A few days ago my finest waterstone shattered. I can’t complain; it had given me over ten years of service and was $30 well spent.

This afternoon a replacement waterstone came in the mail and I took it out for a spin.

I find honing an edge to be a relaxing experience and a form of active meditation. These days I do most of my honing freehand so there are no jigs and gizmos to deal with. I like waterstones because I get a lot of tactile feedback on what is going on between the steel and the stone.

I like feeling two surfaces gradually becoming a single, sharp edge.

A blade becomes sharper and I become more relaxed.