After a brief hiatus following my trips to Chicago and Austin, the much-anticipated Sharpening Party finally commenced! Ken Schwartz from Precise Sharpening flew in the night before, rekindling our recent encounter at the BLADE show in Atlanta. And that was just the start of it! Greg (known as Dudly the togi from the knife forums), John Fortune (aka Hone Ranger), and Ron Swartz of KME Sharpeners arrived, each bringing a treasure trove of sharpening tools and enthusiasm. Greg hauled along his sword polishing station with stones and a pair of Katanas, John came bearing the essential Arizona Iced Tea alongside a stash of sharpening gear, while Ron showcased his KME Sharpener armed with around 20 various accessory stones, including the new Choseras.
With Ken, Ron, John, and Greg, we could have easily spent an entire day delving deep into sharpening discussions. But this was no ordinary gathering; we took it up a notch by going international! Yes, that’s right—we set up our laptops and engaged in Skype video calls with Michiel Vanhoudt from Belgian Sharpening in Belgium and Jens Skandevall, our famous (and slightly eccentric) shaving competition winner from Sweden.
The interaction was seamless—Jens and Michiel honed razors while being observed via video call (yes, we turned the computers towards themselves!), Michiel even provided Ron with a tutorial on the Belgian coticule/BBW, and we were all spellbound as Greg walked us through his mind-blowing sword polishing demo, covering almost the entire process (obviously not on the entire sword, which would take over a week).
We spent about two hours in the garage for the sword polishing demo before moving inside for some much-needed air conditioning! Once indoors, the sharpening fun continued. We brought Michiel and Jens along via Skype, and the sharpening frenzy resumed. We experimented with various tools and techniques, explored different stones, and dived into the world of sharpening madness until around 5 pm when we took a much-deserved dinner break. This marathon of sharpening fun lasted for a whopping seven hours!
Following a delightful steak dinner, Greg departed, leaving Ron, Ken, and me to continue our sharpening adventure. Ken introduced his renowned CBN sprays on Balsa, unleashing their incredible speed and efficiency on Ron’s KME Sharpener. We continued this sharpening extravaganza until around 11 pm, a full 13 hours since we embarked on this sharpening odyssey.
It was an absolute joy to reunite with John and Greg and share our sharpening passions with Michiel and Jens, who patiently watched and engaged with us throughout the day. This gathering provided an invaluable opportunity for Ken and me to spend quality time with Ron, discussing and exploring sharpening intricacies rather than rushing through a myriad of knives, as one would at a trade show or convention.
What a fantastic Sharpening Party it turned out to be!
