Enjoyed your show. I’ll be looking for some of the Washita stones to compare with a Belgian Blue I came across about a year ago; incredible edge also coveted by straight razor crowd. Cheers!
I prefer water stones. My favorite one is one that does not need to soak, it behaves more like an oilstone, but to use with water. Just sprinkle some drops on it, spread it with the flattener stone and it's immediately ready to use. In english this stones are traded as "Belgian Blue" or "Coticule" - in German they're called "Belgischer Brocken gelb" or "Belgischer Brocken blau". That means belgian chunk, (because traditionally they're polygon "chunky" shaped) in yellow or in blue. Yellow is the higher quality, about 8000 grit, has more abrasive garnet content and polishes faster. Blue is about 6000 grit, has less garnet content and polishes a bit slower. I have a blue benchstone, about 12" x 3,25" in size. Love it for chisels plane-blades, scandinavian carving knives, asian kitchen knives and also for my straight razor blade. This stone makes just everything razor-sharp. 😚
This was a great explanation of arkansas stones and sharpening. I have tried all the systems, too. Diamonds are fast but need additional honing to get a super sharpe tool. Man made oilstones are a bit softer and will dish but are fairly easy to flatten with Silicon Carbide. The water stones or coticlules are to soft and dish to quickly to sharpen a tool that has a bit of wear, but for a quick touch-up they are ok but the soaking and flattening take two much time. Sandpaper is quick, but you have to change grits and have to take care not to tear the sandpaper, plus the cost. Arkansas stones are much harder and I would use an India to refine the edge and then finish with a translucent or Wasita microbevel. Silicon Carbide can be used to flatten arkansas stones that you buy at garage of flea markets. Use a coarse grit 60 to 90 grit to flatten them, and then finish with a finer grit (220 to 600) depending on the final smoothness you want. The softer stones (Japanese water stones, coticules, and soft arkansas) can be used for knives. A gently curve on the stone will not affect the use of the knife, but would affect the use of a chisel or plane (the amount of problem introduced to the tools would depend on how much curve and what you are using them on). On flatting arkansas stones: Soft stones that have a quarter inch dip in the center can be flatten with Silicone Carbide (60 to 90 grit) in a half hour. Use water and sic carbide on a flat surface (granite tile, ceramic tile, float glass, or flatten steel plate) in circular and back and forth motion. The sic will break down so add sic regularly. Sic can be purchased from lapidary sources. Finish with finer grits until you are happy. C
I have done a few sharpening stone videos and I always watch new ones. How did I miss this one. Excellent information. I share your love of natural Arkansas oilstones. Your info was right on point. The only thing I can add is the lily white washita is really not any better than the #1 washita for woodworkers. Some shavers seem to think so but after years of use the regular washita is the same quality as the lily white. Thank you for sharing, Steve
Thanks for the kind words Steve. The thing I like about the natural stones is that no two seem alike. I have one Washita that is pretty soft and sharpens quickly but also wears faster. Then I have one that seems harder and holds its surface longer. I will have to spend some more time using the No. 1 that I have and see how it compares to the Lily Whites.
You have a great collection and some sort after stones there ` some rare ones, The white with pink swirl and the grey Arkansas stone that was next to the black one, that will possibly stay grayish when wet, that one possibly will let some torch light through, it looks like partial translucent, The ones with labels Lilly white etc and the others very sort after now for razor guys, Do you want to adopted me, and pass some of that clutter my way, lol , But really you do have some moneys worth there, I wish I new the future 20 years ago the price of some stones now due to the come back of the cutthroat razor, I use a lot of Japanese natural stones as well` some of them water stones are very hard, also use Charley forest stones I find the mottled pattern ones give a nice edge
I have some stones that I can't really identify either. My best suggestion is to just use them and see how they perform. While it's nice to know what you have, in the end, it's the sharpening ability that really matters.
Your wide Norton stone with the striations is unbelievably beautiful, the red and pink coloring is very special, as I understand it is less common. The grayish translucent is worthy of its own video. I am very interested in the translucents that are darker, if you’d be willing to show it transmitting light I’d love to see it. And if you would ever part with it I would be happy to give it a good home, looks very well kept. I too have been making boxes
The slipstones are the only ones I have from Dan's, but the quality seems to be right up there. I haven't ever used any Smith stones, but I do see them pretty often.
If you are ever of the mind to pass one along please let me know, very serious. I would love to have one. I have a large selection of stones (I both collect and use) and chances are I would use it very seldom to maintain its condition and have it for historical/collecting purposes.
@@bamafaninky861 in no world did I imagine this would amount to anything. What’s a good place to work details? Text, email, or something else? You can text me and I’ll delete this comment nine1ninesixe2seven0six1seven
A bit late, but that yellowy, orangish color could be the fine steel particles left in the microscopic pores in the stone rusting?....that's my guess....thanks for the video
Good video I came here because I wanted more info on the older stones as I’ve been looking on ebay and elsewhere for stones and there are a number that confuse me. I think many sellers don’t really give enough information or it’s not available to figure out what is what. I had a smallish piece of transparent that put the best edge on broadhead arrows sadly I’ve lost it, and want to replace.
Thanks for the comment! I agree that a lot of sellers don't give much information when selling sharpening stones. In their defense though, it can be difficult to identify natural stones that don't have a box, label or any markings. And being a natural product, different stones of the same type may have a different feel or cutting action. So if you find a good stone, hang on to it and take good care of it.
I hate the 12 inch winco whetstone. Very weak, and way too much debris buildup from the whetstone, on the edge of my knive after I'm done sharpening. I threw it away. No time for lapping. Now I use arkansas, binsui, khao men, and ancient ocean jasper.
thanks, I have been looking for some one to show me, how much oil? and how to maybe clean my stone? plus your advice on which was best for which purpose, was good
Glad it helped. I use just enough oil so that the blade slides smoothly on the stone. The oil helps to float away the metal particles that are removed during the sharpening. But too much oil just makes a mess. As for cleaning, I just wipe mine off with an old cloth each time when I'm finished using it. If the stone is really dirty, try wiping it down with some mineral spirits.
Nice video sir - I use a Arkansas stone I got at a garage sale in 80's , shes still kickin , BUT one thing is on my D2 knives these stones wont work or you have to be a reallly good sharpener , as im watching this video im sharpening my d2 on Arkansas hard stone and nothing is happening 😆 been 15 mins already , at my skill level I need diamond stone to sharpen it . But for my AUS8 knives no problem it works fine
Thank you a lot for interesting video. Very exciting and useful information! As for me, it's very interesting to sharpening knives during my leisure time. I'm not from the USA, so I want to ask you a some piece of advice. Could you possibly, tell me where in the USA I can buy some stones like Vintage Washita, except Ebay? I'm looking for stones like: Washita Rosy Red and Washita Lily White(8*3*1). Maybe it could be be some auctions or forums? I'd appreciate any information you could give!
I don't know of any dealers who carry vintage stones regularly. You might try Patrick Leach at www.supertool.com. He sometimes has vintage sharpening stones. If you don't mind new stones, try Dan's Whetstones at www.danswhetstone.com
I know this is over a year old but to anybody that reads the this needs to know thst the washitas available at Dans are realy just soft Arks. Ask Dan for yourself and he will tell you the same thing. He is a honest man.
Norton oil stones are factory infused with thick oil. Oil stones can be used with water and dish soap mix. I have degreased Norton and Arkansas stones by boiling them in water and purple or green degreaser. RoughRooster does it here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-bHLNezLwR8g.html
Yes, the man-made Norton stones, such as India and Crystolon stones, are filled with oil at the factory. The natural stones, such as Arkansas and Washita stones, are not however.
Washeeeeeeetah. lol. I speak hillbilly. Washhh-it-tahhhh would be proper hillbilly. Kind of like Wichita (which-it-tah) Ouichita (wah-chit-tah) Omaha (Ohm-ah-hah) Everybody wants to call these stone cheetah lol. The Great American Cheetah stones lol😂😂😂.
Its sad that you dont encourage flattening the stone often. Its just an exercise liek sharpening. If ypu do it every other day or even every day..it only takes a minute using a diamind plate 400grit (atoma) All cabinetmakers flatten their stones.
I use a diamond plate to flatten the Washita stone occasionally. But the hard Arkansas stones are so hard and slow-wearing that they don't require flattening. It literally would take years to wear a groove in one of them. That is the benefit of these hard Arkansas stones. As for the man-made oilstones, they are cheap enough that it makes more sense to just replace them then to wear out your diamond plate trying to flatten them. Waterstones are a whole different story. Those require frequent flattening.
Is it just me or is there something ironic about observing that a translucent stone gets yellow with age -- maybe 50 to 100 years old -- when the rock it is made of is millions of years old.
I'd be curious to hear if anyone else has noticed this, or has a theory on what causes it. I've seen it on a few stones, so I don't think I'm just imagining it. But I suppose it's also possible that the stone just came out of the ground looking that way.
If you exist metres below the rock surface, you probably don’t see much light, air or water, whereas, being on a bench you see all three...hence chemical reaction increases perhaps?
As a 100% disabled person, I request these stones as a gift from you, I would be very grateful if you send them as a gift. Please, I would appreciate it if you could give a positive answer, thank you in advance. Best Regards, Abdullah Menevse ❤❤🙏🙏🙏❤❤
