The Whetting Stone.

18th century whetstones Nottingham University Museum Photo Robin Aldworth.

The Whetting Stone.

Whet means sharp, so by definition if a blade has been sharpened, it has been whetted. If you are sharpening a blade, then you are whetting that blade.

Keith.

“The language surrounding so called oilstones is very misleading. First off, there’s no such thing as an “oilstone.” Long ago, these abrasive stones were simply called whetstones. “Whetting” was the period word for “sharpening” and it had nothing to do with applying liquid to a rock”. https://www.popularwoodworking.com/article/what-is-an-oilstone-2

https://finds.org.uk/database/search/results/material/2/objectType/WHETSTONE

whet

 (redirected from whetting)
Also found in: Thesaurus, Idioms.

whet

  (wĕt, hwĕt)

tr.v. whet·ted, whet·ting, whets

1. To sharpen (a knife, for example); hone.

2. To make more keen; stimulate: The frying bacon whetted my appetite.

n.

Something that whets the appetite or desire.

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[Middle English whetten, from Old English hwettan.]

https://www.thefreedictionary.com/whetting

18th century whetting and polishing machine.

http://www.chirurgiemechanik.de/En/History/18th_Century_Beginnings_of_Surgical_Mechanics.asp;