Sharp Origins, The History Of Sharpening

Among the Oldowan tools, known to be the oldest tools preserved in archeological record (2.5 million years old) were the cores of river rocks crudely formed into the earliest known knives. These sharp jagged stone tools were used by our ancestors for chopping and scrapping.

Rubbing these river rocks on large chunks of abrasive stones such as shale and sandstone were the first method used that created the foundation of modern sharpening. To this day we still provide services at our shop that these early humans also used, flint or obsidian knapping. This is were we take various size chunks of flint or obsidian and break pieces off using animal bone or stone tools to form a sharp cutting edge. Over time these methods evolved with the emergence of highly skilled trades and metallurgy. Expert craftsman not only created the first metal knives but they also refined old methods and created new techniques. For example different knife angles and new honing abilities were among the advancements made by these craftsman. Abrasive powders of crushed material were often added to speed up the process of sharpening.

Though stones have always been used throughout the history of sharpening, a more advanced device became common around 1340. The grinding wheel, this was a wheel made of sandstone or less often granite that was rotated by two cranks, with one at each end of the wheels axel. These were rotated by the shops apprentices while the master craftsman ran the edge of the item being sharpened across the spinning wheel. This method was later some what simplified by making the wheel smaller, having only one crank. It was later in medieval times around 1480, the grinding wheel saw significantl improvement to its operation and mechanics with the addition of a treadal; this removed the need for multiple workers. This also allowed the operator more control and the ability to speed and slow the stone as needed. Water was the most common cooling liquid for these devices, while in Greece olive oil was used often.

At the time of the industrial revolution and the introduction of machinery, the process and methods of sharpening became more mechanized. At this time the use of motorized sharpeners and belts had become standard, with mass production on the rise, the need and ability for sharpening in large volumes consistently also increased. Modern sharpening in America was driven by one such group of people, the Moletas. Renowned for their sharpening these Knife grinders, were from the Val Rendena valley in Italy. Situated in the pristine Dolomite Alps. These knife grinders wore their signature floppy hats and rolled their grinding wheels around mounted in wheelbarrows. These men were of generations and generations of sharpeners. This area was extremely poor and relied heavily on its only export, their sharpeners. They traveled around Italy selling their services in the warmer months. Around the 1860s the seperate Italian states came together to form what is known collectively today as Italy, this unfortunately put the valley of Val Rendena on the Austrian side of the newly formed borders.

New trade and export barriers had prevented the Moletas from working in the areas they had once served, this drove many of the people there to leave for America. Its said that the first Moleta had set up shop in America in 1886, pedaling his sharpening services on street corners and in market sqaures. Not before long many followed suit, men would be shouting from corners "KNIFE SHARPENING!" working from small carts and wheelbarrows as they had done for decades. We at Kirigin Stone not only embody these tradtions but honor them in our modern age when we set up at local markets and at street fares, Something we are always proud of. As time went on more advancements were made in the world of sharpening, with companies like Tormek creating in 1984 their early model of the universal system which later became the tormek sharpening system. Tormeks design has been adopted by many manufacturers such as WEN, Jet and Grizzly industries. These sharpening systems like their predecessors featured a water cooled abrasive wheel, that would grind away material. Producing a sharp edge on knives and tools. No longer requiring a hand crank or treadel these motorized sharpeners also saw the inclusion of a secondary wheel, the leather strop.

The leather wheel aided by a compound was used to remove the burr (a raised lip of metal on the blades edge) formed by the abrasive wheel. This made an incredibly sharp and highly polished edge. Though a mirror or shinly edge has no co-relation to sharpness, it causes less damage to the cell structure of the material being cut. More durable composite wheels were also introduced, praised for their ,minimal maintenance, slow ware rate and splash and go ability (splash it or spritz with water.) Stones had seen improvement and advancements as well, with the invention of synthetic stones. These were man made stones of abrasive material kept together by a hard binding agent such as resin or cement. These synthetic stones were far more uniformed in shape and in particle size, unlike their natural counterparts these came in a wide array of grits. In the past stones were either very agressive or fine, but these new stones ranged from course to medium to fine and every imaginable grit in between. In our shop we have stones ranging from a very course 80 grit to an ultra fine 30,000 grit.

As we have discussed in a previous post there are two main types of stones in which all others fall under either catagory, those are oil and water stones, each having their respective advantages and disadvantages. The stones have also gotten much more smaller and lighter, were some of the ones used by our ancestors were either outcroppings or massive blocks. There are other devices on the market today that use the same materials, such as guided hand sharpeners that involve the set up or use of a counter top contraption with a rotating arm, that requires the user to run an either natural or synthetic stone over the edge of the item being sharpened. These guided hand sharpeners are popular due to their small learning curve. Other inventions like rolling sharpeners (a handheld barrel shapped object with two diamond discs on either end) are also seeing more frequent use. Electric sanding machines are still used to sharpen knives and tools and have also become more compact as seen with the Worksharp systems.

The realm of sharpening continues its advancements with the use of laser sharpeners, though not currently standard. The appearance of laser sharpening machines has been yet another step into the modern world. These laser sharpeners have major draw backs however and are still in development, they are currently unable to sharpen a multitude of objects, for example, serrated knives and single bevel Japanese knives. Though they are fairly accurate being guided by a computer they are stilll not as precise or able as the hands of a craftsman. The art of sharpening will continue to improve in the decades to come but It is my belief we should not become soley reliant on these machines, should the day ever come were we lose what powers our modern world, we will be left with tradtional methods to fashion or sharpen our survival weapons and tools.