Question on sharpening stones

[Bryan Hartle]

I am pretty much a Newbie when it comes to stones. I recently bought a box lot of different stones at an estate auction. Now I would like to know what I bought. How can you tell if you have oil stones or water stones? Thanks for any help you can give.

[Mark Stutz]

Bryan,
No expert here, only the first willing to take a stab. If they are old, my guess is they were oil stones. It's my understanding that waterstones are a relatively recent phenomenon, at least outside Japan:D I know all the old stones on my grandfathers farm were oilstones. I would simply put a drop or two of water on the stone...if it soaks in it is a waterstone...and if it beads up it has had oil on it. I would flatten them and put them to work.