Thread: I Found It Over There

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Not to be snooty but diorite and granite are very different. Their formation is similar as far as where they come from and method but while granite is quartz, feldspar and mica diorite is mostly dark plagioclase feldspar with very little quartz or mica. Once the quartz and mica increases it's really a different rock.Also diorite can vary quite a bit. Diorite is a very hard rock and is difficult to work with.

I'll bet you didn't know the code of Hammurabi was carved on diorite.

Up to date iam researching i bit in my region in Germany. Near Lindenfels which is in Hessen in Older Literature they wrote that very good whetstones have been quarried there, comparable to the ones which were quarried in Milan. So if these were ever brought to light there i am shure we talk about some coarse stones. Interestesting thing is that up to date nobody knows about them. A request to the city hall and the museum did not deliver any information....

The region here is named the crystaline Odenwald which contains a lot of different minerals mostly no slate, so in general not a good area for looking up stones for honing....I got a reply from a geologist here and he told me that he is quite shure that i am searching for "Corundum" Rocks, as these occur in certain areas in our region. He named these as dark black stones...

Also in our region there are a lot of layers of Granite and Diorite which are mixed up with Matamorphites. These Metamorphites are named as "Slate Chains" here, they contain a lot of different minerals like marble, mica-slate, graphite quazite, etc..

So i will just have a look around if any of these minerals might be useful when it comes to honing. as mentioned these are probably coarser stones. Also Quartz Diorites are minerals which are around in masses, if anybody is interested here is a Link to the Felsenmeer which is like a big sea of big Stones ;-)

Felsenmeer (Lautertal) – Wikipedia

@thebigspendur:
what do you think ? Might quartz diorite usable in thinking of honing ?

This one does make a axe shave hair.
But I would say it's prefinishing for razors once I flatten it.
I think it's a sweet looking rock it kind of fits my thumb.
People may have used it has a bashing tool long long ago.
It's also a little odd where I found it.
It was found in a place where if It was always there it should have gotten hit by the
lawn mover.

Split it in two with a tile saw and lap it...bet its a hard stone!

I always use the brute force method. Try it and see and then try another and another. I don't have science with me to figure it all out so this is what I can do to solve the question of will it hone or not. So I am totally with Dennis on this one, cut it, lap it, try it!

Originally Posted by doorsch

Up to date iam researching i bit in my region in Germany. Near Lindenfels which is in Hessen in Older Literature they wrote that very good whetstones have been quarried there, comparable to the ones which were quarried in Milan. So if these were ever brought to light there i am shure we talk about some coarse stones. Interestesting thing is that up to date nobody knows about them. A request to the city hall and the museum did not deliver any information....

The region here is named the crystaline Odenwald which contains a lot of different minerals mostly no slate, so in general not a good area for looking up stones for honing....I got a reply from a geologist here and he told me that he is quite shure that i am searching for "Corundum" Rocks, as these occur in certain areas in our region. He named these as dark black stones...

Also in our region there are a lot of layers of Granite and Diorite which are mixed up with Matamorphites. These Metamorphites are named as "Slate Chains" here, they contain a lot of different minerals like marble, mica-slate, graphite quazite, etc..

So i will just have a look around if any of these minerals might be useful when it comes to honing. as mentioned these are probably coarser stones. Also Quartz Diorites are minerals which are around in masses, if anybody is interested here is a Link to the Felsenmeer which is like a big sea of big Stones ;-)

Felsenmeer (Lautertal) – Wikipedia

@thebigspendur:
what do you think ? Might quartz diorite usable in thinking of honing ?

As I recall the term Felsenmeer is translated into English means "block city" which refers to weathering effects on certain rocks that have similar structure so they weather the same and develop a look that would make you think someone planted all these rocks there on purpose but it is a natural phenomena. In the U.S good examples can be found in Acadia National park in Maine.

I personally don't think Quartz in general is good for honing if you mean razors and the same for Diorite. Quartz is the most common rock/mineral out there and it comes in many many forms and can be found in all rock types. Of course I'm no honing expert. For axes or large instruments most anything can be used and has been used.

Like the guys have said if you find something and want to experiment just use it and see what happens.

My own "super hard perhaps diorite" stone has some interesting results when you use a slurry stone from the Thuringian bout I got the other day. The slurry turns almost to talc when you have finished honing, and the razor I tested was passing the HHT Directly from the hone without needing any stropping at all.

If anything those diorites in your area may do the same. It's a very hard rock that takes a good polish. So as a neutral stone for use with a slurry that you want to break then you might be on a winner.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

As I recall the term Felsenmeer is translated into English means "block city" which refers to weathering effects on certain rocks that have similar structure so they weather the same and develop a look that would make you think someone planted all these rocks there on purpose but it is a natural phenomena. In the U.S good examples can be found in Acadia National park in Maine.

I personally don't think Quartz in general is good for honing if you mean razors and the same for Diorite. Quartz is the most common rock/mineral out there and it comes in many many forms and can be found in all rock types. Of course I'm no honing expert. For axes or large instruments most anything can be used and has been used.

Like the guys have said if you find something and want to experiment just use it and see what happens.

Yea I found out quartz is horrible by trying it on a cheap knife that belongs to my job. It can make stuff sharp you don't care about but some times big pieces of stone break of the surface making it cut rougher till the surface is smooth again. So it be horrible for anything you care about.

I have a piece of local metamorphosed quartzite that I've been working on that shows promise.

Originally Posted by Iceni

My own "super hard perhaps diorite" stone has some interesting results when you use a slurry stone from the Thuringian bout I got the other day. The slurry turns almost to talc when you have finished honing, and the razor I tested was passing the HHT Directly from the hone without needing any stropping at all.

If anything those diorites in your area may do the same. It's a very hard rock that takes a good polish. So as a neutral stone for use with a slurry that you want to break then you might be on a winner.

Thats the Diorite Conglomerate we have in our region its very mixed up and has a huge amount of Quartz, the black spots are Corundum....as mentioned before there seems to be formations which are less conglomerated and these are nearly only Corundum...i did not found them up to date...

https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2903/...cc67ff_c_d.jpg

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5586/...26e105_c_d.jpg

https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2906/...a25d6e_c_d.jpg

No it's not a conglomerate. Conglomerate is a sedimentary rock consisting of distinct rocks that have been cemented together. Usually the smallest pieces run around 2mm and can go up to 20mm or more. it's also called puddingstone. I never heard of Diorite Conglomerate and of course Diorite isn't a sedimentary rock.

The rock above looks like Quartz to me with other stuff mixed in.

No such thing as metamorphosed Quartzite. Quartzite is metamorphosed sandstone so it's just Quartzite.