Thread: Ebay Natural Mystery Hone finer and faster than Swaty

$16

This thing is hard as hell.
It grinds the Swaty with ease when the two are rubbed together.

I have NO IDEA where it came from.
It came off Ebay and the seller got it at an estate sale.
I can say that there were probably tools involved because it was listed under "Chisels" and since the seller was a woman, I doubt she looked at a stone and thought "Chisel"

anyway

It produces a edge comparable to or finer than fine side of three line Swaty.
It is a hazier edge.

I would place edge between Swaty and 1 micron diamond but much hazier than diamond
I am making these assertions after viewing edge through microscope at 150X

rockhound stuff
scratches with knife
scratches knife
luster
not quite waxy, only VERY SLIGHTLY waxy and it might be oil
(100+yo oil stone)


I understand that everyone is going to say "Arkansas" but as has been pointed out in another thread, there are sources OTHER than Arkansas for this sort of stone.
Based on age it could be from anywhere, could have come back from Japan.
Rockhounds go to war too you know. (I understand this is improbable but am just pointing out possible)
pics!

in box


lapping with 100 grit silicon carbide on glass


tried a razor but it was still rough



Slurry is white and hard to build
when lapped against Swaty it eats Swaty

didn't know how many pics per post so made new post

dry, all the rest are wet



one side is darker than the other



here you can see for sure that one side (the one that was used) is darker because the inclusions block the light



it almost looks like wood burl and reminds me of some Japanese stone I saw on ebay


the dark side that was used seems rougher


I chipped a piece and put it under the scope
sorry the pics aren't better



trying to show the crystals along the edge but I can't focus on the edge and surface at the same time

so since aluminum oxide cuts it, it must be quartz?
and the crystal structure seems very small
is that micro or cryptocrystaline?

What are the inclusions?

Ideas on origin? (if I can buy a 200yo rock from Belgium then I can buy a rock from anywhere)

so some kind of impure cherd?

why would it cut fast?
I know I've complained about Arkansas being sloooow on razors before, why is this different?



HAHA saw mention of turkey stone in other thread but it isn't how I found this
http://ammin.geoscienceworld.org/cgi...tract/87/4/405
Al2SiO5
and the article lists iron inclusion which would explain the coloring
it also talks about garnet, but I don'tknow what the hell I'm reading so I'll have to click 20 more links
this is the closest pic so far
http://geology.about.com/od/minerals...andalusite.htm

Those geological links are way over my head. On a practical level in my uninformed opinion the mystery hone must be coarser than the Swaty if it is cutting it fast.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Those geological links are way over my head.

mine too !!


my understanding of hones is that the shape of the "cutting agent" will affect the speed of cutting as well as depth
the garnets in coticule are larger than the cuts made would suggest

perhaps smaller but sharper "cutting agent"?

I'm """""" ing cutting agent because you can have soft stone with hard crystals to cut
sandpaper for example


wait a minute.... I'm using oil on this, water on swaty
wonder what the difference is
have to go try it dry

check pcture are they similar? took me 45 minute to lap this haven't finished yet? it seems like this is glass stone. next stone is translucent arkansas? let me know.
have you lapped yours?

Fun stuff for hone addicts!

Originally Posted by hi_bud_gl

check pcture are they similar? took me 45 minute to lap this haven't finished yet? it seems like this is glass stone. next stone is translucent arkansas? let me know.
have you lapped yours?

yes I have lapped the backside
after 1 hour on 400 grit on glass I had made less than 10 thousandths progress !!
Glad it was basically flat already.

I gave up on the dished side !!

"glass stone"?

I was gonna call it a
"USMC Drill Sergeant stone"
cause that is one hard sumbitch !!!!

I would say that our stones appear similar, with mine being darker.

Could you post more pics and where did you get it?

it is really hard to lap i did get tired that is why it is not lapped fully. it feels like glass. what type picture you like me to take?
i have no idea how when and from where i bought that hone. i know it does have it is original box and some label used to be on box .it is off already but you can see the old label location. Next to this stone is translucent arkansas similar color but without white dots.

it must be arkansas
oh well
never mind