Potassium Permanganate is also used to regenerate green sand filters which extract iron from water.
Here's one supplier I found with Google:
http://www.ohiopurewaterco.com/shop/customer/home.php?cat=427 For the vertically sawn look a chainsaw mill is probably the closest (unmodified) modern alternative. Logosol has a small list of owners available to demonstrate their chainsaw mills, it isn't well maintained but you might get lucky.
www.logosol.com
