I bought some Arkansas stones, now what?

[Jim Koepke]

I also have used dish detergent. Works well. Once you've used oil, doesn't work as well.

I don't think mineral oil makes the best honing oil. I prefer to use either a honing oil or kerosene (lamp oil).

I think you will probably want to look at some coarser stones, too.

I've tried them all I prefer water stones because they hone faster in my hands.

I pretty much use the oil stones for carving tools only.

The purpose of using liquid on stones is to keep the abraded particles (swarf) afloat so as to not become imbedded into the stones surface.

An Arkansas stone can be used with almost any liquid able to keep the swarf suspended as long as the liquid doesn't dry or become the cause of clogging the stone's surface.

During the winter months when it is too cold in my shop to keep water in a liquid state, oilstones are used exclusively. For speedy metal removal sandpaper or water stones are my first choices.

For my carving tools oilstones are essential. It is too easy to put a rut in a water stone with a carving gouge. It is convenient to have slipstones in both water and oilstone varieties.

jtk

[Tom M King]

My first experience with Arkansas stones was when I was in Cub Scouts. I had started whittling neckerchief slides, using the round BSA stone to sharpen the knife with. My Dad had drilled some holes in blocks of wood to use, and I remember complaining that it would be easier if the knife was sharper. One day my Dad showed up with a small, rectangular, white Hard Arkansas stone, and it changed things completely. I remember cutting my finger with it once, the scar is still barely there, and almost passing out. I had to go lay in the bed for a while. That was probably a good lesson, because it never happened again, and even after 45 years as a pro, I still have ten fingers.

The stones in the picture with four, came from Smith's soon after the issue of Whole Earth Catalog came out with their contact info in it. I remember laying in the floor, and writing a letter to them, asking to send me a set COD. I think it was 1973, but may have been earlier. A few weeks later, they showed up. The two in the middle are cracked because a tornado hit my shop in 1988, and a whole wall of stuff was thrown into the yard. The other part of the Soft stone never was found, and that's when the boxes were damaged too.

If the variegated, purplish stone to the left, what Smiths sold as a Washita, was still availble, I probably never would have gone to water stones. It's a great stone, but that one is worn so thin to be almost unusable now.

The Black stone always did an amazing job, and the last time I cleaned them, I noticed that it's really a Translucent.

Some time later, and before the family owned mine sold out, I bought the larger set of 10 x 3 stones. That Black never was as good as the old one from Smiths'.

To sharpen knives, I always did it like I was taught when I was little. Move the knife on the stone like you are trying to slice a piece of the stone off. When it feels like you are cutting down into the stone's surface, which of course you really aren't, that stone has done what it's going to do. That feeling has carried over to my sharpening of chisels, and plane irons, and I never bother to feel for a wire edge, or test the edge once done. That includes going from one stone to the next.

I carried the little pocket knife in my pocket, into my adulthood, but stopped after carrying the second person, who asked to borrow my knife, to the hospital to get stitches. The knife was a little Solingen. People never seem to understand, even when you warn them to be careful because the knife is sharp.

The oilstones still get the call if I'm working somewhere without running water, or if it's too cold. Any other time, I'll use my waterstone setup because it's many times faster. If that Washita was available again, it would close the gap a lot, but I haven't been able to find another one.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I think that I need to read this entire post once a day for the next week as I try to digest all of this good information. Kind of like trying to drink from the fire hose. Even some of the little things like trying to shave off part of the stone; I have always been afraid of trying that with a water stone.

I have plenty of coarse things, and I opted for the stones because my daughter (age 13) asked about whittling. So when I say knife, I mean either a carving knife or a pocket knife that has a blade suitable for carving.

[Tom M King]

I don't know that I would do that with a water stone either. I can't remember ever sharpening a knife with a water stone, but the learned feel on oil stones has carried over to woodworking edges on water stones.

The knife I carved with, and later carried in my pocket was a small one with three blades. It was one my Uncle brought back from Germany after WWII. He, and my Aunt never had children, and lived close to where I grew up, so it was kind of like having two sets of Parents. He always enjoyed helping me when I was interested in doing something. I think most of the makers of pocket knives still make that kind of knife. I've bought a few off of ebay for not a great deal of money.

edited to add: copy and paste this into the search window on ebay. There are several companies that make a model like that.

VINTAGE BOKER TREE BRAND CLASSIC 3 BLADE POCKET KNIFE # 83881 SOLINGEN GERMANY

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Wait, what? You mean directly? or after adding it to some water?

I wanted something large enough that I could sharpen any blade. I found out shortly after I ordered that some people work the blades sidways while doing some kind of hip swinging dance. I think that Jessica de Boer does the side to side thing (https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread....55#post2902355)

Soap and water. Enough soap that it’s slippery. It works just like oil without the mess.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

One tip I have is to buy a Mora knife in carbon steel, they go for $10 or so. The reason is because aside from being very useful knives with good steel, they have what is known as a "Scandi" grind which means there is only one wide bevel per side. The bevels are wide enough that they will register on the stone and you won't have to guess if you're at the right angle. So they are good to learn sharpening with, and getting the feel of how to navigate the belly of the knife as you work it on the stone. Also they take forever to sharpen with the bevels being so wide, but that's a feature and not a bug for someone learning and trying to build muscle memory.

I just ordered one.