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I bought this stone off ebay; it was nearly black with oil and dirt, but cleaned up nicely. Very hard and smooth, it dished my Norton lapping stone a bit. It appears to be a natural stone and was labeled only "GERMANY". Color is light yellow with darker tan inclusions. Any ideas? It's not novaculite nor do I believe it is a coticule. PAttachment 97430Please excuse the poor photo; I haven't posted photos in a while and I am very rusty
Are you sure its a natural stone? was it stamped on it Germany? close up pics? sides? slurry?
I am as certain as I can reasonably be that it is a natural stone: GERMANY is stamped on one side; nearly white slurry is very difficult to raise with a DMT 325 card
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a400/episaacs/001.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a400/episaacs/002.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a400/episaacs/004.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a400/episaacs/005.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a400/episaacs/006.jpg
She looks nice. What did you clean her up with ?
Dawn detergent, hot water and a Norton lapping hone and a lot of elbow grease LOL
The last few pictures make me think of hindostan but i dont see any layerings on the sides that is always a conclusive identification of this type of stone, and then we have the "Germany" stamp?
It's an Arkeram. A synthetic made from novaculite powder.
I have a small hone about that color, very smooth but hard as hell. Spent an hour+ and 4 sheets 400 grit w/d on a peice of 1/4" thick glass trying to lap it but didn't work. I finally bought a 325 DMT, that did the job. Later I was told it was ceramic.
it looks like a stained synthetic most synthetic will slurry white
So, there seems to be no clear consensus on this one. The taste of the pudding is in the eating, I suppose, so I'll need to put it throught its paces and see what emerges.
So, any verdict yet?
The strange thing about these Arkeram stones is that nobody, anywhere, appears to have used one and then written anything about the experience. Are we seeing a sinister global conspiracy of silence, or an incredibly underwhelming hone?
