T
he foot-powered grindstone is an absolutely wonderful tool. I struggled a lot with sharpening the various blades that inhabit my workshop for a long time -- figuring out how and when to use files, grinders, and whetstones ended up in a lot of stress, and a lot of messed-up edges. Being able to sit down behind a simple mechanical machine, over which I have complete control, and quickly guide a piece of metal to its rough shape is extremely satisfying.
It's a weird fact that, so far as I know, there are no new grindstones being made. The biggest manufacturer of them, from somewhere out in the midwest, stopped producing them a long time ago, and the secret of how to make them was apparently lost as well. It's strange to think that I'm slowly wearing down a functionally irreplaceable object. But, I guess that's what my body is as well. It all gets tossed in the furnace eventually.