Hand Tooled Leather Sharpening Stone Pouch with Bench Stone

A sharpening stone has an open surface. Leave one loose in a drawer and it picks up sawdust, filings and whatever else is in there, and the next edge you put on picks all of that up again. This is a case for the stone. Vegetable tanned leather, carved flap, hand stitched. One bench stone ships inside it. No knife is included.

Specification

The leather

The leather is vegetable tanned full grain in tan. Bark tanning leaves it firm, and firm leather takes a carved line and holds it, which is why tooled work is done on it. It also moves. Tan goes amber and then darker, quickest where a thumb opens the flap. Chrome tanned leather stays the shade it left the tannery. The flap is hand carved with a rose and scroll, cut with a swivel knife while the hide is damp, then the ground beside the line is punched down so the pattern stands up.

How it is made

The body is cut in one piece and folded, so the bottom has no seam to work loose. The sides are hand stitched with cream thread, two needles through one hole, each stitch locked against the one before. Cut a machine seam anywhere and the whole line runs out. This does not. The edges are burnished dark, rubbed with water and friction until the raw edge goes hard instead of fuzzing. The flap closes on a solid brass press stud.

How it is used

The pouch takes a bench stone up to 6 inches by 2 inches by 1 inch. Stone in, flap over, stud shut, and the stone is put away. On a bench it opens flat enough to work out of. In a bag it keeps grit off the stone and stone dust off everything else. Slide the stone out to sharpen, and wipe it dry before it goes back in the pouch.

Who it suits

Most people buying this already own a stone and have watched it get dirty. Some are buying their first and want somewhere to keep it.

• Anyone whose stone lives loose in a toolbox
• Cooks who sharpen at home
• People who sharpen away from the bench
• Buyers who want a stone and a case together

What comes in the box

• The hand carved stone pouch
• One bench stone
• A care card
• No knife is included, and no strop and no oil

Every piece is different

The rose and the scroll are cut freehand every time, so the curl of a petal and the run of the line shift pouch to pouch. Hide differs too. A tan side carries growth marks and old scars that darken at their own rate. Yours will not be the pouch in the photograph.

Looking after it

Keep it out of standing water. If it gets wet, let it dry slowly at room temperature, away from heat, because a radiator or an oven cooks leather stiff and it does not come back. Feed it with a leather conditioner once or twice a year. A wet stone put away in the pouch holds damp against the leather, so let the stone dry first. Sharpening is on our care and sharpening page.

Put a name on it

Initials are stamped into the leather rather than lasered. The stamp is struck into damp hide, so the mark is pressed in. It is 20 dollars per piece and around 20 characters fits. We send a proof image first, because a stamp does not come out again, and it adds 3 to 5 business days. Free on 10 or more. See the engraving page.

Questions buyers ask

Does this come with a knife? No. The box holds the pouch and one bench stone.

What size stone does it hold? Bench stones up to 6 inches by 2 inches by 1 inch. Nothing bigger.

Is the stone really included? Yes. One bench stone ships in the pouch.

Does it matter what a stone is kept in? It matters that it is kept in something. An open stone collects grit, and grit goes into the next edge.

Can I sharpen with the stone in the pouch? No. Take it out first. Leather soaks up water and slurry.

How long does delivery take? Most US orders arrive in 5 to 7 business days.

After the stone the edge is finished on leather, on the walnut strop board. For stone, strop and oil in one roll, the leather knife care kit. It sits with both in sheaths and accessories, it buys well from gifts for him, and new work lands in new arrivals.