooth piece of sediment rock a while ago. It is compacted clay and it is my pricious knife sharpener. Only 100$ watchmaker's stone makes thing as sharp as that random rock. Nice video as always Shad & crew.
@@bigguy7353 it does wear down but ever that expensive stone requires relapping as it wears down and loses flatness. It is also interesting how that type of clay rocks made by ice age tend to break really straight along the layers.
@@Bot.number.69420 Shale and slate are the two types of stones that come to mind when you say that. Both are usually exceptionally flat and smooth. Very common in the great lakes area of North America. Don't know about other locales though. Great sharpening rocks though either way. Gives a nice clean edge every time. =)
Speaking from experience here, honing your blade with a dry blade and a dry rock will minimize rock wear over time, but the blade will still be ground down, albeit by quite minor amounts. A stone that's about the size and shape of a bar of soap is ideal, both so you can grip it and so it's forgiving in somewhat aligning itself with the blade's edge if you're a bit off in your approach.
As kids we used to use stones to sharpen the sickles and scythes. You need to have the right type of rock around but so far when you have rocks it usually has some useful rocks. Not as convenient as a bought wet stones, but still nice and easy. If you are lucky or dedicated you might find rocks to cover everything from coarse to finishing-touch fine. And for a strop.... you got a belt.
Clicked the moment the notification appeared. Despite me not being able to donate to help you and the team, I will keep watching and not skipping the ads. Keep up with the good work!
One option for oil might be birch bark oil, made by heating birch bark in a tin or something like that where you can put it in a fire and keep air out.
Sharpening and honing stones originally are just somewhat flat and hard rocks from nature with a fine grain structure. (Something like a quartz granite, or perhaps jade.) And some of sharpening stones you may buy in a store are mined in a quarry, although there are synthetics and diamond plates as well these days. And if you can get three natural stones of the same type, you can use the Whitworth method to true them up and ensure flatness which makes them better for sharpening. (I suspect Whitworth took an art that was already known, as honing and touch-stones are older than him. He just used a scientific approach to ensure that it was optimal - and that's the approach that was named after him.)
I'd always heard it referred to as the 3 plate method. I'm fairly certain that's how we got the first ever standard for making a straight edge. Very useful info, zombie apocalypse or not.
Some of my favorite UA-cam content is making things authentically. Making boiled linseed oil would be perfect for this channel, or maybe the Shadlands?
IMPORTANT SAFETY TIP!!! Linseed oil can spontaneously combust at temps as low as 120 degrees. If you have a rag with linseed oil on it, and it is laying out in the hot sun, it can combust. This happened to us when we were treating some wood in the backyard in the summer.
I have been using rocks to sharpen my knives and axes when camping for decades, you just need to break the rock to get a flat edge, possibly rub the rock on a flat surface to get it even flatter or find one that's pretty flat to start with. . Once the knife is sharpened I usually just use any sort of left over fat from cooking to protect the blade.
@livecatgrenades it made sense to me, I use the knives for cutting my food, so using leftover food fat seems safer than using any chemicals like wd40. Although I would use that as aftershave, it smells so good 😅. I believe in some ancient manuscripts they mentioned using Hogslard on blades, which I guess is the same thing.
My Kukri from Nepal comes with two smaller knives incorporated into the sheath. If I remember they are called the chakram and kurta? One is completely blunt like the edge is 5mm thick and is ridiculously hardened steel. They use it to sharpen the other blades by almost shaving and then burnishing the edge. one of the more unique ways I've heard of sharpening.
On the question of helping to rust proof a non-stainless steel blade another resource most medieval adventurers would have would be a salt pork or bacon ration. After the fat has melted down during cooking the resulting lard would give you a protective (albeit smelly) layer. Reference sharpening larger swords, it might be easier to keep the blade still and move the stone over the blade rather than the blade over the stone. This seems to work better for me when I'm working with a machete.
Minor note: “whetstone” doesn’t mean it needs to be wet. Whet means hone, sharpen, or stimulate (as in whet one’s appetite). Some whetstones are made to be used wet, some dry, and some work well either way.
About the flammability of oils. Its not the bottle or the thin amounts on the sword that is an issue, but the cloth drenched in oil. In particular when using linseed oil which self ignite in room temperature. When using pieces of cloth (or paper tissue for some reason) with oils make sure to store them in a sealed container, like a jar for example.
you could find two rocks of an appropriate grit, split them both, toss one, and start grinding the other three against each other a>b b>c c>a over and over and you'll have 3 very flat whetstones.
Find a rock 2 or 3x the size of your fist, use another rock to break it in half. Grind the faces of the broken rock together until they are smooth, for best results do it while holding the rock underwater. I grew up off the grid I've been making my own sharpening stones for decades
I was actually thinking about this few days ago. Interesting. I think a good follow-up video would be to discuss about other types of "ghetto"-maintenance on other gear. Like plate armor, chainmail, gambeson, leather, etc.
When out in the sticks, I've always used a palm sized river stone to sharpen any dull pocket knives I've had, and it works pretty well in a pinch as long as you know what you're doing. In fact I believe these river stones are the reason why we use the term "whetstone". Because it's wet.
Historians hundreds of years from now will look back on this video and be so profoundly astounded by what old history this is, and take it as an account of how prehistoric man sharpened blades or something
This is the sort of content I subscribe for. My era is heading into the modern world, but things like grind stones would not necessarily be around depending on a person's profession. Sharpening blades were a mundane task, even in the modern world, but we don't consider how life/death important it could be. It would also be equally as dangerously forgetable for some professions in the past. Bear grease is another oil used in the time period. Yes, it does come from bears. Various other animal based oils would also be used and can be processed easily in a kitchen today. Be mindful of salted meats such as bacon. Linseed oil is great, but always be careful of storage of rags. They can self ignite. I've been experimenting with alternatives that won't make my renters insurance hate me. Awesome video.
Definitely a great basic intro to the concepts of sharpening, but for the viewers.. the is much more to it and like Tyranth said, trying this without REALLY knowing what you're doing, you'll probably just ruin the blade. If you want to get into sharpening, learn on flat stones, and you'll probably ruin a few blades on those and perhaps a couple whetstones. Once you've got the technique, then try a random rock. To the Shadiversity guys, loved your video as usual, super interested to see what's going on with the arrows.
@@mandowarrior123 I'm definitely not making it sound like rocket science, just stating that it's not as simple as it might seem. I've put hundreds of hours of study into knife making, have you?
I keep limestone around for my machetes and hatchet. Grades range from 10-20 grit, 120-500 grit, and 1 that is 1k+ grit. The lower grit levels are either for blade repairs or cleaning the higher grit stones and smoothing them out. They get better with age, and limestone is common in my area and is a soft enough stone it can be shaped and formed for blade sharpening quite quickly.
@Christopher Craig no sir. I'm basing my grit off my Norton stone, which is based on the standard grit rating my other sharpening stones use. Over 40 years, I've earned the title hone master in my parts of the US. I have an Arkansas stone. My state doesn't have it in it since I'm not a resident of Arkansas. Arkansas Stone isn't limestone. Novaculte quality isn't the same in the limestone in my area. That's the quarts found in the stone that give Arkansas stones such a high quality for sharpening. I also use my Norton to sharpen swords as well as straight razors since the size of the stone is easier for these. 12k+ grit does a nice polish finish.
@@Fizzbann I didn't mean an Arkansas stone, I meant the grit standard they use. Norton uses FEPA, which I think was originally based on Arkansas numbers. I think he's using Japanese artificial corundum, which measure using JIS, which is incompatible. So 1000 on a japanese stone is 550 on a Norton (or Arkansas) iirc. I'm not trying to correct you, btw, the issue is someone watching or reading needs to understand that not all 500 or 1000 grit stones mean the same thing and that nuance an be really frustrating if you're sharpening an actually dull blade with a FEPA 1000 grit stone.
@Christopher Craig I've got several stones. Some actually from Japan. You put too much emphasis on the difference when in practice they all sharpen the edges. Hence why I keep the slurry per it, which is the Japanese method to polish the blade. Long-term puts a very nice patina on the blade itself. And yes, FEPA was based on the accuracy Arkansas stones have due to consistency of the quartz content. Either way, it doesn't matter what the standard one uses. It's how you use the stones that matter. I also have an antique barber stone that isn't based on either standard per its age. It doesn't list grit levels on either side, but it polishes nicely and makes a very polished razor edge, and the makers if the stone would be happy to know their claim on this stone lasting lifetime's did happen. Unfortunately, the pamphlet was water damaged as I was considering donating it to a museum at some point.
Another great vid, sharpening on river rocks works fine as you have constant water to do the job. I did/do it sometimes with my Opinel knives, very versatile and cheap but great in function! After sharpening always put the blade into ballistic oil.
I recently found some volcanic tuff while out kayaking that was absolutely the equal of a good quality nagura Japanese water stone, so if you know a little about geology and a little about sharpening, you can definitely find sharpening stones equal to the best of the best. A nagura of the size of the stone I found would typically cost hundreds of dollars.
One thing, that seemed to make the sharpening with the rock much more difficult was, that it wiggles around, when used of sharpening, which makes it much harder to hold the same edge angle. Would you reccomend using a large or even huge river boulder for sharpening? It seems using those on the spot without moving them would allow you to move around more, like with the flat stone without using your angle.
I could see if adventures traveled in small parties often, 1 of them could carry a sharpening stone if they were a nomadic group, but if they are only out for a week or two, a quick fix with a stone would be fine because they plan on returning to a village and fixing everything when they arrive.
Screw YT! I’ve been subscribed for years, and this video wasn’t in my feed - there are gaps of hours where there should be videos, and then it shows them in the recommended sidebar. And every so often, it updates and rearranges the order. UA-cam! Give us back the chronological order of subscription notifications!
Great video! Honestly made me wonder why I didn’t have an on-the-go sharpening kit in my survival/bushcraft bag. After I watched, went out and put one together.
There are some rocks that are really good for sharpening uses, to be used as grindstones, we have a lot of them in Sweden (Scandinavia). So much that sometimes Vikings used grindstones as ballast when going on lon journeys. They could trade these rocks to get what they needed and then just fill the empty spot with a simple useless rock from that area on the way home ...
Things that work good if you can find them: The bottom unglazed part of a coffee cup, plate or saucer. Very fine, very flat. Brick or roof tiles. Usually flat. The grit can vary almost as much as rocks. The central ridge of another sword of knife can be used just like a steal to help fix roll over damage.
Pretty neat to be able to sharpen your blade with a rock if it's all you got handy. Could come in useful for a day out camping or hunting for sure. I thought Shad was going to attempt to "skip" an arrow across the water with that arrow bit at the end.
Now that Shad has a few employees, it is high time he did a video on chariots. Maybe a few videos for the different uses of heavy and light chariots. And caltrops. >:) Also, atlatls, "Woomera" for the Aussies. All interesting subjects, and I don't doubt the inhabitants of the Shadlands would make it fun and accessible.
Well, I was about to leave the video as I thought that if it get further, it would be getting in too much detail for me... But actually, the last part about oil and strings was the most interesting and brain refreshing for me! Yes! Of course this mechanical thing will get to unscrew in every possible manner (my bike does the same)! But it had never occurred to me! Always a pleasure to hear from such experts in a domain!
When I was in the Vallegrande provinence of Bolivia, I was shown how the locals would sharpen their machetes. They would find a random large rock with a flat surface, pour water on the rock, and do circular motions with their blade on the rock. I tried it a couple times and got some success, but I was told that most of those Bolivians could get the blade razor sharp using that method. It is indeed possible to sharpen a blade with a rock in the wilderness, but I agree with you that finding the right rock grit and flatness are important.
I used to have a pair of river rocks that were one oval stone that I split on the edge and lapped (though at the time I didn't know it was called that) for about fifteen minutes, sitting in the cool stream on a piping hot afternoon. I split the rock by holding it down on the ground rocks and tapping another rock on top of it. I finish hone with a carefully held 5 inch Allen wrench. T-handle wrenches work best. Two to four strokes for each side, not running down any side twice in a row, using medium pressure. If I know the blade will be stored or not regularly drawn I've gotten good results from using old (rancid? off peak?) olive oil and hard wax. I got along well with used candle wax from unscented candles, but mostly I used a block of hard uncolored beeswax, and an oily cloth. First rubbing with the cloth. Then running the wax down the edge and flats. Followed by buffing the lines of wax. When I'm putting away a blade for storage I rub the wax in more deeply at the end. Otherwise a final slick coat of oil rubbed down the metal works. Either way, the blade has a coating that keeps more moisture away. I'm in the summer humidity of Indiana, so that's important.
Fire Swords! For the sheer spectacle. I wonder about wax, like from a candle. Never used it on a blade but I had something go rusty that I thought was well oiled and wax seems to be doing well. I need more time to pass before I'm really convinced.
There's an untold number of jigs to help with keeping the blade at the right angle. You can even 3d print a block with the correct angle and use that. Sharpening in this day and age is so much easier than it ever was.
For loose guards you can also use soft wax, like unflavored dental wax. Press it into the gap until gap is filled. It will melt out in warmer temperature but it's playable nature means vibration does not effect it like shims.
It's interesting how much technique there is to making your metal cutty thing of choice keep it's edge. As far as adventuring goes, My most savage character (mentioned in the video talking about sword treatment and such) used to use such sharpening with a stone when all he had was basic crummy iron blades to work with. Even later steel weapons he didn't care much about, he could just loot more later. But when he found a falcata he decided to upgrade to a small little whetstone because it became a manner of having something he cares about. That, and he already pushes towards the line of abusing it so it makes sense he'd be just as hard set to it's proper maintenance. in short, I think of all things, someone who can make due in the wilderness could arguably make do in other areas, but never the whetstone. After all, you should love your sword enough to treat it right.
My favorite thing to use, other than sharpeners with ceramic rods, is the bottom of a coffee mug. The bottoms are typically unglazed, large in surface area, and in a pinch even a broken mug can be used.
In America the boiled linseed oil has been used for preserving gun stocks for a long time (100+ years) you can also use various other gun oils to preserve the wood and metal on swords, if you're already having those at hand. Ballistol, CLP, Hoppes, etc
Sandstone is pretty much a sharpening stone as is, and comes in various levels of grit, same as river stones. You could probably even use natural clay to make a type of pottery brick that could act as a sharpening stone. This is probably the most useful because you can customize the grit based on the clay you use. You could even make a fine stone by using river silt, you just powder the brick with it like you would flour on bread before you fire it.
Loving these practical skill videos. Would it be possible to do some sort of physical training type of video, where you go over historical or modern exercises which would be useful for a swordsman/archer/etc...? I know it'd be a bit of a digression from your standard content, but as someone wanting to get into HEMA and improve my general fitness, a specialized set of exercises in regards to this field would be interesting to learn about.
Hello Shad, nice video. I am a big fan. I briefly went through your upload history and I have never seen you do a forged-in-fire reaction video. I think you would have interesting and well-thought-out inputs.
Just want to throw this out there, it’s completely possible to sharpen a sword with a small slightly rounded smooth rock. I myself have done this out of boredom, it was able to cut paper with ease. However it did take a while to get used to and an even longer time to sharpen it, wouldn’t say it’s the best technique but it works if necessary. - so basically what thyranth says lol my bad
Yeah I've put an edge, not a sharp edge, but a sharper than I expected edge.. with a random rock on some seriously dull knives I've used from random people when I forgot my own pocket knife. I've also used the edge of a concrete patio, and the metal side of a flatbed trailer which both worked much better than a rock. I much prefer to just not forget my own 2000 grit sharpened and consistently touched up edc pocket knife.
I would like a real hardcore how to guide from Shad on how to sharpen swords on a modern whetstone. I know he's touched on it in the past and showed how he rigs a method of doing it, but a good old fashioned way guide would be helpful
Good stones differ by location. Where I'm from, good oil stones you can knap to almost perfect shape are fairly common, for an axe, or long blade, I much prefer free handing the stone rather than the blade, it may take a bit more skill for angles, but it's much less fiddly when you've got an odd shaped stone, because any blade is much easier to secure with just a tree, or stump. For oiling in the field, I was taught to use tanned animal skin/fur soaked in tallow. Makes an easy to carry pack item that will last a long time, and if you're eating, it can be replenished/replaced.
So for those without easy access to a good stone, wet/dry sandpaper on a piece of glass or polished stone tile makes a good sharpening surface, many woodworkers get razor sharp edges on their planes and chisels this way. Just the surface tension of the water will hold sandpaper in place on the glass reasonably well. Also, another comment mentioned lapping stones against each other to make them flat. In real precision work, three surfaces are lapped to each other, alternating directions and stones, to get a true flat, because only two surfaces can develop non-flat geometry that mesh with each other and you will never see it. It takes 3 surfaces to completely cancel this out.
Yes with caveats. You have to have a uniform surface and a rock that is harder than the steel. But I have seen in survival training how to find naturally occurring rocks and what to do with them to get them useable. They aren't perfect, but def better than a dull blade
Where i live there are natural sandstone, and some times i used to Sharp my axe or other farm tools. Not is a pro finish but is better than nothing and can save your work journal. I am Lucky for live in a place where this stones are common.
This reminds me of something I heard somewhere -
If you're ever just really lost in the wilderness, here's what you do. You take out your knife and start sharpening it. Really put some effort into it. You want to make it super razor sharp. It won't be long before somebody comes along to tell you that you're sharpening it wrong. Then, you can just ask that guy for directions.
This is an underrated comment. It needs more likes.
That or talk about politics, someone will show up to argue with you.
Alternatively, you can bring a deck of cards. Someone will come a long to tell you to put the black ten on the red jack.
I'm not quite sure that's how it works😅
@@ertai222 Try it, its a universal law. Its how apollo 13 made it back.
Without watching: A badly sharpened sword is better than a dull sword
You wouldn't need to watch to learn that.
@@bigguy7353 obviously, that's why I answered the title question
Honestly, when it comes down to it... Yeah. It does depend on how attached you might be with the sword. It could be a gift or an heirloom, or it could just be something you bought for defense without caring for anything else.
G'day,
Yes...
And in fact,
EVERY
"Whetstone"
Is a
"Rock'
Actual or
Artificial...
(!).
Such is life,
Have a good one...
Stay safe.
;-p
Ciao !
I was thinking the same thing I'd rather use a rock than a stick
There's a Japanese youtube channel that makes knives out of random materials(mostly food) that had a video of him going to a river and put a lot of hard labour preparing sharpening stones by lapping them together to make a flat surface. Lapping is theorized to be part of the process of Egyptian precision in their masonry.
Can you list the channel?
@@cretudavid8622 Kiwami japan, he's actually one of the best youtubers ever and hes probably also insane
Technically he didn’t set out to make sharpening stones. That was just a byproduct. What he was making, was a knife out of stones.
@@Leo.23232 Cows.
@@Terrivel119 True, but just think of the convenience he left behind, now if anyone happens upon that site, they can sharpen whatever they like. Even chocolate!
I appreciate you guys covering topics like whetstones and sword sharpening that most kind of overlook. I am a little curious about how you guys view oils against pop culture like the witcher 3's mechanics? Either way you guys cover a lot of cool topics over time, and I owe you probably a little more than YT premium views give.
Yeah, I would like to see how poisons and oils would actually work as well.
Interesting topic, especially from a historic point of view. It might be a myth, but afaik it was considered unknightly to use venoms and poisons in warfare. I don't think it was as popular in europe to apply toxics to arrowheads or blades. Like it was in asia or if you think about american natives. But ofc oil was used for maintanace of weapons and other equipment. And then there was stuff like greek fire applied in sieges.
My grandparents house had granit window sills, my grandfather - a blacksmith - used to sharpen knifes and chisels on those window sills.😊
@Muis! Now I'm curious, why do you sharpen bullets?
@@jonasbarka arrows
@Muis! The ultimate military troll
@Muis! None of those malfunctions would happen because of a "sharpened" bullet, the sharpening would just unjacket the bullet's tip, making it a soft tip (common style of bullet for hunting).
It would definitely have the opposite effect on penetration than intended though.
What those malfunctions do sound like is the effects of the Eldest Son project.
Eldest Son was a US black ops program of seeding Communist Asian ammo sources with over powered ammo that would detonate the gun. This ammo has spread to the Middle East and Africa.
I found a smooth piece of sediment rock a while ago. It is compacted clay and it is my pricious knife sharpener. Only 100$ watchmaker's stone makes thing as sharp as that random rock. Nice video as always Shad & crew.
Hardened steel may actually wear that rock down over time. Sounds great for stainless steel though! Cheers!
Lucky!!
@@bigguy7353 it does wear down but ever that expensive stone requires relapping as it wears down and loses flatness.
It is also interesting how that type of clay rocks made by ice age tend to break really straight along the layers.
@@Bot.number.69420 Shale and slate are the two types of stones that come to mind when you say that. Both are usually exceptionally flat and smooth. Very common in the great lakes area of North America. Don't know about other locales though. Great sharpening rocks though either way. Gives a nice clean edge every time. =)
Speaking from experience here, honing your blade with a dry blade and a dry rock will minimize rock wear over time, but the blade will still be ground down, albeit by quite minor amounts. A stone that's about the size and shape of a bar of soap is ideal, both so you can grip it and so it's forgiving in somewhat aligning itself with the blade's edge if you're a bit off in your approach.
As kids we used to use stones to sharpen the sickles and scythes.
You need to have the right type of rock around but so far when you have rocks it usually has some useful rocks. Not as convenient as a bought wet stones, but still nice and easy. If you are lucky or dedicated you might find rocks to cover everything from coarse to finishing-touch fine.
And for a strop.... you got a belt.
Hope we will get to see a short fantasy series of Shad and his friends being Isekaied.
That time I got Reincarnated into another world with a Sword Enthusiast.
Sage of the Southern Continent in Another World
I'd rather not because that means Shad meeting a truck in the wrong way ever.
@@SergioLeonardoCornejo He is in Australia. So, an irate kangaroo may do the job.
@@SergioLeonardoCornejo well he could get Isekaid like No Game No Life
Clicked the moment the notification appeared.
Despite me not being able to donate to help you and the team, I will keep watching and not skipping the ads.
Keep up with the good work!
If the rock is flat and harder than your steel, yes. My grandfather taught me how many years ago. Gotta find the right rock.
Rooting for you guys! Thanks for all the content!
Blunt swords are still better than Nun-Chucks.
Thanks!
Love these Awesome guys and crew!! Stay fighting the good fight, and we will find a way to support you.
You deserve a TV show. Also, volcanic stone is AMAZING at sharpening blades if you can find any natural sources
Like basalt?
New member of the guild of shadiversity here!! Keep it up guys I love this channel
One option for oil might be birch bark oil, made by heating birch bark in a tin or something like that where you can put it in a fire and keep air out.
Sharpening and honing stones originally are just somewhat flat and hard rocks from nature with a fine grain structure. (Something like a quartz granite, or perhaps jade.) And some of sharpening stones you may buy in a store are mined in a quarry, although there are synthetics and diamond plates as well these days. And if you can get three natural stones of the same type, you can use the Whitworth method to true them up and ensure flatness which makes them better for sharpening. (I suspect Whitworth took an art that was already known, as honing and touch-stones are older than him. He just used a scientific approach to ensure that it was optimal - and that's the approach that was named after him.)
I'd always heard it referred to as the 3 plate method. I'm fairly certain that's how we got the first ever standard for making a straight edge. Very useful info, zombie apocalypse or not.
@@bradyoung6663I've always heard it called that as well. All advanced manufacturing is possible because of the relative flatness it allows.
Some of my favorite UA-cam content is making things authentically. Making boiled linseed oil would be perfect for this channel, or maybe the Shadlands?
IMPORTANT SAFETY TIP!!! Linseed oil can spontaneously combust at temps as low as 120 degrees. If you have a rag with linseed oil on it, and it is laying out in the hot sun, it can combust. This happened to us when we were treating some wood in the backyard in the summer.
At 16:00
The music during the time time lapse, that is the lead-in music for the UA-cam channel "Useful Charts"....
I have been using rocks to sharpen my knives and axes when camping for decades, you just need to break the rock to get a flat edge, possibly rub the rock on a flat surface to get it even flatter or find one that's pretty flat to start with. . Once the knife is sharpened I usually just use any sort of left over fat from cooking to protect the blade.
I also have done the fat technique, and use it in my writings. Nice to see I'm not the only one lol.
@livecatgrenades it made sense to me, I use the knives for cutting my food, so using leftover food fat seems safer than using any chemicals like wd40. Although I would use that as aftershave, it smells so good 😅. I believe in some ancient manuscripts they mentioned using Hogslard on blades, which I guess is the same thing.
If one gets in a pinch they can use wet sand/silt filled mud or clay smeared on the end of a log or stump as a sharpening/honing surface.
Loved seeing the difference between sharpening with a whetstone and sharpening with a dry stone.
That's what she said.
Firesword! That sounds like quite the video of things to test since it's used in so many movies for flashy things
My Kukri from Nepal comes with two smaller knives incorporated into the sheath. If I remember they are called the chakram and kurta? One is completely blunt like the edge is 5mm thick and is ridiculously hardened steel. They use it to sharpen the other blades by almost shaving and then burnishing the edge. one of the more unique ways I've heard of sharpening.
On the question of helping to rust proof a non-stainless steel blade another resource most medieval adventurers would have would be a salt pork or bacon ration. After the fat has melted down during cooking the resulting lard would give you a protective (albeit smelly) layer.
Reference sharpening larger swords, it might be easier to keep the blade still and move the stone over the blade rather than the blade over the stone. This seems to work better for me when I'm working with a machete.
Minor note: “whetstone” doesn’t mean it needs to be wet. Whet means hone, sharpen, or stimulate (as in whet one’s appetite). Some whetstones are made to be used wet, some dry, and some work well either way.
About the flammability of oils. Its not the bottle or the thin amounts on the sword that is an issue, but the cloth drenched in oil. In particular when using linseed oil which self ignite in room temperature. When using pieces of cloth (or paper tissue for some reason) with oils make sure to store them in a sealed container, like a jar for example.
you could find two rocks of an appropriate grit, split them both, toss one, and start grinding the other three against each other a>b b>c c>a over and over and you'll have 3 very flat whetstones.
Find a rock 2 or 3x the size of your fist, use another rock to break it in half. Grind the faces of the broken rock together until they are smooth, for best results do it while holding the rock underwater. I grew up off the grid I've been making my own sharpening stones for decades
Nate is right, that's a cool sound.
Always wanted to learn this, now I can practice with my cheap knives.
I was actually thinking about this few days ago. Interesting. I think a good follow-up video would be to discuss about other types of "ghetto"-maintenance on other gear. Like plate armor, chainmail, gambeson, leather, etc.
When out in the sticks, I've always used a palm sized river stone to sharpen any dull pocket knives I've had, and it works pretty well in a pinch as long as you know what you're doing.
In fact I believe these river stones are the reason why we use the term "whetstone".
Because it's wet.
Can't wait for the 10 hours of sharpening blades ASMR
Historians hundreds of years from now will look back on this video and be so profoundly astounded by what old history this is, and take it as an account of how prehistoric man sharpened blades or something
keep working guys love your work
This is the sort of content I subscribe for. My era is heading into the modern world, but things like grind stones would not necessarily be around depending on a person's profession. Sharpening blades were a mundane task, even in the modern world, but we don't consider how life/death important it could be. It would also be equally as dangerously forgetable for some professions in the past.
Bear grease is another oil used in the time period. Yes, it does come from bears. Various other animal based oils would also be used and can be processed easily in a kitchen today. Be mindful of salted meats such as bacon. Linseed oil is great, but always be careful of storage of rags. They can self ignite. I've been experimenting with alternatives that won't make my renters insurance hate me.
Awesome video.
Definitely a great basic intro to the concepts of sharpening, but for the viewers.. the is much more to it and like Tyranth said, trying this without REALLY knowing what you're doing, you'll probably just ruin the blade.
If you want to get into sharpening, learn on flat stones, and you'll probably ruin a few blades on those and perhaps a couple whetstones. Once you've got the technique, then try a random rock.
To the Shadiversity guys, loved your video as usual, super interested to see what's going on with the arrows.
You make it sound like rocket science. If you understand basic concepts there's no reason you'd ruin a blade.
@@mandowarrior123 I'm definitely not making it sound like rocket science, just stating that it's not as simple as it might seem. I've put hundreds of hours of study into knife making, have you?
The effort and detail that go into these videos far outshines similar channels.
Love the vid. Always cool to learn about the less flashy aspects of how adventuring would be brought to the real life. Also On my way! To Youtreon.
Love your chemistry on screen! Keep up the great work!
First channel you have to see to keep your swords in good shape, very good video !
I keep limestone around for my machetes and hatchet. Grades range from 10-20 grit, 120-500 grit, and 1 that is 1k+ grit. The lower grit levels are either for blade repairs or cleaning the higher grit stones and smoothing them out. They get better with age, and limestone is common in my area and is a soft enough stone it can be shaped and formed for blade sharpening quite quickly.
I'm pretty sure his stones use Japanese grit numbers, and yours are Arkansas. If that's right iirc his 1000 is about your 200.
@Christopher Craig no sir. I'm basing my grit off my Norton stone, which is based on the standard grit rating my other sharpening stones use. Over 40 years, I've earned the title hone master in my parts of the US.
I have an Arkansas stone. My state doesn't have it in it since I'm not a resident of Arkansas. Arkansas Stone isn't limestone. Novaculte quality isn't the same in the limestone in my area. That's the quarts found in the stone that give Arkansas stones such a high quality for sharpening.
I also use my Norton to sharpen swords as well as straight razors since the size of the stone is easier for these. 12k+ grit does a nice polish finish.
@@Fizzbann I didn't mean an Arkansas stone, I meant the grit standard they use. Norton uses FEPA, which I think was originally based on Arkansas numbers. I think he's using Japanese artificial corundum, which measure using JIS, which is incompatible. So 1000 on a japanese stone is 550 on a Norton (or Arkansas) iirc. I'm not trying to correct you, btw, the issue is someone watching or reading needs to understand that not all 500 or 1000 grit stones mean the same thing and that nuance an be really frustrating if you're sharpening an actually dull blade with a FEPA 1000 grit stone.
@Christopher Craig I've got several stones. Some actually from Japan. You put too much emphasis on the difference when in practice they all sharpen the edges. Hence why I keep the slurry per it, which is the Japanese method to polish the blade. Long-term puts a very nice patina on the blade itself.
And yes, FEPA was based on the accuracy Arkansas stones have due to consistency of the quartz content.
Either way, it doesn't matter what the standard one uses. It's how you use the stones that matter.
I also have an antique barber stone that isn't based on either standard per its age. It doesn't list grit levels on either side, but it polishes nicely and makes a very polished razor edge, and the makers if the stone would be happy to know their claim on this stone lasting lifetime's did happen. Unfortunately, the pamphlet was water damaged as I was considering donating it to a museum at some point.
Danke!
Another great vid, sharpening on river rocks works fine as you have constant water to do the job. I did/do it sometimes with my Opinel knives, very versatile and cheap but great in function! After sharpening always put the blade into ballistic oil.
I have an Albion that had a moving cross guard. I used the string method. Hasn't moved in ten years now, yes it works.
Love you guys Shad and co.! 🙏🏽❤️😊. Long life to Shadiversity!
I recently found some volcanic tuff while out kayaking that was absolutely the equal of a good quality nagura Japanese water stone, so if you know a little about geology and a little about sharpening, you can definitely find sharpening stones equal to the best of the best. A nagura of the size of the stone I found would typically cost hundreds of dollars.
One thing, that seemed to make the sharpening with the rock much more difficult was, that it wiggles around, when used of sharpening, which makes it much harder to hold the same edge angle. Would you reccomend using a large or even huge river boulder for sharpening? It seems using those on the spot without moving them would allow you to move around more, like with the flat stone without using your angle.
honestly if you just lodged it in the dirt or something you could improve it's stability.
I could see if adventures traveled in small parties often, 1 of them could carry a sharpening stone if they were a nomadic group, but if they are only out for a week or two, a quick fix with a stone would be fine because they plan on returning to a village and fixing everything when they arrive.
Screw YT! I’ve been subscribed for years, and this video wasn’t in my feed - there are gaps of hours where there should be videos, and then it shows them in the recommended sidebar. And every so often, it updates and rearranges the order. UA-cam! Give us back the chronological order of subscription notifications!
Great video! Honestly made me wonder why I didn’t have an on-the-go sharpening kit in my survival/bushcraft bag. After I watched, went out and put one together.
Nice video guys, I actually did sharpen my knife with piece of river quartz, worked pretty well. Very good tips and sharpening techniques.
There are some rocks that are really good for sharpening uses, to be used as grindstones, we have a lot of them in Sweden (Scandinavia). So much that sometimes Vikings used grindstones as ballast when going on lon journeys. They could trade these rocks to get what they needed and then just fill the empty spot with a simple useless rock from that area on the way home ...
That Useful Charts music for the time-lapse hits beautifully.
i love that beautiful sharpening sound,Tyron has great sharpening skills
Closest you get to flat stones in the wild would be something like slate or shale.
Nate... your Outfit is always on point, 10/10, love it 🫶🏻
Things that work good if you can find them:
The bottom unglazed part of a coffee cup, plate or saucer. Very fine, very flat.
Brick or roof tiles. Usually flat. The grit can vary almost as much as rocks.
The central ridge of another sword of knife can be used just like a steal to help fix roll over damage.
Pretty neat to be able to sharpen your blade with a rock if it's all you got handy. Could come in useful for a day out camping or hunting for sure. I thought Shad was going to attempt to "skip" an arrow across the water with that arrow bit at the end.
Bedankt
Now that Shad has a few employees, it is high time he did a video on chariots. Maybe a few videos for the different uses of heavy and light chariots.
And caltrops. >:)
Also, atlatls, "Woomera" for the Aussies.
All interesting subjects, and I don't doubt the inhabitants of the Shadlands would make it fun and accessible.
Well, I was about to leave the video as I thought that if it get further, it would be getting in too much detail for me... But actually, the last part about oil and strings was the most interesting and brain refreshing for me! Yes! Of course this mechanical thing will get to unscrew in every possible manner (my bike does the same)! But it had never occurred to me!
Always a pleasure to hear from such experts in a domain!
This was super cool to watch and see how knowledgable he is!
When I was in the Vallegrande provinence of Bolivia, I was shown how the locals would sharpen their machetes. They would find a random large rock with a flat surface, pour water on the rock, and do circular motions with their blade on the rock. I tried it a couple times and got some success, but I was told that most of those Bolivians could get the blade razor sharp using that method. It is indeed possible to sharpen a blade with a rock in the wilderness, but I agree with you that finding the right rock grit and flatness are important.
Have just started watching, but I would say every adventurer would have a pocket sharpening stone with them together with the sand.
The sound is hypnotic I love the sound of sharpening steel
Great video there Shad. Loved the production and hope all is well for you
I used to have a pair of river rocks that were one oval stone that I split on the edge and lapped (though at the time I didn't know it was called that) for about fifteen minutes, sitting in the cool stream on a piping hot afternoon. I split the rock by holding it down on the ground rocks and tapping another rock on top of it.
I finish hone with a carefully held 5 inch Allen wrench. T-handle wrenches work best. Two to four strokes for each side, not running down any side twice in a row, using medium pressure.
If I know the blade will be stored or not regularly drawn I've gotten good results from using old (rancid? off peak?) olive oil and hard wax. I got along well with used candle wax from unscented candles, but mostly I used a block of hard uncolored beeswax, and an oily cloth. First rubbing with the cloth. Then running the wax down the edge and flats. Followed by buffing the lines of wax. When I'm putting away a blade for storage I rub the wax in more deeply at the end. Otherwise a final slick coat of oil rubbed down the metal works. Either way, the blade has a coating that keeps more moisture away. I'm in the summer humidity of Indiana, so that's important.
Nate's outfit really rocks.
Boarding school I went to was a barracks during English civil war. Sandstone external doorways had long deep furrows in them from sword sharpening.
Fire Swords! For the sheer spectacle.
I wonder about wax, like from a candle. Never used it on a blade but I had something go rusty that I thought was well oiled and wax seems to be doing well. I need more time to pass before I'm really convinced.
There's an untold number of jigs to help with keeping the blade at the right angle. You can even 3d print a block with the correct angle and use that. Sharpening in this day and age is so much easier than it ever was.
For loose guards you can also use soft wax, like unflavored dental wax. Press it into the gap until gap is filled. It will melt out in warmer temperature but it's playable nature means vibration does not effect it like shims.
You can even use bottom of mugs, and windshield edges to sharpen pocket knives kinda neat stuff.
I'm a fantasy writer and I would love to see these legends hold the blades I've drawn.
wow, the sneak peek at the end!
"When I first joined the watch we didn't have any fancy shmancy sanding stones. We had 2 sticks and a rock! And we had to share the rock!"
It's interesting how much technique there is to making your metal cutty thing of choice keep it's edge.
As far as adventuring goes, My most savage character (mentioned in the video talking about sword treatment and such) used to use such sharpening with a stone when all he had was basic crummy iron blades to work with. Even later steel weapons he didn't care much about, he could just loot more later. But when he found a falcata he decided to upgrade to a small little whetstone because it became a manner of having something he cares about. That, and he already pushes towards the line of abusing it so it makes sense he'd be just as hard set to it's proper maintenance.
in short, I think of all things, someone who can make due in the wilderness could arguably make do in other areas, but never the whetstone. After all, you should love your sword enough to treat it right.
My favorite thing to use, other than sharpeners with ceramic rods, is the bottom of a coffee mug. The bottoms are typically unglazed, large in surface area, and in a pinch even a broken mug can be used.
This is so cool - I have always wondered how sword and knife blades get sharpened on adventures. Thanks for posting!
In America the boiled linseed oil has been used for preserving gun stocks for a long time (100+ years) you can also use various other gun oils to preserve the wood and metal on swords, if you're already having those at hand. Ballistol, CLP, Hoppes, etc
Sandstone is pretty much a sharpening stone as is, and comes in various levels of grit, same as river stones.
You could probably even use natural clay to make a type of pottery brick that could act as a sharpening stone. This is probably the most useful because you can customize the grit based on the clay you use. You could even make a fine stone by using river silt, you just powder the brick with it like you would flour on bread before you fire it.
Loving these practical skill videos. Would it be possible to do some sort of physical training type of video, where you go over historical or modern exercises which would be useful for a swordsman/archer/etc...?
I know it'd be a bit of a digression from your standard content, but as someone wanting to get into HEMA and improve my general fitness, a specialized set of exercises in regards to this field would be interesting to learn about.
Hello Shad, nice video. I am a big fan. I briefly went through your upload history and I have never seen you do a forged-in-fire reaction video. I think you would have interesting and well-thought-out inputs.
I dont think I've even seen an ad on any of your videos for months
Very interesting guys. Thank you!
“Sharp my sword with a rock I must... Maximum grind I must endure... Okay, here we go.”
-Bilbo Baggins
Yes.
Just want to throw this out there, it’s completely possible to sharpen a sword with a small slightly rounded smooth rock. I myself have done this out of boredom, it was able to cut paper with ease. However it did take a while to get used to and an even longer time to sharpen it, wouldn’t say it’s the best technique but it works if necessary. - so basically what thyranth says lol my bad
Yeah I've put an edge, not a sharp edge, but a sharper than I expected edge.. with a random rock on some seriously dull knives I've used from random people when I forgot my own pocket knife. I've also used the edge of a concrete patio, and the metal side of a flatbed trailer which both worked much better than a rock. I much prefer to just not forget my own 2000 grit sharpened and consistently touched up edc pocket knife.
Comment to support!!!! Love you!!!! Most heartfelt greetings from the Czech Republic!
perfectly balanced as all things should be
I would like a real hardcore how to guide from Shad on how to sharpen swords on a modern whetstone. I know he's touched on it in the past and showed how he rigs a method of doing it, but a good old fashioned way guide would be helpful
Good stones differ by location. Where I'm from, good oil stones you can knap to almost perfect shape are fairly common, for an axe, or long blade, I much prefer free handing the stone rather than the blade, it may take a bit more skill for angles, but it's much less fiddly when you've got an odd shaped stone, because any blade is much easier to secure with just a tree, or stump.
For oiling in the field, I was taught to use tanned animal skin/fur soaked in tallow. Makes an easy to carry pack item that will last a long time, and if you're eating, it can be replenished/replaced.
Congratulations on another successful and educational video Shadiversity crew.
So for those without easy access to a good stone, wet/dry sandpaper on a piece of glass or polished stone tile makes a good sharpening surface, many woodworkers get razor sharp edges on their planes and chisels this way. Just the surface tension of the water will hold sandpaper in place on the glass reasonably well.
Also, another comment mentioned lapping stones against each other to make them flat. In real precision work, three surfaces are lapped to each other, alternating directions and stones, to get a true flat, because only two surfaces can develop non-flat geometry that mesh with each other and you will never see it. It takes 3 surfaces to completely cancel this out.
Yes with caveats. You have to have a uniform surface and a rock that is harder than the steel. But I have seen in survival training how to find naturally occurring rocks and what to do with them to get them useable. They aren't perfect, but def better than a dull blade
Where i live there are natural sandstone, and some times i used to Sharp my axe or other farm tools. Not is a pro finish but is better than nothing and can save your work journal. I am Lucky for live in a place where this stones are common.
IV used very smooth river stones for knifes and I use
boiled linseed oil on my high carbon blades and the handles horn or wood.