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Quartz, as Silicon Oxide, is what novaculite is made of, and the abrasives that most natural stones contain, are the harder silicate minerals.
There is a distinction between quartz crystals, from...

Those are uchigumori pieces, I'm not sure if it's rockhounding. But most of the Jnats on ebay are obviously collected this way, and of course sold in the prices of the vintage flawless ones.

Looks beautiful though.

No, I didn't. 150$ is a lot of money for a random piece. And, even if it were as good as a Charnley, "counterfeited" Charnleys would be a problem. Soon GIA will have to start offering certificates...

The stone looks like an actual Charnley stone.

So, I was searching the bay for stones, and as usual, I found someone selling an Asian inkstone as a "sharpening stone". And I love their...

There is Novaculite around there from what I saw, don't spend your time on stones that are able to scratch a spoon, search for actual Charnley stones. And, you don't have to have one, look at some...

It doesn't look like a classic Charnley stone. Is it novaculite? For the scratch pattern, I'm sure it contains abrasive material, but is it suitable for honing?

What I have observed about natural stones in countries who quarry and sell them is, when a country is famous for its woodworkers like Japan, or/and has a heavy steel industry like UK. Those two by...

You are welcome, but it's Mr Henk who did all the work. And, if you happen to find any stones, I'd appreciate it very much if you could get one for me too. Shipping and lapping on me.

http://bosq.home.xs4all.nl/info%2020m/grinding_and_honing_part_3.pdf page 19.

There is still a lot of stone available in the Charnwood forest, but the quarry is in private property. And, quite small, I don't think you'll find "Charnleys" just from walking in the forest.

Granite contains silicon oxide, and has been used for many ages as a sharpening stone. Even today, I have seen sharpening wheels made from granite.
Limestone doesn't work, and when you find a...

I also remember reading somewhere about the process used in ancient Egypt about gold refining, and gold was found next to quartz veins. But gold is boring! I want hones!

For me, I take them on a shop that cut and sell marble and granite. They always do it for free :beer1:
For lapping, I have some 1.5m/6ftx20cm/8" pieces of sandpaper. Piece of cake to flatten when...

Finding stones is not difficult at all. Really. Silicon oxide is the most common substance on earth's crust, and what makes stones cut.
For me, I have found many stones, and I'm talking about...