Arkansas stones and a shameless plug

[Timberwolf]

Good video. I found a large translucent stone at the local flea market a few years back. Got the Norton Med India to go with it and thats what I have been using for the past few years for sharpening all tools. I also picked up a large oil stone, but never did figure out what it is. Pinkish color as best I can tell, probably should pull it out and re-investigate it some more. The India stone does needs dressed and I found that I can get by just fine with a cheap Smith course diamond stone.

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LIL

I have found lots of hones that are so grubby and hollowed that is is hard, if not impossible to identify them...I restore those using a stationary belt sander with a worn belt,...Hold the hone on the stopped platen, then, using a footswitch, start the motor while holding the hone with both hands..Stop the motor and then remove the hone and check it..Wear a dust mask because it will generate a lot of dust..The belt wont be good for sanding wood any more, so that's why I save the old, worn belts for the hones..It takes a little time but the results can be worth it...Some of those old, natural hones were better than others and you know it when you have found a good one!!!! You can feel them cutting!


One other tip....using any type oil to prevent swarf from clogging the hone's pores can/will lead to it solidifying and reducing the hone's ability to do it's job of abrading metal...For that reason, I prefer using mineral spirits or paint thinner..MS or thinner does not oxidize and clog pores...Unlike oil, it evaporates and leaves the pores open. You can also use rubbing alcohol....the 70% alcohol from the Dollar Store works fine.

[Bibliophile 13]

Jack, that’s interesting. I tried using MS on my Arkansas stones, but they seemed to glaze over really quickly. On a whim, I tried WD-40 and found they didn’t glaze nearly as easily. Any thoughts on WD-40 as a honing oil?

[Timberwolf]

Jack, that’s interesting. I tried using MS on my Arkansas stones, but they seemed to glaze over really quickly. On a whim, I tried WD-40 and found they didn’t glaze nearly as easily. Any thoughts on WD-40 as a honing oil?

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I have never noticed any "glazing" on them Steve, but I'm not sure what you are referring to as glazing..The thinner the fluid, the more aggressive the hones seem to be, and the opposite is true as well...I have even used grease on them in my "experiments"...It makes a hone much smoother and less aggressive...As to WD-40, it makes a really good honing fluid and I also use it...smells much better than MS or alcohol and works just about as well, IMO...And in a spray can, it is much more convenient.

After thinking about your comment on "glazing", I wonder if you have ever "dressed" your hones with sandpaper?? I use rather coarse sandpaper on vintage hones I snag at flea markets etc..after years of use, along with a good cleaning, it helps to "resurface" old loaded hones and expose a new, sharper cutting surface.

[Rob Young]

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I have never noticed any "glazing" on them Steve, but I'm not sure what you are referring to as glazing..The thinner the fluid, the more aggressive the hones seem to be, and the opposite is true as well...I have even used grease on them in my "experiments"...It makes a hone much smoother and less aggressive...As to WD-40, it  makes a really good honing fluid and I also use it...smells much better than MS or alcohol and works just about as well, IMO...And in a spray can, it is much more convenient.

After thinking about your comment on "glazing", I wonder if you have ever "dressed" your hones with sandpaper?? I use rather coarse sandpaper on vintage hones I snag at flea markets etc..after years of use, along with a good cleaning, it helps to "resurface" old loaded hones and expose a new, sharper cutting surface.

I mostly use kerosene cut with a bit of baby oil (mineral oil).  I bought a bottle of the cheapest baby oil I could find ($1 store) because it is pretty much just mineral oil with a bit of scent that cuts the kerosene smell.  However maybe now when I sharpen it smells a bit like a baby changing station in a truck stop...

Also got a 5-pack of the little snap lid bottles from the $1 store too and they work great to hold a bit of my "honing oil". Cheap and cheerful.

Seems to work well and while I've used WD-40 (still do sometimes since I keep a Griz Tormek copy around so want it to "dry" blades) I think this works just fine for me.

[Timberwolf]

I mostly use kerosene cut with a bit of baby oil (mineral oil).  I bought a bottle of the cheapest baby oil I could find ($1 store) because it is pretty much just mineral oil with a bit of scent that cuts the kerosene smell.  However maybe now when I sharpen it smells a bit like a baby changing station in a truck stop...

Also got a 5-pack of the little snap lid bottles from the $1 store too and they work great to hold a bit of my "honing oil". Cheap and cheerful.

Seems to work well and while I've used WD-40 (still do sometimes since I keep a Griz Tormek copy around so want it to "dry" blades) I think this works just fine for me.

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I think the best honing fluid is the one that you are satisfied with...I have always been one with an insatiable curiosity, and I am never satisfied for long...always wondering if I have found the best solution to a problem...I do think that I am closing in on the definition of "sharp" when it comes to honing an edge on a tool....Knowing when to stop "sharpening" a tool is the hardest part for me!

[Cian]

Hi Folks,

Recently I've started my own YouTube channel (just for fun). It will focus on things that I'm working on in my shop -- mostly woodworking stuff, tool restorations, and some hobby machining projects as well. Since I'm just starting out, I'm trying to grow my channel and I'd love it if you would take a look and subscribe if you like what you see. 

The latest video I've uploaded is on Arkansas stones and oilstones. If you'd like to take a look, you can find it here: https://youtu.be/hP0kVmeKo3k

Thanks!

Following..................

[Bibliophile 13]

Jack, thanks for the reply. I do occasionally dress the surface with coarse sandpaper. I suppose the more often you do that, the less the surface glazes over.

For a long time, I thought the stone was getting clogged with slurry, but now I think it was just getting smoothed down, polished really. The Arkansas stone isn’t very friable, is it? I guess it’s like a grinding wheel that needs to be dressed now and again to expose fresh abrasive?

Which reminds me that I really need to get my belt sander running again so I can dress my stones properly.

[Timberwolf]

Jack, thanks for the reply. I do occasionally dress the surface with coarse sandpaper. I suppose the more often you do that, the less the surface glazes over.

For a long time, I thought the stone was getting clogged with slurry, but now I think it was just getting smoothed down, polished really. The Arkansas stone isn’t very friable, is it? I guess it’s like a grinding wheel that needs to be dressed now and again to expose fresh abrasive?

Which reminds me that I really need to get my belt sander running again so I can dress my stones properly.

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The belt sander rules when it comes to dressing stones...and the foot switch makes it possible to hold the stone with both hands to steady it....

The really good Arkies are about as smooth as polished marble and they are not very friable at all, IMO......unlike the softer Washitas...but I have found that Novaculite can vary greatly in it's cutting ability, especially between the Washitas...Some are very soft...while others approach translucent Arkies in cutting/honing qualities..If you have a few of each, you can sure tell the difference and will quickly develop a fondness for that particular stone...I have a couple that have been in my posession for at least fifty years, and they will be with me until I check out...They are sweet!!!!!..One is on a slab of hardwood, apparently owned by an engraver in a former life, it is engraved 1867 on the hardwood, and it has developed an amber glow when held up to a strong light source..I have a few blacks also but honestly cannot tell the difference between those and a translucent Arkie...I just wish I could find a small Arkansas wheel that I could adapt to one of my machines....

I know Tony Z has many hones also and I am wondering what he has experienced with his....he has the addiction like I do... but we can quit any time we want to....
 
 


EDIT...forgot to answer your question....I personally do not resurface a hard Arkie unless it is in really bad condition..I do sometimes face it with 400grit sandpaper...nothing coarser...silicon carbide paper works well for that..

[Vince]

Wow, thanks guys for all the kind words. My video got a nice bump in views over the weekend -- I really appreciate the support.

My experience with the Washita stones is similar to Timberwolf's. I have one that is pretty soft and although it cuts great, it wears quickly. I've been using a diamond plate to dress it, but I'll have to try the belt sander method and see how that works. The other two washitas I have are harder and don't wear nearly as fast.

I can't see much difference between the black Arkansas and the translucent either. I think they're pretty close in terms of density/specific gravity. A lot of it really seems to come down to the individual stone. Since these are natural stones, no two stones are exactly alike, unless they happened to be quarried from the same strata of rock. That's part of the allure of these stones for me -- when you come across a really good one, you treat it like gold.

[Arlin Eastman]

Vince
I downloaded all 3 of your YouTube videos and enjoyed each of them.  Good job on making it easy to understand. 
   I would give you a big thumbs up if they had one here.

I love your grinder and Googled it and came up with several of them one EBay from $400 to $850 and that put my desire to have one out the window.