Leather Strips

• Leather strips, also known as strops when it comes to sharpening knives, can be used in your home or out in the field when camping, saving you money, time and effort. The knife blade you are sharpening should be drawn over the leather strip--spine first, not edge first--at about a 15- to 20-degree angle, smoothing out any nicks or dullness on the blade. A rougher piece of leather should be used at the beginning and a finer piece of leather towards the end to help smooth out the blade's cutting edge.
  
  

Marble Stone

• Marble stone pieces can be used to sharpen knives, but only if they are properly treated beforehand and already smooth, as stones can damage knife blades if not used correctly. Find a smooth piece of marble that might be left over from a countertop or a piece of tile, and soak it in an equal mixture of olive oil and paraffin. Bicycle lubricating oil is also effective in keeping these stones from damaging knife blades. Once lubricated, run the knife blade over the marble's edge at a 15- to 20-degree angle in a circular motion, regularly wiping the excess liquid and residue from the knife and marble on a soft, non-abrasive rag. Turn the blade each time you wipe it across the edge of the marble so that each side is sharpened equally.
  
  

Another Knife

• By using another dull knife, you can sharpen a knife you plan to use, though this is one of the less effective ways to keep a knife sharp for an extended period. Run the blade of the knife you are sharpening with one hand away from you over the other metal knife at a 15- to 20-degree angle, turning the blade over each time with each stroke. Be sure to run the blade you are sharpening down the spine of the dull knife so that any nicks on the dull knife's blade don't hurt the knife blade you are trying to sharpen. This will sharpen a knife, but it can easily damage your blade because a piece of metal, unlike leather or a lubricated stone, is subject to nicks and dings that can damage the blade.