Thread: Found this at an estate sale

The designation "back in the day" was Hard Arkansas for a Norton Translucent. They didn't have all of the names we do today- soft, hard, translucent, ect. Some of the stones we call Surgical Black were sold as touch stones to jewelers. Many people see "Hard Arkansas and don't understand if it is Norton or Pike then it is most likely a "translucent". It's all kinds of confusing.

So in other words your stone would be what we call a translucent Arkansas today and nothing like the Hard Arkansas designation of today as it will be capable of a very fine edge. Nice score!! Especially for $2!!!! Even $20 would have been a good deal.