Thread: Tell me about your Arkansas stones

Originally Posted by stonehenge

I'm the guy that thinks the new arkansas stones with the exception of some of the translucents, are terrible quality compared to the old stones. If you ever get a chance to experience an old Pike or Norton compared to the new generic stones, the difference becomes obvious right away.

I have 6 black Arkansas stones. The new ones you get from Natural whetstones are only lightly polished. I have the 10 x 3. I rubbed it with a small black Arkansas stone to "glaze" or polish the stone. After many hours the stone is now getting a "shine" to it. I have an old blue/black Arky that I bought back in 1971 that was highly polished when I bought it. I flattened it one time and have used it on knives and razors with good results. Again, the new stones are rough.

Originally Posted by drwextra

I have 6 black Arkansas stones. The new ones you get from Natural whetstones are only lightly polished. I have the 10 x 3. I rubbed it with a small black Arkansas stone to "glaze" or polish the stone. After many hours the stone is now getting a "shine" to it. I have an old blue/black Arky that I bought back in 1971 that was highly polished when I bought it. I flattened it one time and have used it on knives and razors with good results. Again, the new stones are rough.

Polishing natural stones and even some synthetics does make a huge difference between mediocre and great. Plus I am a believer in vintage naturals being better, not because the stone has degraded over the last 100 years out of it's 100 million year old formation but because of the invention of synthetics. There was a booming city a few hours from me called Grindstone city that thrived on the natural whetstone industry, now it's a ghost town and the invention of synthetic abrasives is to blame. There are great whetstone material all around us, it's just cheaper to make synthetics than to cut up a mountain into tiny bricks.