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A 26kg, yes a 57lb hand quarried sharpening stone!
A couple of months ago a relative told me he had run across a man selling sharpening stones while on vacation. He said he was going to call me but forgot about it. I was pretty upset about it, as all my family knows I like to collect sharpening stones. His saving grace was that he liked it so much he was going back to visit places he had missed. He said he would be close to the town and would go back to the spot that had the stones. I gave him a good guilt trip and told him I would give him money ahead of time. He declined and told me to pay him after.
Two weeks ago I got the call I was waiting for. Only problem was that he was not to be seen but that asking around one of the locals, a butcher knew his phone number. I told him to buy the biggest stone he could get. Two days later he said he had purchased the biggest stone he had and gave me his number.
Tuns out the guy is really cool and told me that the stones are quarried by hand and shaped by hand with a chisel. He said the stones have been sold by one family for over 60 years and that he only sells locally to butchers and few highend chefs that have seeked him out word of mouth. He was proud of that fact and even gave me the number to a chef that had used them on Japanese knives. Needless to say I was impressed and called the chef. In talking stones and knives he stated he had over 20 Japanese knives and used Shapton stones on them. He stated that was his first natural stone but liked it very much as it was highly recommended by one of his coworkers. He said his favorite thing about it was the size and that it worked like a japanese stone in that he made slurry to start and then finished it with plain water. He even stated that it left a finish better than his 5k stone, closer to his 8k but not quite. He even stated it was his go to stone using it 90% of the time.
Next day I was called and was floored when when he told me how much it weighed. A little over 26kgs, yes thats over 57 pounds! I could not believe it but I did say to buy the biggest one! Lol I have a few pictures I can look at and share until it gets here. When wet it has a nice yellow color!Attachment 285974Attachment 285975 Size is in cm(32cmX25cmX12.5cm)thats 12 5/8 X10X5 inches! I have a few big knives and two machetes I can't wait to try them on! Hope it arrives in one piece, fingers crossed.