Thread: Can anyone ID this hone?

Next to glasses for size comparison. I've had it for a while and use it for sharpening kitchen knives mostly.

Bought it for about $5 on local classifieds.

Seller had a bunch of them and said they were 'surgical hones.' I was / am skeptical but I figured for $5, what the heck?

It feels like ceramic. VERY porous. Absorbs water real fast.

Also very smooth - Less smooth-feeling than my Apart, but smooth.

But it seems that the smoothness degrades rather easily and there are rough patches. Not sure how to correct that. Maybe high grit sandpaper?

At any rate I clearly don't think this is of surgical quality. But I'm not convinced it was a bad buy. Thoughts?

Right off the bat, I'd say we need more pics... bottom, sides. Does it have saw marks? Does it slurry? Pics of slurry. Region of the country in which it was purchased?

Sandycrack

Originally Posted by Sandycrack

Right off the bat, I'd say we need more pics... bottom, sides. Does it have saw marks? Does it slurry? Pics of slurry. Region of the country in which it was purchased?

Sandycrack

Purchased in Utah. The back looks the same as the front. No saw marks. No slurry.

It is about LxWxH: 7 in x 6 in x 1/4 in

I can post more pics this evening.

Edit: for all I know this is just a piece of unglazed tile or something. *shrug*. Maybe not even a hone!

Does it show layers on the side?

Originally Posted by shooter74743

Does it show layers on the side?

No sir it does not.

Rules out Hindostan.

Looks like a tile to me, or some man made ceramic.

Originally Posted by FAL

Looks like a tile to me, or some man made ceramic.

Yup.

It polishes ok for knives but I'm not sold on it for SR's.

Either way, it is *clearly* not a surgical instrument hone.

Some better photos might help, probably a hard ark or synthetic.

Back in the day surgical instruments were honed on Arks, probably were the term Surgical Black Ark came from.

From BEST Sharpening Stones website. Arkansas Black Surgical Sharpening Stone

"The Black Arkansas stone was traditionally used to sharpen dental tools and scalpels. The Black Arkansas stone will put a razor sharp edge on all knives and tools."

Am sure they used Lilly Whites and Tranlucents as well.

Clean it with some Simple Green.

It needs to be cleaned for sure but the stone just absorbs everything I have put on it. Does Simple Green excel at cleaning such materials?

I have a small pocket translucent Arkansas hone and this is definitely different. My Arkansas hone is stupid easy to clean. Swarf just gets sucked right into this stone though. Water is absorbed slowly if at all into my Arkansas, but incredibly quickly into this stone. It's like the pores of this material are just huge and anything / everything gets sucked right in.

Perhaps its a different kind of Arkansas?