In theory, this post is about sharpening knives. In reality, it’s about keeping cart and horse in the right order. Sometimes when we can’t do things the way we used to, we have to change our standards of “best practice.” The new, easier way can feel like “settling” when in fact it’s healthy adapting. For me, that feeling of settling is a red flag that I have lost sight of the real priority.

My dad is a whetstone sharpener. Watching him mesmerized me as a kid—Dad was always so relaxed, and I loved seeing his hands turning to hold the knife at the perfect angle, hearing that easy, rhythmic hiss of knife across stone, the ritual application of mineral oil and cleaning cloth. Whetstones, as YouTube (and my dad) will tell you, are the gold standard of knife sharpening.

Dad taught me how to use a whetstone. But after I got sick I seldom did, and so spent a lot of unnecessary effort using dull knives instead. For me, it was the best or nothing. Then I discovered this:

Dad cringes at it. The poor man—it hurts him to see tools treated without love and care. There’s no ritual to it, no beauty or art. He fusses that I will damage the knives—a terrible crime. (I haven’t.) But the gadget is easy to use in just a few swipes, and my knives are always sharp. Are they sharp enough to slice a tomato paper thin? No. Do I need them to be? No. This is an easy device to use, so I use it. It’s not the gold standard whetstone cart, but I have the sharp knife horse.

To be clear, I’m not preaching the virtues of this gadget or any way of knife sharpening. I’m preaching the virtue of remembering what matters.

My sister is an avid photographer and owns some mighty fancy lenses, yet she always says that the best camera to use is the one you have in your hand. The best knife sharpener is the one you will use. The goal isn’t really to do things the “best” way. It’s to have sharp knives. And even sharp knives aren’t an end in themselves. They’re a means to help you nourish yourself as easily and as well as possible.

As I said, I’m using knife sharpening to illustrate a mindset that can plague us and keep us from adapting. Is there an area of your life where you’re clinging to a gold standard method purely because it’s the gold standard, even though it is now making your life harder? Where might you take a fresh look at carts and horses?