Thread: Colorado sandstone hone

it seems to do that thing sandstone does by losing grit particles steadily but they are tiny enough it is easily cleaned up on my SB ark.cuts similar to a Smiths washita but just a bit different .

Sandstone is quartz so the stuff is pretty hard and depending on how friable it is and how large the particles are that will be the key to what it does.

No clue on that stone, but I've got three that are a little different than that. One is very porous and coarse (as were vintage sandstones use as grindstones), another is a queer creek stone, and the third is some unidentified hindostan looking hone.

I think sandstones in general are a notch and a half below novaculite where it comes to fine stones (and they were sold as such), but if you have one that has action you like and it fits in a progression, then that's about all you have to worry about (that it works).

Very interesting. So it is a natural bevel setter possibly? Or is it finer than that?

Originally Posted by Steel

Very interesting. So it is a natural bevel setter possibly? Or is it finer than that?

It seems to cut smoothly ,however it certainly doesn't cut smoothly enough to put above the standard hard Ark .so if I plan to use it it appears to fall after my bevel cutter and just before a standard hard Ark in a progression .disappointing in a way.oh well I'll keep messing with it.cheers -cam-

Other than the two fine sandstones that I have, I noticed that the coarse stones are less unform in cutting than a novaculite/washita/ark stone, and they will leave some deep scratches. The particles are either a bit pointier and sharper feeling, or they are tired (if allowed to burnish) and don't do a lot.

The coarse ones are porous and it's a challenge to keep them lubricated, too. The fine ones do well enough, but are a little slower and less even than arks.

In the days of the diamond hone, though, you can wake up about anything and make it useful one way or another.

Looks like it came from close to Canon City, Colorado. I'll have to poke around the next time I'm down that way. There is a climbing area close to their quarry that I used to frequent.

Bluesman, do you think it is from Colorado? The label looked ambiguous..

Originally Posted by Pringr

Bluesman, do you think it is from Colorado? The label looked ambiguous..

I do think it's from Colorado. I followed some of the company names from the bay and they do have a quarry in Canon City CO. There is a lot of sandstone in that area.