Carl Levitian
member
I've never used a sharpening thing-a-mbob, they comming along many years after my daddy and uncle tought me to sharpen a knife with a stone held in the left hand. People tell me they work great, but I can't say personally. But to me it puts something between me and the knife, and I don't like that.
I have to admit something here, and maybe it's a little weird. To me, sharpening a knife is not a chore that I have to do when it gets dull. It's more of a communion with the knife, kind of like a zen thing I can't quite explain. Like all the family that went before me, I was tought to hold a pocket stone in the left hand, and with the knife in the right, (me being right handed of course) start at the blade kick, and in small circles work my way to the tip of the knife on one side, then repeat on the other. Learning to hold the right angle seemed pretty easy with the blade in constant contact with the stone. After I got good at it, I enjoyed the rythmatic shhh, shhh, shhh, sound of the blade going around in its circular honing. Once in a while I'd wipe off the dust with a rag, I never use any oil or anything on the stone.
For decades I used the same little Norton carborundum pocket stone in a leather sheath. After about 25 years its worn deeply concave on both sides and the pocket sheath is worn through on both bottom corners where the stone corners worn through. I ended up replacing it with an Eze-lap diamond wallet hone that fits in my wallet like a credit card. I still use it the same way, and the fine grit diamond puts a nice razor edge on my sak. It still makes the same comforting shh, shh, shh noise as the blade circles, so I still get that zen thing. Putting a fresh edge on a blade is deeply satisfying. It's like a renewal of your aquintance with the blade.
Or maybe I've gone round the bend. If I start talking to my knife, I'll get proffesional help.
I have to admit something here, and maybe it's a little weird. To me, sharpening a knife is not a chore that I have to do when it gets dull. It's more of a communion with the knife, kind of like a zen thing I can't quite explain. Like all the family that went before me, I was tought to hold a pocket stone in the left hand, and with the knife in the right, (me being right handed of course) start at the blade kick, and in small circles work my way to the tip of the knife on one side, then repeat on the other. Learning to hold the right angle seemed pretty easy with the blade in constant contact with the stone. After I got good at it, I enjoyed the rythmatic shhh, shhh, shhh, sound of the blade going around in its circular honing. Once in a while I'd wipe off the dust with a rag, I never use any oil or anything on the stone.
For decades I used the same little Norton carborundum pocket stone in a leather sheath. After about 25 years its worn deeply concave on both sides and the pocket sheath is worn through on both bottom corners where the stone corners worn through. I ended up replacing it with an Eze-lap diamond wallet hone that fits in my wallet like a credit card. I still use it the same way, and the fine grit diamond puts a nice razor edge on my sak. It still makes the same comforting shh, shh, shh noise as the blade circles, so I still get that zen thing. Putting a fresh edge on a blade is deeply satisfying. It's like a renewal of your aquintance with the blade.
Or maybe I've gone round the bend. If I start talking to my knife, I'll get proffesional help.