We had a discussion earlier about sharpeners and which ones we used most. I would like to address these little (or not so little) tools that seem to fall to the wayside when it comes to knife collecting.

The knife in your sheath or pocket is only as good as the stone you use to sharpen it with. Everybody knows that a dull knife just wont get the job done, so, I want to talk just a little about my stone that i like most.

I was a teenager when my parents bought a house and in the attic was a cigar box that had many things in it from years past. Among these items was a homemade slingshot, a few marbles, a boy scout pocket watch, a report card from 1934, and an old sharpening stone. This thing had been used, used, and used some more. I had many stones by this time but thought "what the heck. I'll give this one a shot."

End result, It was my go to stone for many years. It had served it's previous owner very well in the past, and served me well for the years that followed. There came a time when I looked at it with just as much joy as I did my pocket knives.

When that happened I gently put it on the shelf to "let it rest".

I have since started rescuing old discarded stones and sharpening tools from everywhere I could find 'em.

They are, like the knives we hold so dear, an important part of our life. These unsung heroes perform their duties so the knives that glide across them can do theirs.