Complicated

Fire King

Fire King

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When I was growing up we had a property that the family gardened on and my dad was a wheeler dealer so stuff was always coming and going, cars, bikes, tools, dogs, cats - you name it. We fixed most anything that broke or needed repaired. My father had a sharpening stone that sat on the bench that was maybe 4” x 10”. If a knife or hatchet or whatever was dull we just sharpened it on that stone. There was not water or other complications. He would put a drop of oil on it occasional. There was an old leather barber strap attached to the wall next to it. That was it. It wasn’t complicated and it worked. The stone was on an old oak base and we would flip it over sometimes but both sides were the same. This setup just worked. For everything. One stone. Stuff stayed sharp. It will cut.

Now everything has been conflated. We need this to do that, we need water, we need diamonds, we need grit progressions. We have super steels. It makes ones head explode. I just want to sharpen stuff. I want to cut stuff. Call me uncouth.

What is the modern day equivalent of this setup?
 
You're describing a basic oil stone and an inefficient (though functioning) work method. If going for a single-stone option I'd go for something relatively coarse or anything that's badly blunted is going to take forever to sharpen.
 
Oh how we long for the days past,

truth is your dad probably didn’t encounter much 10V, Maxamet, or Rex121. If all you are going to sharpen are Old Hickory knives in 1095 and a low hardness axe or hatchet then yes any run of the mill medium course stone and a leather strop would work, they did for generations.
Presently we have harder and arguably better steels which require harder and arguably better sharpening stones.

In my conclusion, I prefer as simple of set up as I can get away with.
I went as long as I could with a Norton IMI tri-stone, I’ve added/replaced it with 2 double sided DMT 10” plates and a strop loaded with 6 micron paste.
 
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Thank you for your replies.

I went to the local hardware store last week and asked for the same advice and the guy helping me didn't even know if they had any sharpening stones, so yes the world has changed. I will look into the suggestions. I recently watched Zacs video about the new Worksharp and it doesn't seem to me that life needs to be that complicated, but perhaps it is.
 
For any knife made maybe 40 or more years ago, that simple oil stone is probably all one would've ever needed. It hasn't been until the last 30-40 years that so-called 'super steels' came into greater popularity for EDC knives. And for reference, something like 440C was considered a 'super steel' in EDC knives back in the 1970s and maybe even into the '80s. It was a steel that knifemakers highlighted and bragged about in their advertising, but was maybe a bit too wear-resistant to be handled efficiently on something like natural (Arkansas) stones. And even with the vast majority of those, a 'simple oil stone' of a material like silicon carbide (SiC) could've made them at least functionally sharp (in the old real-world, real-work sense of the phrase, anyway). Those man-made stones have been capable and available for the greater part of the last century. SiC, or 'carborundum' as it was originally trade-named, has been around for abrasive use for about 100 years.

I don't think anyone 40 or more years ago would've realistically expected that everything they sharpened should be made sharp enough to shave with. If it did, then that's fine. But I don't think it was ever considered THE goal in sharpening. But expectations have changed since then, with a lot of it being driven (I believe) by marketing, with the aim of selling more sophisticated, more complicated gear & gadgetry.

So many these days expect their edges to be so much more refined than is actually necessary for the same old everyday tasks people have been doing for decades or even centuries. For all those tasks, usually nothing more than a fully apexed & burr-free edge in a relatively coarse finish would be all that is never actually needed to get the job done. And that can still be done with just one smartly chosen stone to match up with the particular steel being sharpened. But again, thanks to all the market-driven options available nowadays, people want & expect more polish and more hair-whittling refinement, even if it won't realistically be durable in most tasks.

All that being said, probably 99% of any blade steels available can still be handled with some degree of the old-school, 'one stone for all' simplicity, but instead utilizing more sophisticated materials for grinding & honing. Instead of the old aluminum oxide (or Arkansas natural) stones previously used, substitute just one double-sided hone in diamond or cbn, in the 220 - 600 grit range ballpark. Any polished refinement or angle-guided 'precision' wanted beyond that is always going to be an option - but seldom, if ever, necessary.
 
In southern Brazil, there were many. With a pedal, which were more efficient, and with cranks (as in the video), slow, but functional.
 
As long as you're not using a high vanadium content steel on it, a classic "India" stone is basically what you're looking for. The reason for having multiple grits is to achieve the desired finish in a shorter span of time and with greater ease/convenience.
 
To have a modern set-up equivalent to the "old days" I'd suggest something like a double sided diamond stone with a coarse side, and fine/extra fine side. As a bonus you can strop on anything you have lying around.

I suggest diamond since it will cut any and all steels, no need to "think about it". Plus you don't need to worry about flattening the stone/plate over time, and just a simple splash of water is all you need to get started. IMO it's the modern equivalent of what you seek.
 
All you need is a diamond plate in coarse/fine (like the two sided DMT Diasharp) and a 400/1200 whetstone for the softer steels. That's what I have and it covers all my bases in a simple setup. Oh yeah, a leather strop too. That's it.
 
Thanks, this is really helpful. I have some good information to work with. Especially like the stone wheels! Looking back, I realize I was having a bit of a day when I wrote the original post and you guys gave me a boost.
 
Gato, some stone wheels here have been converted to electric motor power. Usually belted down to run slow and water cooled, by tray or drip.

I find that I don’t grind as well on my foot powered stone, because pedaling it rocks my body back and forth somewhat. Probably different geometry could improve that, seems it was built for somebody shorter and I hunch over during use.

With my motor powered one I can focus better on tool positioning, but I need to rebuild the drip can. It rotates at about 90 rpm smoothly.

Parker
 
In my mind the modern equivalent is what an older gentleman I know uses. Harbor freight had at one time a 4 sided 4 grit diamond stone in a bench top holder. The holder had a rubber bottom and the stone square was probably 6 inches by 2 inches, you flipped the stone in the holder to the grit you wanted and it worked great for being a cheap item. Now this was an old school guy from the deep south and he is a skilled knife maker to boot and if it is good enough for him and didn't upset his roots than I can't see any room for improvement.
 
I have one of those Harbor Freight 4-sided units. Functional but not great. I wish I could get good edges with my paper wheel setup, but I guess I just can't hold a steady angle, so I have resorted to a cheap worksharp guided system -- which takes time but works great.
 
fishface5 said:
I have one of those Harbor Freight 4-sided units. Functional but not great. I wish I could get good edges with my paper wheel setup, but I guess I just can't hold a steady angle, so I have resorted to a cheap worksharp guided system -- which takes time but works great.
Click to expand...
I've been meaning to pick up one of those cheap Harbor freight things to throw into my trucks tool box for the guys knifes in hunting camp that have the super steels.
I'm guessing they are OK for an occasional use thing?
 
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