Arkansas sharpening stone: moves mountains of work

Characteristics of Arkansas sharpening stones Arkansas Sharpening Stones

Arkansas sharpening stones are made of novaculite, a dense, hard, microcrystalline quartz. With Arkansas sharpening stones, the grain size and hardness are not artificially determined as with synthetic stones, but depend on the layer of earth from which the novaculite was extracted. Novaculite is a very fine-grained, natural silicon dioxide rock.

The Arkansas sharpening stones

The difference between the various types of sharpening stones:

• Soft Arkansas comes from layers with a slightly coarser structure, so it is less hard and more material is removed.

• Hard Arkansas and Black/Grey Arkansas are extracted from denser layers, which makes the stone sharpen more finely and be harder.

• The finest varieties (Translucent and Black Hard Arkansas) come from the most compact layers of earth and work almost like a polishing stone.

Oil stones: for years of sharpening pleasure

Arkansas stones work best when combined with oil. The oil makes sure the sharpening residue is more easily removed. In addition, you will experience less resistance while sharpening. Oil stones also wear out less quickly. As such you can enjoy them for years and only have to lap them occasionally.