Thread: "Turkey stone" quarry?

Recently I was looking on the internet for info on “Candia” stones which are quarried on Crete Island (Greece). I knew there are some business’s selling these stones at present.

I looked further and I came across a very interesting website which showed an actual whetstone quarry which I presume the “Candia” stones came from. But what surprised me is this:

Historical reports to the whetstones of Elounda begun from Homer (Iliad, raps. B, verse 649: cited as “Halkodaman akonan”) and they continued to exist up to the later Ottoman domination in the sightseers’ transcripts. In these documents the whetstones are presented, depending on the time period, as "Naxia stone" (Naxos was a city on the top of Oxa mountain), or as "Turkish Stone" or even as "stone of the East".

Was this one source of the famous “Turkey stone” in the past? It seems very likely!

The website is: www.elounda-village.gr/akoniaen.htm


Don’t forget to look at the photo gallery.

Looks just like the one I have from Sham, Stoned.
The one ClaviChord posted made me thinking, too.
Is there a hype breaking loose now?

Originally Posted by 0livia

Looks just like the one I have, Sham.
The one ClaviChord posted made me thinking, too.
Is there a hype breaking loose now?

what clavichord posted?do you have a link?

i think you are right it does look like stone which we have. i didn't check the side right. i thought he is talking about floor stones. at least i delete that message

LOL then I have to edit my message as well,
or it will look like I don't want to talk with Stoned!

The link to Fede's new hone is http://straightrazorpalace.com/basic...dia-stone.html

Your hone is different mine is most likely same as his. i check the pictures. yours is black with white dots looks like stars

well not quite. maybe a bit more since its very oily now, but when I lap it and remove the oil its much more grey.
The white inclusions are there and at the bottom some of the red/orange as well.

Did I say that I like it quite well?

Originally Posted by Stoned

[SIZE=3]In these documents the whetstones are presented, depending on the time period, as "Naxia stone" (Naxos was a city on the top of Oxa mountain), or as "Turkish Stone" or even as "stone of the East".

Was this one source of the famous “Turkey stone” in the past? It seems very likely!

I am Turkish and know that the oil stone that is still used in Turkey comes from the Crete island. So, Crete stone is indeed the famous Turkish oil stone. (Crete used to be a part of Ottoman empire for more than 300 years, so is the name)

The stone is brittle and quite soft, it has a light gray or beige color. Unfortunately, I was not able to find a decent stone. The ones that I saw were either very small or had imperfections (cracks, etc). I am told that the stone has to be put in a wood frame to prevent cracking during use (well, at least for wood working tools, which is the current use of the stones in Turkey) A second interesting point is that they are sold by kilos, not surface area

Originally Posted by kemerd

I am Turkish and know that the oil stone that is still used in Turkey comes from the Crete island. So, Crete stone is indeed the famous Turkish oil stone. (Crete used to be a part of Ottoman empire for more than 300 years, so is the name)

The stone is brittle and quite soft, it has a light gray or beige color. Unfortunately, I was not able to find a decent stone. The ones that I saw were either very small or had imperfections (cracks, etc). I am told that the stone has to be put in a wood frame to prevent cracking during use (well, at least for wood working tools, which is the current use of the stones in Turkey) A second interesting point is that they are sold by kilos, not surface area

Did you check Istanbul?

Here is the link to a Turkish online store that sells Girit (Crete) stone.

sanALýþveriþ Online Alýþveriþ Sitesi-19.5*8.5*4.5 CM GIRIT (YAG) TASI 2 KG

And, I know that big hardware stores in Istanbul also sell it. Price: 50TL (25€) per kg.


Unfortunately, they only ship to Turkey. As I am an expat, I asked a friend to buy one for me. I now have the stone. It is extremely hard and more grayish than black. So, I am not very sure whether this is the same "Turkish stone" that I mentioned before. The stone that I have is big and thick. But very roughly cut. I tried to lap it with 40grit, 80grit sand paper. But no luck, it is so hard that it seems that it would take days before I make a dent on its surface.

Any suggestions on how to lap this


Kemal