Thread: Fake washita stones.

I know that a lot of companies marked soft arkansas stones as washita stones so I was wondering if they only used soft arkansas as fake washita stones.

All three of these stones are marked washita. I'm sure the top stone is a authentic washita but I'm not sure about the bottom two.

A few more pics

Why do you think they are fakes?

They are natural stones and will each cut uniquely depending on the composition and how they are lapped or cleaned. A Washita is a soft Ark/Noviculite stone, different mines and distributors did and still do use very different naming and classification of the variety of Ark stones.

They all look like they could be Washitas, to me.

I like the look of the last one, soak in Simple Green to clean lap on loose Silicone Oxide or Wet & Dry.

I'll second what Euclid said. The mottled one with pink in it is definitely an arkie of some sort. Looks like it has the entire Arkansas color spectrum in it - could be Washita, Soft, or Hard. You'll have to run a blade over it and see the action to figure out what it is exactly. But any of the 3 could come in the colors you see in that stone, or a mixture of them. The only ones that seem to have a definitive color are the Hard Black stones. Even Translucents have variations of white, yellow, brown, and pink. Some reading material for ya:

Novaculite 101

Stone Grades 101

I'll third it. If you go to ebay and do a search for 'washita oilstone' you'll find quite a few mottled examples. Back in the '70s/80s I had an old Buck, and an old Smith's IIRC that were very dark and mottled. I notice that even the two Pike 'Lilly White' listed aren't white.

They were white when they were new though. Old stones often have rancid oil and swarf causing extreme coloration changes. Occasionally a clean Washita might have a pinkish/red tint in places - these were christened "Rose Red" or "Rosy Red" grade and is likely slight iron oxide contamination. The rust color on used stones is often oxidized embedded steel. The only other coloration usually visible in some stones is when they have speckled black dots sprinkled throughout.

I take my Washitas and soak them in Simple Green (and add a dishwasher tablet) in a heated ultrasonic cleaner when I get a new one - they go from looking the same as or even worse than those above to nearly pure white after a day or two in the bath.

There is also some slight overlap in Washita and Soft Arks - the densest Washita and the least dense Soft Arks are right about in the same area in terms of porosity.

I was always told that Washita stones came from a certain mine and olny certain companies had access to that mine. I was also told that the best way to identify Washita is that it is basically a fast cutting high grit stone. One of these stones dose just that and the others dont ( but of course every stone is different).

so all of these stones are marked Washita stones with brands from (right to left) smith's, buck, hand written note, world's finest sharpening stones. So after everything I've been taught the Smits is for shure a soft arkansas and I figured that the others where the same but I wasn't sure (except for the world's finest sharpening stones washita)

The two on the right look like possible candidates to me. The other two I agree don't look like (original, real) Washitas. Many places these days apparently are using whatever they can find of lower density novaculite and calling it Washita, from what I've seen others say that have had old Washita and new. The new stuff I have heard people say it's crumbly and friable - my old vintage Washita stone shows a little of this behavior but not a whole lot - mostly only on very narrow items like ¼" wide chisels.

However, the only set definition is the density (specific gravity) - so if it's novaculite and it is of the proper density, who's to say. I have seen mention of the older stones hardening after drying out, so maybe they used to be like the new ones sold today. No way to know for sure.

Originally Posted by aaron1234

so all of these stones are marked Washita stones with brands from (right to left) smith's, buck, hand written note, world's finest sharpening stones. So after everything I've been taught the Smits is for shure a soft arkansas and I figured that the others where the same but I wasn't sure (except for the world's finest sharpening stones washita)

On ebay right now there are listings with stones marked 'washita' that correspond to each one you have there and I don't think the sellers are mistaken. I have had them that looked just like the second from the left when brand new. Whether a Buck or a Smith's I don't recall (I've had both brands) and I'm pretty sure the Buck was probably a rebranded Smith. Talking 40 years ago or better.

Here are some vintage Pike/Norton. The very bottom one is a lily white washita, and it ain't white. The next up is a soft arkansas and it is about white. I've had them that were sure enough white as snow years ago. (Buck or Smith). Above that the 'hard' are translucent, and black. Note that the boxes have the same label .... Hard Arkansas. From Norton's point of view I guess they were the same.

Like any stone call it what they want, it either is a good hone or it ain't. For Washita, and soft Ark I never used them on anything but pocket knives, and they were darn good for those. The hard Arks are for knives if I want to 'gild the lilly' or for razors if I want that kind of feel to the shave. Not saying that is the only way, but it is my way.