I’ve used this idea for years but haven’t actually passed it on to many folks before now.
Have a knife that needs a quick sharpening but don’t have a good ceramic (or other) sharpening tool handy? Well, if you’re the kind of guy who carries a knife, you are also the kind of guy who probably has a coffee cup handy. *heh* The bottom of most ceramic coffee mugs usually have unglazed rings of ceramic. Just turn a handy ceramic coffee mug over, and using the handle as a protective device (thumb through the handle, fingers gripping the mug), use that unglazed ring of ceramic exactly as you would a ceramic sharpening rod.
A few strokes later: sharp knife. I’ve found this works well enough that I gave away my most recent ceramic sharpener and haven’t really missed it. Even my largest chef’s knives are easily sharpened… with a coffee mug.
Note: although many fine china coffee cups also have a ring of unglazed porcelain, I’d not recommend you let anyone catch you sharpening a knife with grandma’s heirloom set of bone china… dumb move. *heh*
I wish you hadn’t posted this information; now the ATF will be out to register all the coffee cups and make us fill out all kinds of forms just to get “mugged”.
TF–*heh* But isn’t the ATF: Alcohol, Tobacco and FIREarms? Do knives and coffee mugs really fit in their area of responsibility? Well, if we become as assinine as Britain (where knives–even pocket/pen knives–are regulated out the wazoo), it might just come to that… *sigh* Already, I have restricted myself from comercial flying, because what man wants to walk around without at least one knife in his pocket? A tool-less man is just another monkey. Perhaps a bright monkey with lots of techno-toys, but I’ve been in all too many situations where no techno-toy can substitute for a strong, sharp knife, even if it’s only a tiny pen knife. Better: a good multi-tool (even a Swiss Army style knife) with a sharp, strong blade.