can an Arkansas stone be reconditioned?

[Dave Cullen]

I have a pair of Arkansas stones that I've been using for over 30 years; a grey "medium" and a white "fine". The grey stone won't raise a wire edge any more for some reason. I've always cleaned them with warm soapy water after use to get the old oil off, so I don't think it's clogged. It just doesn't cut any more.

I have a 500 grit diamond plate for flattening water stones, would that work to restore the oil stone to working condition again?

TIA.

[David Weaver]

You want coarse silicon carbide grit. It may just be a good time to get a new medium crystolon, friability for those stones is important, and they get hard as they get older.

[Harold Burrell]

Dave...whether you realize it or not...you are becoming the world's foremost and leading authority on "all things stones".

Wow. Someday I'll be able to tell my great-grandkiddies that I knew you...

[Jim Koepke]

Dave...whether you realize it or not...you are becoming the world's foremost and leading authority on "all things stones".

Wow. Someday I'll be able to tell my great-grandkiddies that I knew you...

It is better to know the 'stone guy' than the 'stoned guy.'

jtk

[Matthew N. Masail]

here here !

[Warren Mickley]

Arkansas stones are particularly good at removing the scratches made by coarse stones, refining the edge. They are not so good at removing the amount of material needed to get the edge past the wear that comes with dulling. In historic times craftsmen often used a water stone for sharpening and a fine oil stone for smoothing the edge. You can use either a coarse water stone (like sandstone or 800-1000 grit stone) or a coarse oil stone like India or silicon carbide (carborundum or crystalon) to remove the wear from the edge. Then you can use your two Arkansas stones to refine the edge and remove scratches. My guess is that your stones, as they are, are good for refining an edge that has been sharpened on a coarser stone.

When new, Arkansas stones often retain roughness from milling that makes them cut faster, but this comes at the expense of fineness of smoothing; an older stone with give a finer edge. Some people will abrade their stones to make them cut faster. This is a little like taking a fine #4 file and cutting grooves in it so it cuts like a #2 file. Easier to just get a #2 file and save the #4 for the fine work it does best.

My gut feeling is that a diamond hone would not work the best as a coarse stone preliminary to Arkansas stones. The diamond cuts deep scratches in the tool and I think the Arkansas would polish the tops of the ridges and then just very slowly remove material to the bottoms of the crevices.

[David Weaver]

Dave...whether you realize it or not...you are becoming the world's foremost and leading authority on "all things stones".

There are some people who are way nuttier than me. If I was single, I'd just go ape, though. To this point, the only expertise I have comes from wasting money on stones.

There's some guy who refers to himself as "period woodworker" on youtube, he's got gobs of the most primo labeled vintage stones (coticules, eschers, etc).

[David Weaver]

I have a pair of Arkansas stones that I've been using for over 30 years; a grey "medium" and a white "fine". The grey stone won't raise a wire edge any more for some reason. I've always cleaned them with warm soapy water after use to get the old oil off, so I don't think it's clogged. It just doesn't cut any more.

I have a 500 grit diamond plate for flattening water stones, would that work to restore the oil stone to working condition again?

TIA.

By the way, a coarse diamond hone is OK, but it has to be super coarse for coarse oilstones. Otherwise, you end up with a broken in diamond hone that is grading the coarse stones to a finer grit.

That is an expensive way to go, btw. 2 pounds of silicon carbide costs about 10 bucks and would do more stones than a $100 xx coarse diamond plate.

I prefer to use the natural stones the way warren does, keeping diamond hones away from them, and I prefer the coarse ones to be new enough so that they haven't gotten super hard yet.

[Dave Cullen]

It seems that the diamond plate that I have is about 140 grit. I bought it specifically for flattening my knife sharpening water stones, and for roughing the bevels on old knives. I also have either an India or oxide (grey) coarse stone that's never been used maybe I could try that instead. I'm looking to restore the cutting quality of the medium Arkansas without spending money or destroying either the stone or the steel plate. If that's not practical, I'll just get a new stone. The white stone still works fine and leaves a nice edge.

Or maybe I'll bring the water stones down to the shop and try those instead. I have 500, 1200, and 5000 grit to work with.

[Matthew N. Masail]

It seems that the diamond plate that I have is about 140 grit. I bought it specifically for flattening my knife sharpening water stones, and for roughing the bevels on old knives. I also have either an India or oxide (grey) coarse stone that's never been used maybe I could try that instead. I'm looking to restore the cutting quality of the medium Arkansas without spending money or destroying either the stone or the steel plate. If that's not practical, I'll just get a new stone. The white stone still works fine and leaves a nice edge.

Or maybe I'll bring the water stones down to the shop and try those instead. I have 500, 1200, and 5000 grit to work with.

Dave, maybe I'm missing something, you said you've been using the stone for over 30years... when did the stone stop raising a burr effectively?
in any case if your willing to make a change and have a fine India why don't you use that as your first stone? instead of using it to wake-up a different stone.


I have used a iwood 300 to flatten a very small soft ark, and it wasn't so easy but no big deal as long as you use light pressure and take it easy, but I would personally prefer to use something consumable like SC power on glass.

[Dave Cullen]

Dave, maybe I'm missing something, you said you've been using the stone for over 30 years... when did the stone stop raising a burr effectively?
in any case if your willing to make a change and have a fine India why don't you use that as your first stone? instead of using it to wake-up a different stone.

Matt, that's a good question. I haven't used the stone in a while, maybe a year or so, and it worked the last time I used it. Maybe it's just clogged with old honing oil. I also only tried one side of it. I have a couple of plane irons that need attention so I think I'll give the stone a good cleaning and try both sides. Maybe it's an operator problem...

[Andrew Pitonyak]

Wow. Someday I'll be able to tell my great-grandkiddies that I knew you...

I own two saws that he sharpened (used one last night). I have something that he touched <gush>

Now I just need to establish provenance / chain of custody so that I can sell it for a fortune someday!

[Harold Burrell]

I own two saws that he sharpened (used one last night). I have something that he touched <gush>

Now I just need to establish provenance / chain of custody so that I can sell it for a fortune someday!

Yeah. Whenever I buy something from him I'm thinking I should get some kind of letter of authenticity with it.

Or...at least an autographed picture of him that I can later sell on ebay...

[David Weaver]

Yeah. Whenever I buy something from him I'm thinking I should get some kind of letter of authenticity with it.

Or...at least an autographed picture of him that I can later sell on ebay...

If anything from me was worth any money, I'd be selling it!