My dad's old honing stone

What is ya'lls opinion on this old hone? It was my dad's and I tried to use it on some old pocket knives and found it to be damn near useless with them, seemed to be that it was too fine for those needs. Then I got the bug for a straight razor and I remembered it. I don't know how coarse it is, I just know it takes forever and a day to get an edge started. I used it on one of the razors I recently recieved after lapping it some, I know it wasn't quite enough but it still helped, and well for the final edge I think it worked almost gloriously, as I wasn't qiute sure what to expect. I think it's Arkansas stone, I say that because he got it while we lived in Louisiana. By the by, it's about 5'' by 2 1/2''. See if this works...

Looks like a Smith's Hard Arkansas. Some guys use them on razors followed by a lot of stropping. I would lap it smooth and flat before you try it on a razor.

Yeah, looks like an arkansas to me as well. If you really want to use it for sentimental value or something, then by all means go for it. But if your looking for an effective stone, there are other options that will make honing a lot easier for you.

p.s. if it is an arkansas stone it will take a loooooong time to lap.

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Originally Posted by Russel Baldridge

p.s. if it is an arkansas stone it will take a loooooong time to lap.

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Yes they do! And they frequently have really hard veins that tend to chip a very fine edge. Painful after all of the work required to get to that point.

You are most definitely right about taking a while to lap, it's some tough rock, and thanks for the bit about the hard veins, I wouldn't have ever thought about that either. Guess I better start looking for some stones, though I will still play with this one with one of my "practice" razors.

There are those smaller size dmt plates online for less than $20. diamond plates can really shave the lap time on novacs