Material removal stones and the water millstone

The grinder

In the Middle Ages the water driven millstone held a central place for sharpening and honing tools.
The millstone was a large sandstone wheel mounted on an axle.

It rotated thanks to a simple mechanical system and played an essential role in keeping tools sharp.
Grinders used this water millstone for various tasks such as

• sharpening knives
• sharpening axes
• sharpening agricultural tools

Over the centuries the trade of the grinder evolved according to the needs of society.

With the arrival of modern and automated machines demand for this trade declined.

Nevertheless some craftsmen preserved this practice until the 20th century and helped to maintain an ancient tradition. 

Today the trade of the grinder is experiencing renewed interest and is beginning to develop again.

Processed image the original of which comes from the Municipal Library of Lyon A16AMM000369 The Sharpener by Jost Amman.

Advantages of the water millstone

The water millstone offers several important advantages

• it removes material without heating the workpiece
• it rotates slowly
• water naturally cools the metal

By comparison modern grinding wheels without a water system can heat steel until it becomes red hot which can damage its heat treatment especially quenching.

They also rotate at high speed which increases the risks for both the material and the user.

Safety aspects

Water millstones were used for centuries after the Middle Ages. Historical documentation however reports numerous serious accidents sometimes fatal.

In our workshop we have decided not to use the water millstone. It presents significant risks of accident and the models available today are not suited to miniature work.

We favour safe methods that are compatible with our needs.

This is why we use the technique of bench stones for our material removal work.