Sharpening -Wästikivi Finnish Whetstone - Neck Stone

I purchased one of these stones a bit ago and liked it so much I wanted another to keep on hand for when I need a replacement.

This was an impulse addition to an order for a viking whetstone, and I am SO glad I went for it because it's my new favorite thing; I've worn it every day since I got it. Partly, it just makes a really great necklace. The size and shape are perfect for a pendant; it's very comfortable, and it looks cool. But, also, having a whetstone on me at all times (and without taking up pocket real estate) has been such a game changer. In addition to sharpening up a bunch of knives as soon as I got it (followed by the jasper viking stone for a wicked final hone-- they DO make a great team), I've also used it to casually touch up kitchen knives while waiting for water to boil for dinner, to hit my belt knife after processing wood, and to sharpen the blades of our food processor, just within a couple of days. The groove is suitable for things like fish hooks or awls, one edge is rounded so it can be worked around curved blades and into the grooves of serrated ones, and the bottom edge tapers so it could be used in small spaces (their larger stones specify using this feature for sharpening cheese slicers; I don't have a cheese slicer and haven't used this thin corner for anything yet, but I thought it might be worth mentioning). It's very thoroughy and thoughtfully designed, without looking over-engineered.

It works well in its own to get up a very fine edge, although the small size does make it slightly more tricky to maneuver. However, this is more than a fair tradeoff for portability and accessibility. If I could knock it for anything, I will note that the flat leather cord it comes with wants to twist up a lot in a way I personally find annoying-- ymmv, but of course it's very replaceable anyway. I highly, highly recommend this stone.