Do we have any members here from Staffordshire? The reason I ask is because sorting through the information I've gathered I've come across a discrepancy that could do with some clarification. In the Knight article that I linked to on the first page of this thread, the grindstones hailing from Bilston, Staffs are described as occurring in a very small spot of limited extent and thickness above the coal layer. Although the stone was described as being of great excellence and as having a very fine grit, I wasn't initially interested in it as even a fine grindstone is likely too coarse for razors. However, I then found an article that specified that grindstones quarried near Bilston were used for sharpening straights, I assumed that this meant the grindstone catalogued by Knight. The discrepancy arose when I found this article which describes twelve prolific layers (whereas Knight has it as limited) of very hard (whereas Knight says not too hard) and valuable stone, including amongst them the best grindstones and whetstones in the world. History, gazetteer, and directory of ... - Google Books

So now I'm not sure whether I should be looking for one stone from the Bilston area or more? I like the sound of the best whetstones in the world, but my OCD demands that I need to know exactly what I'm looking for.

Regards,
Alex