Dear MWInFrance,
For drilling hard materials like ball bearings, you could look at electrochemical machining or spark erosion, both of which can drill holes in any kind of conductive material no matter how hard. Look at for a good example (from a great youtuber!) . No force, no tools wearing...
lathes.co.uk is possibly a good place to look or to ask - the organiser of that site has done an unbelievable amount of work documenting old machinery. It's a great place to browse (and they have a classified ads section too - danger!). If you can't find a listing under the name you've tried...
Bumping this thread to add that possibly the most informative source for razor sharpening data (rather than opinion) is "science of sharp" - lots of electron micrographs and FIB-milled cross-sections through blades (focused ion beam - able to cut laterally through the blade like a magic spell...
Looks very nice - Can you please add a photo of the lathe with the headstock swivelled, and showing how the tool rest is used in that orientation? Many thanks, Miles