U S I N G JA PA N E S E WAT E R S T O N E S

A water stone is an abrasive block that uses water as the cutting lubricant. Its stone particles wear away as you sharpen, exposing fresh, fast-cutting surfaces.

To sharpen a stainless-steel Westernstyle kitchen knife, soak the stone for a few minutes and place it on a non-slip utility mat (a cheap accessory available online). As you work, splash some water on the stone or use a small spray bottle to keep it lubricated. And let the “mud”, which consists of stone particles and water, build up. It helps the stone work better.

Hold the knife at an angle (the height of two R5 coins from the spine of the blade) so the bevel makes complete contact with the stone’s face, and draw the knife straight back and forth along the length of the stone, starting at the knife’s heel, slowly working up to the tip. Pull the handle away from the stone as you go. Be sure to travel along the centre of the stone. And use enough pressure so that the ends of your fingernails on the blade go white, but don’t press harder than that. It’s the motion, not the pressure, that does the work. Raise a burr with the first stone and then work up to a finer stone to remove those scratches, just like using sandpaper. The burr forms where two intersecting angles are formed in the honing process. To remove the burr, use a leather strop, one of rubberised cork or softwood with a polishing compound on its surface. Lay the knife over the strop’s face and draw it backward. Two to four passes on each bevel are probably all you need. Hold the knife up to the light to check for a thin, bright line that indicates the burr’s presence. Strop again if needed.

Rinse the knife and wipe it dry. Wash the stone and metal particles out of the non-slip mat. Then try the knife on some food.

sure to maintain or produce a thin tip geometry. The heavy hitter of coarse stones is the 220, and it removes metal in a hurry. If the knife is chipped or has lost a proper edge profile, you can bring it back to shape with this stone. But if you don’t do much repair work, skip this grit size. Instead, a 600-grit stone is better to begin the sharpening process.

To sharpen a dull Western stainless-steel knife take a few strokes on the 600-grit stone, proceed to the 800- to 1 200- and finish with a 2 000- or a 4 000-grit, then strop. If you have an ordinary carbon-steel (non-stainless) Western knife, you can use up to an 8 000-grit stone to produce a finely honed edge with a pleasing cutting action.

To sharpen Japanese stainless knives, start with a 400- to 600-grit stone, proceed to an 800- to 1 200-grit, and finish with a 6 000-grit.

Mclaren F1

Only 72 Mclaren F1 road cars were built. Each came with a hardcover manual with immaculate pen-and-ink drawings that could serve to educate generations of technical artists on clarity and wit (example: a humanised crash dummy is used to show seating, exit, and entering positions). DISLIKES: None, but we wish Mclaren would license the printing of these just so the rest of us who will never own an F1 can enjoy its artistry.

Bosch HDH183 and DDH183 drills

If every manufacturer took its owner’s manuals as seriously as Bosch, the mechanical world would be a better place. Its illustrations are magazine-worthy, and its instructions on drilling, driving, and hammer operation are clear. DISLIKES: None.

Stanley 55 hand plane

The Stanley 55 was the most complex hand plane ever built. It cuts grooves, dadoes and mouldings, shapes window parts and slits thin panels. In its 22 pages, this manual affords a succinct view of the essentials with perspective views of hands holding it as a woodworker goes about its use. DISLIKES: If you buy a 55 someday, expect a long learning curve because no manual can do it justice.