Here at the Machinist School, we engage in the education and technology involved with the instruction for those who want to learn or sharpen their skills in the field of stones for creating edges that cut.
There's not much magic .... it's a matter of doing it.
There are a number of tools and techniques that are "the ultimate".
In olden times, people rubbed their knife on a rock to create a sharp edge.
Then as time went on technology didn't change much but they changed from using a rock to using a stone.
When things got industrialized, some people specialized in the business of stones-for-sharpening-knives. People that had been stone masons figured out that building stone walls was a lot of work for not very much money. Some of them discovered the concept of jewelry and gemstones. Others discovered the sharpening stone. Either way, the rock became valuable as an individual item of trade rather than simply part of a wall.
Stones-for-sharpening-knives was too much to say in one breath so the search for a better name ensued. Though lots of explanations exist, what we know is that the word "HONE" emerged. Nobody was sure if HONE was a noun or verb. Was the rock a hone or was the process of using a rock "to hone"? Some folks call the rock a hone. Others say it is a hone stone. When used around the house, it is a home hone stone. When used at homes of little people, it is a gnome home hone stone. In certain parts of Italy it is a Rome gnome home hone stone. When an Italian woman throws it at you it is a Rome gnome home hone stone thrown ........... you get the idea, I suppose.
Anyway, manufacturers of hone stones try to differentiate their rocks from other rocks with pamphlets on "How to Care for Your Hone Stone" ........... well, duh ......... how do you take care of a rock?????????????????????????
Anyway, your knife will eventually get sharper if you rub it on a hone stone. It is cutting edge technology.
13 years ago
