Whetstone
A stone used to sharpen blades — the slow maintenance that keeps a working edge from going dull.
A whetstone in a dream is the dream's image of the slow regular maintenance that keeps a working edge from going dull. The whetstone does not create the blade; the whetstone keeps the blade able to do what it was made for. The dream brings the whetstone when something in your life — a skill, a discipline, a critical capacity — has been in use long enough that the edge needs deliberate restoration. A blade taken to the stone at the right interval is the dream affirming the maintenance. A blade neglected past the point where the whetstone can recover the edge is the dream noting that the routine sharpening was skipped for too long, and the regrind that will be required is much larger work than the small steady honing would have been.