[johnlives4christ]

im interested in the history of knife sharpening from about 1800 through 1950s.

i have always used an arkansas whetstone since i was a kid, is this traditional?

whats the difference between the uses of soft and hard arkansas stones.

i have no interest in any new fangled sharpening devices or machines.

heres some of my current stones.

the little one is a case hard arkansas, the big one and the medium one are both smith's i think the middle one is medium and the small is soft. although i am not 10o% sure cause i cant remember. i've had all the stones for over a decade.