This documentary shows how a canoe is built the old way. César Newashish, a 67-year-old Attikamek of the Manawan Reserve north of Montreal, uses only birchbark, cedar splints, spruce roots and gum. Building a canoe solely from the materials that the forest provides may become a lost art, even among the Native peoples whose traditional craft it is. The film is without commentary but text frames appear on the screen in Cree, French and English.
40 micron (400 grit) diamond stone > 10 micron diamond paste (a "pea"-sized amount spread on a 8x3" piece of planed hardwood = instant diamond stone) > 2.5 micron diamond paste > and finally a leather strop (from Tools for Working Wood) spread with Veritas green rouge (.5 micron). Whenever the edge needs to be refreshed, I just pull out the leather strop.