Thread: Hone Identification?

Anyone know what this is? Washita Arkansas stone was all I could think of. It is 1/2" thick. Took last pic with flash to show contrast in it more clearly. Let me know want you think. Thanks.

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Hmmm, all the Washita hones that I have are a shade of white. On my computer screen, yours seems to be a bit of "pink" color.

Well, it "looks," kind of coti-ish in the pictures but I'm sure ,.since you mentioned arks that it does not look like it in person or feel like it as they are quite obviously different to the touch and feel.

That last pic looks kind of marble-y from the texture and composition. What do you know about the stone?

I have a vintage Pike Norton #1 Washita, it doesn't look like your photo.

I doubt it's a Coti because there's no backing.
Does it slurry?

Since I'm near sighted and color blind, I kinda' suck at identification, I shouldn't even comment, but it looks like a Les Lat Coticule to me. It doesn't need a backing to be a Coti. They can be really, really surprisingly hard. It seems to have a chalky vibe to it, not crystalline. Curiously, there are no tiny chips on the edges, which might offer a clue to it's identity. Does it smell muddy or earth when slurried with water.

I love a good hone ID thread. It's been a while since I've seen one here.

It's unlikely to be a Washita; it doesn't looks that much like one, and the thickness is off, they didn't come that thin really. It could be one that's been heavily worn and then flattened, but I doubt it.

My guess would be a Norton SB24 Soft Ark.

Originally Posted by STF

I have a vintage Pike Norton #1 Washita, it doesn't look like your photo.

I doubt it's a Coti because there's no backing.
Does it slurry?

Do you have the top of the box of that stone? And if so... might I see a picture of it?

(I'm trying to get a complete set of Norton natural stones from that era, in the cardboard boxes with triangles on them. And apart from the impossible-to-find 'Fastcut' Hindo, the No.1 Washita is the only type I don't have. In old Norton catalogues the bench stone No.1 Washita seems to have a slightly different look to the box than LWs, Hard and Soft Arks, and all the synths. But I'm not certain on that, so would be good to see it if you have!)

Originally Posted by cotedupy

Do you have the top of the box of that stone? And if so... might I see a picture of it?

(I'm trying to get a complete set of Norton natural stones from that era, in the cardboard boxes with triangles on them. And apart from the impossible-to-find 'Fastcut' Hindo, the No.1 Washita is the only type I don't have. In old Norton catalogues the bench stone No.1 Washita seems to have a slightly different look to the box than LWs, Hard and Soft Arks, and all the synths. But I'm not certain on that, so would be good to see it if you have!)

Sorry, I don't have a top, the box is pretty ratty, I got the stone from the Bay.
Here's some pics of what i do have but I don't suppose they will be of much use to you.

Originally Posted by STF

Sorry, I don't have a top, the box is pretty ratty, I got the stone from the Bay.
Here's some pics of what i do have but I don't suppose they will be of much use to you.

Many thanks for this Steve, and actually looking back at the catalogue your pics do tell me what I wanted to know...

You can see in the picture below from a 1935 Catalogue, that the No.1 appears to come in a different style box from the LW, that doesn't have triangles on it. Queer Creek's came in the same, though later they changed to a box that did.

And I didn't know whether the No.1 changed too, but clearly it did. People often seem to have thrown away the cardboard boxes that old Washitas came in, so I'd never actually seen a No.1 in the triangle box before yours.

Nice stone btw! One side of it looks almost unused, was it 'NOS' when you got?

Originally Posted by PaulFLUS

Well, it "looks," kind of coti-ish in the pictures but I'm sure ,.since you mentioned arks that it does not look like it in person or feel like it as they are quite obviously different to the touch and feel.

That last pic looks kind of marble-y from the texture and composition. What do you know about the stone?

Hey Paul!

Unfortunately I don't know too much. Came with some razor hones. No slurry. Seems pretty hard and fine. Not translucent at all. Haven't tried it out yet so I can't say how it does as a finisher.

Pic between a soft Ark and a trans Ark. Always looks darker in pictures. :/