Thread: Do you know what this stone is?

I have a hard natural stone that is sand coloured. It is an oil stone but after lapping, which was hard work and slow, I bought it done flat. It cuts with a good feel with water giving a fine finish, not the finest I have seen though. The darker bit in the middle is where the stone is flat but the used surface has not been fully removed to any depth.

The stone underneath is a scythe stone an a natural one at that. I thought it was some kind of emery or man made because it glittered, but is obviously a natural, because of the banding.

This is a usb microscope picture of the sand coloured stone top is the lapped surface. The one underneath before lapping

I have just bought another stone very similar to this one, just a bit darker in colour. Anyway these stones look very like the couple of Washita No 1`s I have. Not the colour but the make up of the stone, when looked at under a loupe. Again a bit like my black Arkansas. The Pike Washita`s are translucent with banding in them. I assume the Arkansas stones do come in all sorts of colours and patterns
So is it a Arkansas, it is not a finisher as it leaves a matt surface, it cuts well.

The sand coloured stone looks and sounds like it could be an Arkansas but I haven't seen enough to know for sure.

I have a dark blue stone with similar banding albeit with less contrast from Germany but it doesn't have any glittering. I haven't seen one quite like that before afaik. Is it for sharpening or more for finishing?

Are you sure it's a natural? I ask this because I have a Norton Oilstone that physically looks like yours, 8x2x1. Mine is of a lower grit & honestly have not used it. I picked it up for knives.

I am almost positive that the first is a Arkansas Oil stone. It looks like a Washita or the coarser variety, which by there nature, is not as coarse and aggresive as other synthetic coarse stones.

I had a good look at my man made oil stones today under the loupe, and none of them look like this stone. Saying that I do not have that many man made oil stones. I would say that it is a natural. It looks very similar to the Washitas I have under the loupe, what made me question the stone is the colour. It smelled like natural stone when flattened on a belt sander. I just do not have a very wide experience with Arkansas stones which seem to come in a very wide range of appearance.

Piet, the other stone is a scythe stone and these were quarried or mined in many many areas worldwide and were used in huge numbers. I would say it is about 1000 grit, ish.

Hello woodwrightman;
I think you have a soft Arkansas with the first one. Attached pics of a couple of mine. The top one is a soft Arkansas the bottom one is considered a fine "surgical" Arkansas stone. Both are hard novaculite oil stones. I use mine on knives, not razors.
Mike