The Dick Fine Tools Catalog is pure joy. I signed up for this free handtool catalog online, and didn’t know what I was getting. When it arrived today, Francis chose it for her bedtime story, and we discovered the poetry of Steel. Listen, as the catalog spreads the gospel of the sharp edge:
Hand sharpening provides you with insight into the inner life of the steel, its structure, quality and the forging process itself. Your fingertips gauge the interaction between the stone and the steel and the sounds produced reveal whether the two are in harmony. Patience and concentration are rewarded with cutting edges of unsurpassed sharpness. Sharpening is a dance with perfection, a challenge for the senses, not to mention fun.
There is wisdom here; not just in helpful exposition (for example, the difference between Western and Japanese chisels), but in timeless prose on the nature of man and his tools.
