Knife and Hatchet Safety and Sharpening

Not legal advice. Knife carry laws vary by state and city; check yours. If you cut yourself, see our first-aid guides and get care. This page is not medical advice.

What it's for

A sharp knife and a hatchet split kindling, cut cord, trim branches, open packages, and fix a hundred small problems. They're also the tools most likely to hurt you. The Forest Service's ax manual says it plainly: a dull ax is dangerous because it glances off instead of biting. Sharp, sheathed, and handled with care is the Fixer's rule.

Before you need it (practice)

• Read your knife or ax maker's instructions for locking, sheathing, and care.
• Gear up: the Forest Service manual says to wear stout leather boots (at least 8 inches high) and safety glasses or goggles for ax work, and leather gloves always when sharpening an ax.
• Practice on easy wood in the yard: split a few sticks of kindling before you need a fire.
• Learn Scouting America's four knife rules: Stop (make sure no one is within arm's reach), Away (always cut away from your fingers and body), Sharp (a sharp, clean knife is a safe knife), Store (closed, in a sheath, or in a block).

Step by step

Knife basics

1. Check your circle. Scouting America's first rule: make sure no one else is within arm's reach.
2. Cut away from yourself. "Always cut away from your finger or other body parts" (Scouting America).
3. Keep it sharp and clean. Their rule: a sharp, clean knife is a safe knife.
4. Close or sheathe it when you're done. Store knives closed, in a sheath, or in a knife block (Scouting America).

Hatchet and ax basics (from the Forest Service's "An Ax to Grind")

1. Clear your swing area. Before chopping, make sure no branches or brush are in the way; a deflected ax causes serious accidents. Keep everyone well clear.
2. Plant your feet shoulder-width apart on secure footing.
3. Start slow and gentle to judge distance. The manual says accuracy matters far more than power.
4. Splitting: stand the piece on end on a chopping block, swing straight down, and give a slight twist as the bit hits so it doesn't stick. If it sticks, rap the end of the handle down with your palm to free it.
5. Keep the head from passing below your hands when you must chop on your own side of a log. That plane rule protects your feet.
6. Cold weather: the manual notes an ax head is brittle when very cold. Warm it before use, or chop slowly for a couple of minutes.

Carrying and setting down

• Sheathe the ax for carrying and transport. Carry a single-bit ax at its balance point near the head, edge down, on your downhill side. Never on your shoulder (Forest Service).
• Never lay it flat in the open or lean it with the edge exposed. Briefly, you can stick a single-bit ax in a stump; a sheath is better.
• Don't pound steel wedges with the poll (the back of the head) of a single-bit ax. It isn't tempered for it.

Sharpening a knife on a stone

From the American Knife and Tool Institute (AKTI):

1. Secure the stone on a damp towel or rubber shelf liner.
2. Start on the coarse side.
3. Hold the edge to the stone at an angle equal to or a bit wider than the existing bevel. AKTI's trick: color the edge with a marker; if your strokes remove all the ink, your angle is right.
4. Draw the blade along the stone heel to tip, keeping the angle steady.
5. Feel for a burr by running your thumb carefully across (not along) the edge on the opposite side.
6. Flip and repeat on the other side, then repeat on the fine side.

Sharpening an ax (Forest Service guidance)

• Never use a high-speed dry grinder. It can overheat the steel and ruin its temper. Use a file and whetstone.
• Clamp the ax, wear leather gloves, use a file guard, and file on the push stroke.
• Then hone with a stone to remove the burr. The manual's full sharpening chapter has angles and diagrams.

Common mistakes

• A dull blade. Scouting America: a sharp knife is a safe knife. The Forest Service says the same of axes: a dull one glances off.
• Cutting toward your hand or leg, or with someone inside arm's reach.
• Chopping with people or branches in the swing path.
• Striking the ground with the ax. The manual says never; it ruins the edge.
• Leaving tools unsheathed where someone can step on or fall onto them.

Care & storage

• Clean and dry blades after use, and follow your maker's care directions.
• Don't leave an ax stuck in a wet block. The manual notes it'll rust.
• Store knives closed or sheathed (Scouting America).

Related gear

• Folding pocket knife · Fixed-blade knife with sheath · Hatchet with sheath · Folding saw
• Multi-tool · Work gloves · Knife sharpener
• See also: Fire Starting
• Category: Tools · Role: Fixer

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