david weaver
I agree with larry on all of these. I can't see how using a 6" grinder is a stone age issue. I can't think that there are any electric tools that produce a good edge faster than a grinder and two stones. Three out of four full sharpenings take about 30 seconds for me. The fourth takes an additional 30 seconds to refresh a hollow.

In five years, I've never broken a hollow ground edge. at least not to the hollow. And if it's not broken up to the hollow, it has nothing to do with being hollow ground.

A power system is much more threat to an edge than a dry grinder. If I ever grind to the edge, I do just get to it, but usually grind until just 1/2 hair short.

I used more edge when I was sharpening by hand and using several bevels, because it was always tempting to run the second bevel in a jig back hard to make sure the edge is clean.

It's my opinion that most who do all of their work with hand tools will eventually move toward a dry grinder or a high speed belt sander, or they'll possibly lean toward only the oldest plain steel tools and work entirely by hand with a very coarse stone and perhaps two others (warren?).

I never became obsessed with sharpening faster but just as sharp and clean until I dumped using my TS, planer and jointer. Wear on my plane irons and chisels is still creeping along at a slow pace, probably slower now that I don't use a guide and really hammer away at a second bevel with the 1000 stone.