Thread: Arkansas stone Opinions please!

I have recently obtained this Arkansas stone by Lapport Record.
It is unused but while researching it I found out it was an oil stone.
I have read of people cleaning oilstones & using them for razors.
So would this be fine to use as a water stone as it has had no oil on it & is quite fine, finer than my Aloxite?


larger picture
http://www.taylors1000.com/ebay_page...sas/Image5.jpg

Thanks for any help.

There are two camps here. Those that say the Arkansas stones are not razor stones, and there is me.

I use a Col. Conk, white surgical and it gives me great results. So I say use it, but remember that they are slow cutters. I usually start with 100 laps and test, 50 test, etc.

Once you go oil you never go back. I do not think, but and not a guru, that using water on the surface instead of oil would harm the stone. I would NOT soak it I would sprinkle it though.

Do you know the grit approximation for the stone?

Good luck.

Thanks for your reply

I don’t know what the grit size is but its like icing sugar.
I suspected it would be ok for razors as tools & knives are made of steel.
Cheers

It appears to be an Arkansas stone marketed by Solingen knife maker Ges Geschutz. From the looks of it and your description I would guess it would be somewhere around 1000 grit. It could be used on razors for bevel setting but would probably be slow compared to other options.

The finest grit Arkansas stones are black or translucent grey. The Norton branded translucent is said to be 4000 grit.

Just my 2 cents.

Arkansas stones are natural stones and as such, cannot be assigned a specific grit size. The can be used with either water or oil, but once you use oil, you must continue with oil as it will actually get into the stone and prevent water from wetting the surface.

They are not, however, water stones; the water (or oil) serves only as a lubricant to prevent metal particles from clogging the stone and does not form a slurry.

The stones themselves are essentially pure silica and have various levels of hardness. The hardest are the translucent stones. The one in your photograph appears to be a softer variety. The harder the stone, the slower they tend to cut and the more polished the edge produced. The hard translucent stones will work fine as a hone, but will take a very long time to sharpen a dull blade.

The hone seems to come from here Schleifscheiben - Schleifsteine Lapport Schleifmittel AG
but probably some time ago. The Label is quite old fashioned. Maybe around 1920 or 1930
"Ges. Geschützt" means protected by law, btw (the trademark in this case)

I like them both as great finishers. This kind as well as the translucent kind.
Using them with water is just allright for these hones.
As the surface is really pretty dense, it might pearl off, even if they are not oily. A bit of detergent helps.

Originally Posted by matt321

It appears to be an Arkansas stone marketed by Solingen knife maker Ges Geschutz.

Ges. geschuetzt is short for gesetzlich geschuetzt which is roughly equivalent to registered trademark. Lapport is the manufacturer in this case.

Oil tends to gunge up the pores. You can easily put them in a dishwasher or boil them in water with baking soda which will remove the oil. I did that to my Arkansas hones when I found them to become even slower due to the oil and swarf residues.

Thanks everyone for their comments.
If anyone wants it please PM me.
Tony

Flatten the stone and try nit dry. I have one of a similar ilk and it is great as a first stage hone in a set. Mine would fit to about 6k grit.

PuFF

Originally Posted by 0livia

The hone seems to come from here Schleifscheiben - Schleifsteine Lapport Schleifmittel AG
but probably some time ago. The Label is quite old fashioned. Maybe around 1920 or 1930
"Ges. Geschützt" means protected by law, btw (the trademark in this case)

I like them both as great finishers. This kind as well as the translucent kind.
Using them with water is just allright for these hones.
As the surface is really pretty dense, it might pearl off, even if they are not oily. A bit of detergent helps.

1. Thanks for the correction to my bad assumption on the labeling.

2. Given the the transulcent is very slow I often wonder how it would compare with the Chinese 12K as a finisher. I have a Norton branded translucent but I've never tried it on razors.