The work is done purely by hand, and through a series of 10 whetstones, the blade is filed down, sharpened, and finished with an elaborate wavy pattern. |
Unlike oil or water whetstones, a diamond whetstone does not need to be lubricated. |
Several pieces of the fossil wood were selected by the men to serve as whetstones. |
Whetstones were traded and used for sharpening weapons, tools and knives. |
Novaculite stones, also known as Arkansas whetstones, are the slabs of natural rock most of us grew up with. |
In 1964, or about a hundred knives after making his first one, he switched his focus to selling Arkansas whetstones and a year later began selling knives. |