All About Pocket Knives

Here are two sites that give good information to start.

http://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/Water-Stones-C4.aspx
http://www.fine-tools.com/japwas.htm

I have 800 1200 & 8000 grit along with a combination stone. With a combination stone you can only use one side of each stone because they are glued together. Also you can't use the edges. This can be a problem or some may find it handy. I like individual stones. I don't recall the grit on my combo, but it's probably something like 800/2000.
I bought the 8000 stone because I was sharpening woodworking chisels and hand plane irons.
For pocket knives you could do very well with 3000 or 6000 I think. The 8000 puts a mirror finish on the back cutting edge of my chisels.
The water stones I have suit me very well.
Water stones are soft. I have gouged the 8000 stone with an errant pass with my chisels. You would be hard pressed to gouge your White Hard Arkansas. If indeed that is what it is.
Water stones cut relatively quickly and help create a fine edge, but with these stones and any other stone for that matter you have to develop the technique for creating the edge. It isn't hard to do and you have to know when to put it all away and think about what your doing and come back to it. Once you get the hang of it you will have options. Options that start with every stone you want to bring home with you be it carborundum Washita, water stone or whatever. They're all viable and have strong histories.

EDIT: You can use edges; my combo has the two sides glued to a rubber center. Also I don't care for a stone glued to a base for same reasons.
Also, try Lee Valley: https://www.leevalley.com/

Cool thread!..I have a few I'll have to drag out.
Gotta Love those Sharpening Stations!
Here's a few I had handy....Catts, Champion and Zanol.

Knice stuff CATT!

I scored a couple over the weekend....

Can anybody identify this one STONE QUALITY TOOLS

Looks like a diamond lap Scott,the type you would use to touch up carbide lathe tools.Bottom line...whatever you need to sharpen,give it a shot.

We used them in the machine shop, just as dudly said. It's a "hone" for sure. Man, ya just keep running across these cool things, don't ya!

(good to see ya posting, dud. )

Joe

Thanks Scott!

yeah that's an interesting Hone...haven't seen one before.

This set has worked well for me. It's a Hall's Arkansas Oil stone soft/hard combo. Have a great day

I just sold this little rascal:

NORTON ABRASIVES HARD ARKANSAS OILSTONE

Nice ones Fellas!....Sometimes I believe there's as many different Stones
as there are Knife co's

Just picked this one up at a gun show this morning for a whopping $5. That's what he was asking, a whipped out the ol pocket book and brought her home.

It's about 8 inches long. I'll be able to tell more about what kind it is when I get it cleaned up, but it's hard and slick. It ought to put a real keen edge on a knife.

Anxiously awaiting your report Col.

Here she is after a bit of cleaning up. Some sort of really hard Arkansas stone I believe. And yes, it did put a real fine edge on a knife!

Well Colonel, it appears you have a White Hard Arkansas. And an old one. You don't usually see them that size; especially that thick. I hope it's what I think it is. I could be wrong. I hope you get other opinions.
It's an old survivor. I hope you wont let it get away. In hardness, it's just below the Black Hard Arkansas.
It's a fine stone.

Joe that's what I wad thinking too, hard white Arkansas. I put done oil on it and got out one of my knives that's always given me fits and now it's right.

Using Balistol for lube, it'll remove metal pretty fast for a hard stone. I too was shocked at how big it is.

It'll stay with me. I don't forsee it going anywhere until one of the boys inherits it.

I have this one, soon to be traded to a fellow AAPK member, but wanted to post pics for reference.
Hard, heavy, dark and smooth as a baby's butt..

Those black stones are what my grandfather always used. I still have a small piece of one, about 2" long. Still the best stone that I have.

Colonel26 wrote: Using Balistol for lube, it'll remove metal pretty fast for a hard stone.

May I suggest using just a spritz of water to float metal particles that were removed from the blade edge during sharpening. If at a bench you will have to wipe the stone from time to time with a wet paper towel and spritz again. Sometimes I use mine at the kitchen sink, stone on folded paper towel to protect surface and have running water readily available. I believe "lube" slows down cutting action of stone. As does residual metal particles as a result of sharpening. Clean stone -- clean cut.

Not a bad idea. I've used water on my razor hones before. I'll give it a try.

I really like this old stone. It's worked wonders on one of my knives in particular. Now to find a black or translucent white Arkansas stone I can afford!

Here are a few of mine. Inhale a few more that aren't in the pictures. Most of them are my razor hones, the first picture are all coticules. The next picture are various naturals and synthetics. And my two favorites for knives are on the right. The translucent and the surgical black arkansas's. Both are so smooth they have a mirror like surface. I love vintage hones, I'll buy almost any natural stone I come across. The only synthetic I really use is a Chosera 1k water stone.

FRJ wrote:

Colonel26 wrote: Using Balistol for lube, it'll remove metal pretty fast for a hard stone.

May I suggest using just a spritz of water to float metal particles that were removed from the blade edge during sharpening. If at a bench you will have to wipe the stone from time to time with a wet paper towel and spritz again. Sometimes I use mine at the kitchen sink, stone on folded paper towel to protect surface and have running water readily available. I believe "lube" slows down cutting action of stone. As does residual metal particles as a result of sharpening. Clean stone -- clean cut.

Good advice, Joe. I recall when I was a kid, my grandfather having a bucket of well water and dipping his stone into it when sharpening knives. He didn't have running water at his house or he probably would have used it. I also recall him oiling the knives when he finished sharpening them but don't think he used oil on the stone. I have an old oil stone (not an Arkansas stone) and for it I use oil sparingly, but I clean it in water to remove the metal particles. As you said, if not kept clean a stone's pores clog and it doesn't cut metal well.

Ken

Knice stuff HIG!

You fellows are an amazing source of lore and arcana! Sharpening stones have been with me since my earliest memories of my father sharpening his pocketknife in front of the fire. I have always had two or three around all my life. But somehow I have not spent much time thinking about them. When I broke one I just got another cheap one somewhere.

After reading through this topic I knew I needed to expand my experience, so I bought this one off Ebay. I do not know how old this one is, but since it suggests sperm oil I assume it predates the whaling ban in 1972.

Oh, that's a gooder'un there! I like it.

Ya, I agree, that's a real nice stone. And that nice dry box has seen no oil at all.
Very nice cutlery too and a great picture.

Anyone identify the orange on to the right? She's pretty smooth....