The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details:
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is $300 $250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
We do tend to over complicate things at times. I remember watching old timers sharpening knives on just a 2 sided stone, with just a bit of spit or some oil, and they got their work knives as sharp as they needed them. And only being a kid i aspired to be able to sharpen as good as they could.
Where do you buy the light mineral oil ,thats as good as Nortons highly refined mineral? The one that's the same viscosity as Nortons and its used on meat processing equipment.Most 'honing oil' is just mineral oil. Some sellers might add a pigment to color it and make it uniquely theirs, and then resell it in small bottles at an inflated price.
BUT, the better honing oils will often be a lighter, thinner grade of mineral oil and sometimes food-safe rated ('USP' grade) as well. Norton's Sharpening Stone Oil is an example, and I tend to favor it for those attributes. The light & thin character of the oil makes for better feedback on the stones - so there's an obvious, tactile difference in using it, as compared to many other products.
But bottom line, any mineral oil product will do just fine. So-called 'cutting board oil' is mineral oil, as is the product included in small bottles for things like electric hair clippers/shavers and so-called 'sewing machine oil'. And as an alternate to Norton's oil, I've liked using a food-safe mineral oil I found at a restaurant supply store, marketed for use in the maintenance of food-processing equipment like meat slicers, etc. Found it in 16 oz. bottles priced at around $8 or so, which isn't bad at all (I bought TWO of those - still haven't used it all). That's about the same price ballpark as the Norton oil in their small 4-1/2 fl. oz. can.
There are some other lubricant 'solutions' used for sharpening stones that are apparently a non-petroleum product, maybe detergent-based. And of course, one can very cheaply buy the old standby, the 'intestinal lubricant' (laxative) variety at the grocery store or pharmacy. It's a thicker, more viscous grade of food-safe mineral oil. And it's cheap too - the last time I bought some of that, it was about $2 for a 16 fl. oz. bottle. It's handy for unfilled, very thirsty oil stones that would otherwise drink up too much of the pricier stuff.
I picked up that mineral oil at a local restaurant supply store where I live. Appropriately, it's called 'Standard Restaurant Supply'. Pic is below, of the product I found:
I would say a nephrolith a.k.a. kidney stone. But this might be a little off-topic...
I tend to make things too complicated. When you have a sharp knife you have done everything right. Those "wise old goats" knew how to do it.
I bet thats what Smith's honing is... Propylene glycol..
