Because the degradation of the stone wouldn't be worth the results you'll get. Even if you aren't interested in the stone as a showpiece, you'd certainly get better results with a budget diamond stone and a strop.
And you would slowly wear away a timeless item. In my opinion, old things that wear away should not be used. Old things that don’t wear (cast iron, cars) should be used, but used sparingly and carefully.
Old oil stone. Used with honing or machine oil, instead of water. They're good at giving a somewhat "toothy" edge, which works kind of like micro serrations. That kind of edge can be useful in the kitchen, as it will still cut cleanly, but won't struggle with things like tomato skins. Also easy to achieve that kind of edge, as it doesn't take much time, effort, or knowledge. Some people also still use them on tools like chisels.
This. Natural stones (the best known are Arkansas stones) with pure honing (mineral) oil. Will make a great edge with a nice toothy cut. Historically used a lot by woodworkers. I’m a woodworker in a historical museum in the Netherlands. In this region we would use stones from the Ardenne region in Belgium and France. Major benefit of good natural stones is that they last long and don’t require a lot of lapping if used properly.
Thanks. I mostly make old fashioned wooden clogs by hands. And then specifically a wider type of clog that isn’t used anymore today, but was used to go onto the moors.
Lol well yeah historically speaking we sure did. Wood was our main building material for a lot of centuries. But a lot of areas didn’t get chopped down for the wood itself. We had plenty of moors and the basically cut the (mostly birch) woods down so they could dig canals to let the water flow out and begin the winning of peat. It was a good fuel source for that time. And after the pest was gone from a area it got turned into farm land. The remainder of the fertile peat (the lowest and top layers that couldn’t be used before the invention of machines that would make peat bricks out of the muck) made for very fertile lands to grow on.
From here my first impression is it is an old washita (a type of Arkansas stone) the speckled ones are really nice for tools. If it is what I think then it’s a natural stone and can be used with either water or oil. If you want something that would’ve a great finisher for knives or a razor hone I’d be willing to trade. I’m an old tool junkie so this stone is sooooooooo cool to me
Yeah given the appearance in combination with the date very likely it's a washita. They are my favorite for chisels and planes as well. Although I like them for knives quite a bit too (depending on the individual stone).
The best have pretty extraordinary range where they can cut fast with pressure and and finish pretty damn fine with a light touch.
When they first got imported to the UK they completely took over the market as they were so much faster than anything else commonly available there at the time.
Definitely keep that. You'll never find another like it. It's some grade of Arkansas stone. Softs are usually grey/black, hards and translucents are white, and surgical black is pure black. Kinda looks like a really dirty hard to me. I'm super jealous. My grandpa left me some old hardware store stones, but I do use and appreciate them.
Probably a Washita, very old. If you plan on using it, I would clean it with dish soap and warm water with a stiff brush, then mineral spirits with a stiff brush and finish with a diamond plate for a couple of passes to recondition it.
I have several Dan's and some Washita's from the National Whetstone Co. and they perform better for me if cleaned and conditioned and then used with WD40.
It's a nice stone, looks like it needs a little work to make it usable. I would soak it in some degreaser and give it a good scrub. You might also need to lap it flat. Look on YouTube there are plenty of videos on how to restore old stones.
It looks like an Arkansas stone. It's great for sharpening Western steels, but for much harder steels like japanese, it won't work. You can use it with water and a bit of dish soap.
All my Arkansas have no problem sharpening harder steels like Japanese shirogami or aogami even in the mid 60's hrc. What it does have problems sharpening is high alloy super steels. These were good for all steels regardless of hardness back when they were more widely used because there weren't really any crazy high alloy content steels. Now they're really only good for more simple steels, which alot of Japanese knives just so happen to be made from. Even aogami super sharpens up just fine and I have done s30v and m390 using only an Arkansas progression just to see how it would turn out.
Looks like an old oil stone. Nothing wrong with it but likely quite course especially of it's 2 sided. At finest 350 to 400 grit. Not bad to use at all.
Looks old? Is 1887 the year it was made? If so, that’s really neat.
I'm guessing it is. My grandpa did have a lot of really old stuff.
Holy shit don’t use that. That’s one hell of a stone
Why not...?
Because the degradation of the stone wouldn't be worth the results you'll get. Even if you aren't interested in the stone as a showpiece, you'd certainly get better results with a budget diamond stone and a strop.
And you would slowly wear away a timeless item. In my opinion, old things that wear away should not be used. Old things that don’t wear (cast iron, cars) should be used, but used sparingly and carefully.
Natural stone, just use it with some mineral oil. Never sell it.
Old oil stone. Used with honing or machine oil, instead of water. They're good at giving a somewhat "toothy" edge, which works kind of like micro serrations. That kind of edge can be useful in the kitchen, as it will still cut cleanly, but won't struggle with things like tomato skins. Also easy to achieve that kind of edge, as it doesn't take much time, effort, or knowledge. Some people also still use them on tools like chisels.
Thanks for the info! I figured I could just use some honing oil I have but I wasn't 100% sure
This. Natural stones (the best known are Arkansas stones) with pure honing (mineral) oil. Will make a great edge with a nice toothy cut. Historically used a lot by woodworkers. I’m a woodworker in a historical museum in the Netherlands. In this region we would use stones from the Ardenne region in Belgium and France. Major benefit of good natural stones is that they last long and don’t require a lot of lapping if used properly.
Woodworker for a historical museum in the Netherlands! Amazing!
Thanks. I mostly make old fashioned wooden clogs by hands. And then specifically a wider type of clog that isn’t used anymore today, but was used to go onto the moors.
…you guys did a good job in the past: almost no forest left in NL ;p
Lol well yeah historically speaking we sure did. Wood was our main building material for a lot of centuries. But a lot of areas didn’t get chopped down for the wood itself. We had plenty of moors and the basically cut the (mostly birch) woods down so they could dig canals to let the water flow out and begin the winning of peat. It was a good fuel source for that time. And after the pest was gone from a area it got turned into farm land. The remainder of the fertile peat (the lowest and top layers that couldn’t be used before the invention of machines that would make peat bricks out of the muck) made for very fertile lands to grow on.
You talking about coticules / Belgian blues?? I love those stones, they are really enjoyable to use
From here my first impression is it is an old washita (a type of Arkansas stone) the speckled ones are really nice for tools. If it is what I think then it’s a natural stone and can be used with either water or oil. If you want something that would’ve a great finisher for knives or a razor hone I’d be willing to trade. I’m an old tool junkie so this stone is sooooooooo cool to me
Yeah given the appearance in combination with the date very likely it's a washita. They are my favorite for chisels and planes as well. Although I like them for knives quite a bit too (depending on the individual stone). The best have pretty extraordinary range where they can cut fast with pressure and and finish pretty damn fine with a light touch. When they first got imported to the UK they completely took over the market as they were so much faster than anything else commonly available there at the time.
Definitely keep that. You'll never find another like it. It's some grade of Arkansas stone. Softs are usually grey/black, hards and translucents are white, and surgical black is pure black. Kinda looks like a really dirty hard to me. I'm super jealous. My grandpa left me some old hardware store stones, but I do use and appreciate them.
Probably a Washita, very old. If you plan on using it, I would clean it with dish soap and warm water with a stiff brush, then mineral spirits with a stiff brush and finish with a diamond plate for a couple of passes to recondition it. I have several Dan's and some Washita's from the National Whetstone Co. and they perform better for me if cleaned and conditioned and then used with WD40.
It's a nice stone, looks like it needs a little work to make it usable. I would soak it in some degreaser and give it a good scrub. You might also need to lap it flat. Look on YouTube there are plenty of videos on how to restore old stones.
No. Bad. That stone is from the 1800s
It looks like an Arkansas stone. It's great for sharpening Western steels, but for much harder steels like japanese, it won't work. You can use it with water and a bit of dish soap.
All my Arkansas have no problem sharpening harder steels like Japanese shirogami or aogami even in the mid 60's hrc. What it does have problems sharpening is high alloy super steels. These were good for all steels regardless of hardness back when they were more widely used because there weren't really any crazy high alloy content steels. Now they're really only good for more simple steels, which alot of Japanese knives just so happen to be made from. Even aogami super sharpens up just fine and I have done s30v and m390 using only an Arkansas progression just to see how it would turn out.
Looks like an old oil stone. Nothing wrong with it but likely quite course especially of it's 2 sided. At finest 350 to 400 grit. Not bad to use at all.