Of course it is! But the hue and cry is always that, "I need this stone to do (i
nsert your phrase here). So I must spend endless hours flattening and perfecting
 it for that use." The stones are collected as interesting artifacts, not becaus
e of need. And using the stone after perfecting it destroys the perfection. Has 
anyone wondered why old used stones are always dished? Because they were used, a
nd the owner didn't know he was supposed to flatten it.

On Nov 21, 2012, at 5:40 AM, Cliff Rohrabacher Esq. wrote:

> On 11/21/2012 1:56 AM, James Thompson wrote:
>> >> The skill is not in the tool. I have personally never seen an old plane or
 chisel which had a flat back when I found it. That says to me that this need fo
r perfection that we feel was not felt by the old timers. It is fairly new, and 
it tells me that people today have too much time and too much money, or they wou
ldn't even consider such things.
> 
> 
> HA HA HA HA the delta between vocation and hobby I suspect.

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