Thread: A 26kg, yes a 57lb hand quarried sharpening stone!

Hello AlienEdge,
Any old rock? If you look at pictures they are going for a specific vein. They have been at this mine for at least 60+ years. They had a cave in some years ago, and had to dig it all out to access the vein again. It takes a hour and a half to reach the quarry, so that material is not used for making anything but sharpening stones.
Those prices are in pesos so 1500 is about 83 U.S. dollars, not very expensive at all for a 57 pound stone. If you look at the picture with the two stones from Monterey those two smaller ones sell for 1500 pesos plus shipping. The bigger white one is about 800-1200 grit and the black one is 4000-5000. While the one from Oaxaca is 4000-6000 and cut much faster than the black one. So it has a good reputation by the locals so that is why he never advertises them. They have a word of mouth reputation. The stone collector said it was his favorite because it cut faster and was finer, not to mention much bigger and at a much lower price.
The seller has a regular job and sells stones on the weekends that is how my cousin found him. At a market stalls that only set up on the off days. So he works seven days a week. Every time we talk he usualy has to do something and then calls me back at a latter time. He said that the miner is his uncle by marriage and that is how he got into selling the stones.
Making a road to the quarry that takes a hour and a half to reach by foot up a mountain would be very expensive so that is out of the question. He stated when it rained it was not accessible to reach by foot so that tells me it is a steep road. I googled the area and they put the alevation from 1500m to 2500m. So that puts this mine at over a mile high.
I have many stones from around the world, I try to buy the best I can afford and have a good idea what to look for in a stone. I always wanted a sharpening stone from Mexico as it reminds me of my grandfather who sharpened his own knives, that got me first interested on this hobby. It reminds me of him and he was a great man that brings me closer to him.
I was very happy when I found this stone and just sharing my expirience. That is all.
Good day to all,
Israel

Originally Posted by AlienEdge

I have a few questions . When did just any rock become a hone ???? This guy is selling this rocks in Mexico to locals at those prices ???? He should be able to rent some equipment soon.

Hmm, this question seems a little silly. How exactly do you think every single natural hone in existence was found? People found the stone, they tried it out, and it worked. The prices seem pretty reasonable to me since they are in pesos, not USD.

I'm sure they will cost a lot more once retailers get the smaller cut down versions. Logistics, overhead, and markup make them more expensive.

Beautiful stone. Even if it isn't an awesome razor finisher, a good knife finisher is always good to have too.

Great pictures thanks. And the added info is quite interesting as well

That donkey doesn’t look all that happy though. But at least when he has a load on, he’s going down hill

Hello Toroblanco,
In 60 years no one has really heard of these stones or knows what the cutting properties are in them. It was by accident that some member of your family found them. You are writing as if you are real excited as if it is a great stone but you only have rumors about it from so called chefs. Chefs in a place with no roads. It sounds like some one is about to hype up a stone.
I could go to local businesses walk straight to the flower bed bordered by stones that are already lapped and say dirty Dave and the dead animal meat market swears by these stones. If you are interested they come with free shipping .

Originally Posted by eKretz

Hmm, this question seems a little silly. How exactly do you think every single natural hone in existence was found? People found the stone, they tried it out, and it worked. The prices seem pretty reasonable to me since they are in pesos, not USD.

Concrete works !! People in prisons use it every day for sharpening .

Sounds cool to me, don't be so negative!

Almost every place has some kind of sharpening stone - here in the East Tennessee region we have sandstones and some slate that can be used for sharpening but I doubt anyone outside the region has ever heard of them, and the stone has other uses too, just like the Welsh slates are used in construction, paving, and flower beds. People used a windowsill or porch step slate to sharpen their cutlery. And no one ever heard of the Apache strata or the Zulu Grey until they were discovered and marketed.

Double thumbs up to the stone hunters!

Cheers, Steve

I am glad you mentioned "Apache strata" because we have the stone in Texas. I was born in West Texas where there is lots of it and novaculite too! How ever if you add how dangerous it is to get the stone with the rattle snake, ants, cactus, and all that mess. The price goes up . It is a sells pitch. I think I see another sells pitch coming in the near future .

With all due respect to everyone involved here, all I read was a guy that was excited about a new stone he came into. Unless I missed something, I don't see a reason to believe he is posting here to start unloading stones.
Let's all take a deep breath and cut the excited guy some slack till he proves me wrong.

Enjoy playing with that huge stone and let us know what results you get.

This guy is thorough!



Utopian wasn't kidding about them resembling some of the Amakusa stones.