But if a blade is badly damaged, or the bevel needs to be reshaped, then you are talking about a greater amount of abrasive work in order to remove enough material to really make a difference, which is where a powered grinder comes in. If the reshaping work is extensive enough, the grinder will be working on the blade for long enough to put it in danger of overheating, and losing its temper.
Initially this distinction sounded sort of pedantic to me, but for our purposes it might actually be kind of useful. Because in successive generations, the ruling elites of the West, and especially American elites, have become less and less competent at basic maintenance. To maintain the integrity of something, you have to have a broader understanding of the nature of that thing and the nature of that thing's relation to the elemental forces of creation and destruction, and you have to put in some time and energy perhaps doing things that you don't want to do, so that the thing continues on to last for some time to come.
To go back to the simplicity of our metaphor, it is not a whole lot of fun sharpening a blade, at least as much as it is cutting with it. The tool is made to cut, and it feels as if one is moving forward while cutting with it, while stopping to sharpen the blade feels like a chore, like one is stopping in place, or even moving backwards and losing time. But it is something to keep in mind to regularly do, and working with a dull blade is dangerous besides, as it takes more force to cut with, and it can slip. And to neglect the blade for a long time is to impose a quality change of labor: if the blade gets dull enough, it takes much more work to recondition it.
Our ruling elite want to go full bore with the exploitation part, and take and take without giving part of themselves to maintain the integrity of the very trough they feed at. Past a certain point, and after enough damage is done, the repair work becomes much more traumatic, and fraught.
