I'm wondering if some of the experts might be able to weigh in with an ID on this stone? It is very "dished" and would require a fair amount of work to get usable so I wanted to see if it was worth my time?
Thanks in advance!
Attachment 76540
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I'm wondering if some of the experts might be able to weigh in with an ID on this stone? It is very "dished" and would require a fair amount of work to get usable so I wanted to see if it was worth my time?
Thanks in advance!
Attachment 76540
With all that oil on it, it's hard to tell. You will need to lap it some so that we can see the actual stone, then post some new pics.
can you post a pic after it was cleaned up and lapped?
From the pic it is hard to tell if this is the actual color of the stone.
With that much residue on it I would guess and call it an Arkie.
I actually haven't bought it yet. It was in need of a fair amount of work and didn't want to pick it up unless it was worth it.
How much are they wanting for it? I know price is relative, but I too would have to say it's more than likely a Arkansas stone used for knives as Kelly mentioned. There are better stones for razors.
If you are just starting to learn to hone, naturals really aren't the way to go anyways as each and every stone is different. This is why we recommend the synthetics like Norton, Naniwa, and Shaptons as they are quite consistent and you can ask advice on a particular stone and someone can be specific with your questions.
If memory serves me it was $10 or $15. I passed on it initially, but wanted to know if it was worth going back.
I have a set of Naniwas, a few shaptons, and some old barber hones already. Nothing like this though which is why I wanted to know a bit more.
Man oh man, if that's novaculite with that swayback, someone really bore down on thousands of knives to get it that worn.
Good luck to those who can see anything usefull from this picture.
Clearly a CF. Undoubtedly!!!!
What you are asking is akin to showing me a picture of a garage, telling me there is a car inside then asking me what car is in there. Not to knock you, but do think to yourself 'am I really providing people with any info at all?' You haven't even provided the sizes or a guess given you are the only one who has seen it. Is it 10 inches long, 12, 5? That could be a coticule for all I know.
Then is it worth your time? Well how busy are you? Only you can answer that. Just a few factors you may want to consider before you decide: Are you a top solicitor charging $500 an hour? Do you have a family and virtually no free time? I could go on. Really. Do me a lemon.
If I were to guess, I would say a Arkansas stone of unknown grit & would bet that it's not a finisher, which is what I am sure you were looking/hoping for.
My apologies, glad to elaborate as best I can. If what the information I’m providing is insufficient, please feel free to let me know that an ID is not possible. The stone is approximately 10” by 2” in size. Dark black in color and very, very smooth to touch. Feels like glass. (maybe because it was used with oil)Quote:
Originally Posted by Scipio
As far as “worth my time”, what I meant was is this worth spending hours trying to get flat. If I pay say $15 for a stone and have to spend hours getting it useable only to find out it’s a common stone that can be found in better shape for the around the same price I wouldn’t bother buying it. Additionally, if it is a stone that produces the same edge as say an naniwa 8k or another stone in the middle of a progression, well I’m not really gaining anything by having. However, if this was a finishing stone that was unique or desirable maybe it would be worth going through the trouble to lap.
Again, I appologies if my description, photo or initial ambiguity makes this unable to ID. I just figured it was worth a shot.
Thanks to everyone for their comments.
Often you will find that natural hones are very simmilar to razors. It is labour of love simmilar to restoring straights. I have many hones and my partnership to them usualy developed during these hours of lapping and hoping that under the muck is the diamond. Do not be shy and take a chance. Good luck. Remember to show pictures and smiling grinn.
It is unlikely you'll need to spend hours lapping it before a positive ID can be had on the stone, unless it is an unknown specimen. You could use oven cleaner to remove the grease then coarse loose sandpaper to remove remaining grime to reveal the stone's surface. If you can not identify it, then that would be the stage to post pics. Then lap it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Obiwan
Sometimes it is nice to have different stones in your arsenal for different razors or problem razors. They are alternative methods of tackling which sometimes yield better results on some razors. Another point is that a Naniwa 8K and a certain natural of 8K level polish may arguably be the same, but the edge of the natural may be alot smoother.Quote:
Originally Posted by Obiwan
Well, I may buy this now just to settle my curiosity.
Heh, it'd be worth $15 to me to find out. Well, it was at one time anyway. I bought a very similar looking stone of eBay, in hopes that it was a bargain Turkey Oil stone or something exotic. It came in a similar box (but without a hinge), was a dark gray all over. I think I paid about $15 or $20 for it, shipped.Quote:
Originally Posted by Obiwan
When it arrived, it reeked of oil, and was just filthy. I cleaned it with several scrubbings with Dawn dish soap, and started to notice a yellow tinge. I lapped it for over an hour with a huge DMT XX Coarse perforated lapping plate, it was really tough. It turned out to be a man-made oil stone, and terrible for razors. Pictures of the lapped stone are below. It looks like it's made out of pressed sawdust or something, but it's extremely hard.
In the picture of your prospective stone, I see a similar yellow tinge running along the edge where the stone meets the box. That's what made me think of my stone. My guess could be completely wrong, but I think when lapped it will reveal itself to look like the man made oil stone below. Just a guess.
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j2.../Mystery01.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j2.../Mystery02.jpg
I have an old Norton Oil stone (fine) that looks very similar to that, box and all....
I don't think that's a man-made stone, It looks like a Washita to me?Quote:
Originally Posted by FatboySlim
Well, I assumed it was man made because it sort of disintegrated when I took it out of the box. And the edge bevel at the bottom struck me as machine made, like out of a mold. I don't know. Here's a photo of the underside:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j2.../Mystery03.jpg
It is natural stone very hard and unbelievable fast cutting stone.
approximately grit will be above 4k.Quote:
Originally Posted by FatboySlim
I have to agree with Sham and previous colleague. Washita. Good job done cleaning and lapping it.
I've never heard of a Washita disintegrating from coming out of a box. My money's on artificial.
I thought this looked like a Washita oil stone too. I have one that looks just like it but a different size. You did an excellent job cleaning it up. I know how bad they can get. Mine was given to me by an old blacksmith.Quote:
Originally Posted by FatboySlim
I also think that the stone in the OP is most likely an Arkansas. I've seen quite a few old Arkies that were dished from decades of heavy use that looked almost identical. It blows my mind that a stone that hard gets so much use as to get dished to that extent. I can imagine it must have been used every day for many, many years. That being said you can not know with certainly until it's cleaned up. It could turn out to be a Crystolon hone or something else not really suitable for straights. For $15 or $20 it wouldn't be a high risk venture so why not, It's one more tool in the cabinet.
Sean
