Via Boing Boing, a nifty article about knife maintenance and sharpening from the eGullet Culinary Institute. This baby has it all: cooking, metallurgy, geometry, charming prose, and sharp objects. Also vocabulary expansion opportunities:

By the way, “swarf” is one of those cool terms you get to toss around when you discuss sharpening. Swarf is the slurry of metal filings and stone grit that builds up as you sharpen. Throw that into your next cocktail party conversation and just watch the expressions of awe appear as people realize that you are a sharpening God.

And I would have been perfectly content with the word "slurry"! But now there's swarf! Swarf! It needs an ad campaign, something like, "Look out, chum -- there's a new slurry in town."

But wait, there's more! We haven't even gotten to the choil yet:

If you’re really nuts you can create a dual edge on your knives. This would be a slightly coarse section at the back of the blade near the choil or bolster. The rest of the blade would be finished on a fine or extra fine stone. That gives you a toothy section for cutting through tough materials as you begin your stroke and a finer edge for push cutting through the rest. Yes, this is only for the seriously deranged.

Now that just sounds like a dare to me.