david weaver
... thank you for that post returning to reality...

A grinder and two stones.

I pinged a couple of professional hand tool woodworkers yesterday when this came up. For chisels and planes, they both use a dry grinder and two stones.

I doubt anyone on here has better edges than they do, and I would suppose that all of us who use our stones properly and have even a few concsious thoughts about the feedback of the tool after sharpening probably are in about the same place for sharpening (as in, our edges are all about the same level of sharpness).

A person with a grinder and two stones and a week's worth of skill will have an edge that lacks nothing, and that is no less sharp than any other method.