New old stone

[Tony Zaffuto]

At this past weekend's PATINA gathering, I picked up another old stone. Before I get to it, I'll tell the tale of what I passed. I saw about a dozen stones in boxes, mostly marked at either carborundum, india and one as arkansas (newish stone such as a Garret Wade type). I passed on a box of slips, as being too pricey, with most appearing man-made. I looked at, and went back about 3 times to find a compelling reason to pick up what appeared to be a washita in a fairly decent box. Problem was it was about 1-1/4" wide by about 8" long by about 1" thick, with the bottom very rough/dished. Price was $20 and dealer told me to make an offer, but neither the box or the stone did enough for me to get another dust collector.

Now to the stone I got: it is definitely a natural stone as the bottom was not finished and the sides only partially finished. Top was very flat. The box was old, quartersaw oak, nice on the outside, a bit crude on the inside. Stone has me a bit puzzled as it is very dark but has a feel to it like a softer arkansas. I could not scratch the edge with a chisel. I cleaned it and it is still dark and though it has been used, it doesn't feel like it is oil saturated. I tried it against two know washsita's, with one being my always used bench stone and the other a washita that is very much vintage, but not used much. It has a bit more bite than my always used stone, which admittedly has an amount of oil built up on it.

Scratch pattern on all three was virtually the same, but with the newly acquired stone having the same grab as the not used much washita. In the infinite stone (not stoned) wisdom of this group, have any here come across a washita that is almost the same color as a black arkansas? I can discern no streaks, mottling or any type of markings on this new stone, even on the unfinished portions. Size is odd also, about 3-1/4" by maybe 7" by about 1-1/4" thick. My first impression is this will be a much used stone in the coming weeks/months, even in spite of the princely sum of $15.00 I paid for it!

One of these days we'll have to get a sticky started for displaying pictures of identified or labeled stones for comparison purposes.

[David Weaver]

I'd guess slate except for the comment that it can't be scratched by a chisel. Most of the slates I've used have been soft enough to be scratched, and they will leave a similar look to a washita (the finer slates for razors are different, of course).

I don't know of much else that's black that would be wider than 2".

[Tony Zaffuto]

I have a slate and this feels different than slate (does not look like slate from the side or bottom). I have also scratched my slate in various comparisons and this does not scratch like slate.

From the looks of the box and stone, this is very old. I bought it at the tailgating part of the PATINA gathering and the guy I got it from says it came from a group of stones he bought from a guy that collected sharpening stones. Coincidentally, this was the same guy I bought my favorite washita from about 4 or 5 years ago, also at PATINA. More coincidental was the fact he lives in New Castle, PA, which is a hop, skip and a jump from each of us.

[bridger berdel]

might be a chert. not all stones that can be successfuly used for sharpening are mined and marketed as such.

[Tony Zaffuto]

might be a chert. not all stones that can be successfuly used for sharpening are mined and marketed as such.

How similar to a washita does a chert act? This stone is flat, in spite of what looks like ages of use, is a chert hard enough to remain flat?

[Warren Mickley]

I walked out to my shop and looked at my stones just now. I wonder if your stone isn't a soft Arkansas. Mine is blacker than my Washita even though it was white when new. It is almost as black as my black Arkansas. I have washed it a few times, but it does not ever get whiter than a charcoal grey. It would stay flat more easily than a Washita.

[Tony Zaffuto]

I walked out to my shop and looked at my stones just now. I wonder if your stone isn't a soft Arkansas. Mine is blacker than my Washita even though it was white when new. It is almost as black as my black Arkansas. I have washed it a few times, but it does not ever get whiter than a charcoal grey. It would stay flat more easily than a Washita.

That was one of my thoughts too. I don't think I'm going to try anything to clean the stone, as I like the feel of it with WD40 as a lubricant. The stone is already flat, and from appearances, has been this way for years. The color seems pretty uniform throughout.

I will compare the stone tomorrow to a "Dan's Whetstone" soft Arkansas I have.

[David Weaver]

How similar to a washita does a chert act? This stone is flat, in spite of what looks like ages of use, is a chert hard enough to remain flat?

A washita is a chert. Chert includes a whole bunch of things like novaculite, agate, jasper, etc. Jasper is rarely marketed as a hone, it's dirt cheap, and I've found in the last week that it's the only natural thing I've seen that makes A2 act like it was sharpened synthetically.

There's a chance it's what warren says it is, and a chance that it might be a chert that just happens to make a good hone.

If it's the latter, we'll never figure out what it is, but the $9 piece of jasper that I got isn't limited by the fact that nobody marketed it. It's the missing piece of the puzzle that allows me to use the washita on A2.