The boys took out their knife collections this afternoon – to show the bounty to their grandpa – the whittlers, the ornamentals, and the ones with the cool blades.  My dad noticed that they were all quite dull and some were rusty.  We got to work cleaning them, looking for the whet stone – which we did not find – and then went to town to play tourist.

While out, my dad surprised the boys by purchasing a new whet stone and a can of 3-in-1 oil.  They quickly set to watch – as my dad shared his story – Which started as:

“My dad used to say, “Unless you can shave with it, you shouldn’t be carrying it". 

Hold the knife at the proper angle, the direction for the sharpest edge – it is important to develop a rhythm when sharpening. 

After my dad would finish with the stone he had an old black belt and he would swing his arm back and forth – the blade against the strop – he would use his belt like a razor strop to put the final edge on.”

(I have many a memory of watching my Grandpa Oliver with his oiled whet stone and knife, marveling as he arm swayed back and forth  – blade to strop.

After some practice – the boys were on their own, Nathan, who carries his as a tool, kept at it, fine tuning with my dad’s help. Jon, still young, moved off to the next adventure – pouting about who had the best knife. . .  even though he still likes the plastic ornamental pretties. 🙂