[Regia-NA] Whetstones

[Timothy Dill-Peterson]

This is, of course, the very neat get-out clause regarding any piece of kit
one 'ought to have (or in some cases viz-a-viz wooden spoon, bowl, etc
which - in the old days at least - used to be required kit).
I can only say that all the examples of whetstones I saw were designed to
hang from a thong - whether this was attached to a belt who can say but they
were only little hand held honing things and therefore rather less
cumbersome than the image of a whetstone might conjor up.
As for someone of Kim's stature, I would suggest that his whetstone would be
carried and weilded by his personal sword bearer/armourour etc but the
average ranking swordsman would probably attend to his own edge.
I don't know why the subject should cause me to communicate when I have been
silently reading this list for ages, its just a thing that always struck me
as 'visible by it's abscence' in the world of strictly monitored blunt edges
that were supposed to be sharp
Yours in affection, marrooned in Florida, where it is now raining every day
like clockwork round about tea time (not that you can get a decent cup of
tea)
Tim
----- Original Message -----
From: "J. K. Siddorn" <kim.siddorn@blueyonder.co.uk>
To: <list-regia-na@lig.net>
Sent: Tuesday, July 09, 2002 9:39 PM
Subject: Re: [Regia-NA] Whetstones


> For myself, if I was a well equipped warrior, I'd keep my whetstone in a
> chest. This I'd leave at home if I wasn't going far, sit on whilst I was
on
> board ship and lean against in my tent. If I *was* travelling far and
> thought I was going to need it with me, I could put it in my shoulder bag.
>
> I have a small knife blade, a metal detectorist find dated by typography
to
> Middle Saxon times. I've remounted it in a simple oak handle and
resharpened
> it. It is part of my normal period kit, I frequently use it on site and it
> holds a good edge. I might have needed to sharpen it once or twice, I
> suppose, in the last couple of years, once on site when I didn't have a
> whetstone to hand. I found a smooth stone from the side of a firepit hole
> and used that.
>
> I don't keep it in a pouch just so I can carry it about with me, yet
another
> thing to bang around my knees and get broken when I fall over. But there,
I
> don't carry matches or lighter now I don't smoke. Frankly, I don't think
I'd
> actually carry flint & steel with me a 1,000 years ago - it would be in my
> chest with my Acme boxed set of Superior Whetstones, The Complete Range,
> Each One Tailored to its Task. ;o))
>
> Regards,
>
>
> Kim Siddorn.
>
> The early bird may get the worm -
> but the second mouse gets the cheese!
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Douglas Sunlin" <dsunlin@hotmail.com>
> To: <list-regia-na@lig.net>
> Sent: Tuesday, July 09, 2002 5:45 PM
> Subject: Re: [Regia-NA] Whetstones
>
>
> > Well, how would a warrior safely carry his whetstone around? Surely not
a
> rock on a rope? I am finding that my flint and steel in my Regia-approved
> drawstring purse tends to become a dangerously swinging object if the
> purse's thongs are too long. Doubly so with a stone appropriate for honing
a
> sword...
> >
> >
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ------
> > Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: Click Here
> > _______________________________________________ list-regia-na mailing
list
> list-regia-na@lig.net http://www.lig.net/mailman/listinfo/list-regia-na
> >
>
> _______________________________________________
> list-regia-na mailing list
> list-regia-na@lig.net
> http://www.lig.net/mailman/listinfo/list-regia-na