Thread: Question about burnishing Arkansas black

While, I suppose you could use your bock, I find that an edge of a long piece of steel works best, as it is easier to hold, apply more pressure by concentrating the pressure in a smaller spot.

A large carbon steel kitchen knife, of better yet and easier to hold and apply your body weight, a butcher’s cleaver. Work a small section at a time, (an inch or two) and proceed down the stone face, at a high angle about 45 degrees, to the stone face, over lapping the worked sections, then blend with long full length strokes.

The goal of burnishing is to smooth the stone face, by smoothing the tops of the grit.

A well use vintage stone will have had the same thing done, by having honed hard tool steel over years of time.

I am not aware of any good video of the process.