I'm glad you enjoyed the game.
I agree about the gold and arrows. They are far too plentiful. I'm level 16 now and have around 80,000 gold. So, if you have 400,000 ... wow!
You said that crafting armor/weapons is useless. Did you have Crafting/Blacksmithing 5? You can craft the best bows and two-handed swords in the game ... by far better than any loot or those sold by vendors. I play on normal difficulty, but I'm pretty sure difficulty doesn't affect this. The armor you can craft is high in protection, but doesn't offer as many perks as stuff you can find elsewhere, that is true.
As for whetstone locations, there is a one in back of the blacksmith in Silverglen, beside the anvil! Go have a look, ignite.
