Thread: I Found It Over There

I had to google it. Cool spot. We all miss the boat from time to time. There will be other chances at other spots. Those rocks probably had fish poo on them anyway.

Originally Posted by salvat36

Reading this thread has got me wondering if there might be stone around me that's useful. I've been looking at purchasing my first set of hones but heck if I can find them instead that frees up more money for more razors!

With that said, does anyone have a link or source of info that gives a break-down of the type of rocks you want to look for. I know we have tons of shale and slate around here.

Most of us are just flying by the seat of our pants. If you look through the thread it kind of hits on points here and there of what we are looking for and what we have found. The short version is shale and slate. It needs to have some very very small crystals in it. It cannot have quartz inclusions or lines. The softer rock is easier to cut and lap and slurry. The things that are most sought after in hones is bevel setters and finishers. Bevel setters are very hard to come by. Finishers are hard to come by and the intermediates seem to be most of the rock. You are welcome to join in on the fun anytime. If you are just learning to hone you are better off with synthetics. Rockhounding however you can do at any point! Get your boots and a hammer and start looking.

Or stop by road cutouts and get them with flip flops, lol

I have to say, I love reading this Thread! Does anyone have a nice source on geological information? maps with what type of rock is where, that sort a thing

as a climber I see lime-, sandstone and granite, but I don't think those are going to work :P

The possibility of finding a bevel setter is probably better in sandstone than shale or slate. I doubt that you could make a hone out of granite. However I have to add that I'm no expert. Not on hones or geology.basically we are just looking more or less around the areas where we live and checking different rock and seeing if what we find is suitable for sharpening. You never know until you look is the basic pretense.

Granite contains silicon oxide, and has been used for many ages as a sharpening stone. Even today, I have seen sharpening wheels made from granite.
Limestone doesn't work, and when you find a stone, it usually looks like it can sharpen when holding it, but can't. It's also extremely difficult to flatten, worst than a Chinese stone or a hard Arkansas. The perfect waste of time.
For the sandstones, all of them work to some degree, but it's quite possible to have inclusions, or a bigger particle every now and then, that damages the edge. Good for sharpening, but the scratch pattern may not be as uniform as it should.
From all that talk, I missed my soon-to-be-hones stones I collected from an island I went last summer. The whole island was a single piece of SiO2 minerals. When my friends were swimming, I was collecting chunks from next to the beach. I ended up with so many, I was afraid to put them in the trunk of the car. And, as I was driving, my friends were holding them, stepping on them, and sitting on them, to distribute the weight evenly (they are great friends).
And, all of them are good stones, but they have a huge variation, I doubt I collected the same type twice.
When I cut and flatten them, I'll upload some photos.

It's not hard to find a stone, but it's hard to find a really good one. Good luck guys!

Originally Posted by salvat36

Reading this thread has got me wondering if there might be stone around me that's useful. I've been looking at purchasing my first set of hones but heck if I can find them instead that frees up more money for more razors!...

It is possible but not likely. And saving money only works if you don't count your time and other expenses.

OTOH, little squared-off rocks can be used for all sorts of decorating too. I mean heck, now that i can cut the stuff. I may dress up my stepping stones, and make other things from the rejects.

Best of luck.

Originally Posted by Bram

I have to say, I love reading this Thread! Does anyone have a nice source on geological information? maps with what type of rock is where, that sort a thing

as a climber I see lime-, sandstone and granite, but I don't think those are going to work :P

Have you considered the USGS? Welcome to the USGS - U.S. Geological Survey

Of course it's not easy to navigate the massive dotgov site (never is). I found maps of my area somewhere--shows maybe 7 shades of colors for my state, then the KEY for reading the color-coding is only 150 colors long with 27 shades of yellow, green, etc. Impossible to quickly determine anything.

I too would be interested in more "sharpening stone learning" but it appears to be a tiny side-show of the grand geological interests.

I'm not sure how to get back to it, but the multi-part work by the modern sellers of coticule is a good in-depth read.

It's kinda simple as i understand it. Find rock, slick off one side, test rock. Just have to find the right density of cutting particles of the right size held together tight enough but not too tightly by the rest of the rock, with good purity.

Simple, not easy. But the more of us there are poking and scratching around out there, the more likely it is we hit on something. Not likely to be a world market concern, but maybe a lifetime supply for a fella and his pals and possibly others who are brave enough to slap razor to wild-caught stones.

Here's something i surfed up: http://lumberjocks.com/Daren/blog/2835 (the forum version same guy, with discussion: http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f11/s...ake-them-2411/)

My rejects are part of the weed barrier under my shrubs and the really small pieces get used for drainage in the bottom of flower pots. They are hell on lawn mower blade when they get lost in the grass though!

I'm so tempted to go have a look in charnwood forest.... It's only about 30 miles from where I live...