The stone I use to sharpen is finally thinner than my hand

This is the second water stone I've worn down to a shallow dish in twenty years. Felt it mid-stroke on a chef's petty knife and stopped for a second — the steel was the same, but my thumb knew the difference before my brain did. I spend all day making edges sharper, and the things doing the sharpening just get eaten away. That's the part nobody buys when they pay for the edge.