Found new norton washita stones

[Eric Rathhaus]

Or they could do what DeDeers does with diamonds - leave it in the ground to keep the prices up.

[Mel Fulks]

Maybe I've missed some info. Read it all....but comprehension might need night school. The stones are from Norton.
They own the brand ,so they can change name or stick it on brassieres ,if they want to. The new crop are not the same
as the others , so I think they are ALL going to be finer than any old Washitas.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I was under the impression that they didn't do it simply because the demand was not there. The prices I see on ebay, are very high, but they're selling very few compared to how many you would need to sell to make it profitable in general.

There was sheet of stones that they were selling, we're not terribly expensive all things considered. if they were purposely trying to artificially keep the price up, I would have expected them to sell them for more

[Michael J Evans]

I received my replacement. The new one was supposed to be personally inspected.
It still arrived with a small hole in it that was circled with pencil. The other face is fine so I'll just keep it as is.
Maybe this is normal for natural stones? If I were them I would be upset with Norton I've received two with defects and Tom another.

[Kevin Adams]

I received my stone today. One side had some circled defects and the other side (which I would consider the “top”) was cupped. But maybe 2 minutes on my 400 grit Atoma diamond plate and it was as flat as needs to be. I really like the stone and almost wish I had bought two, but that would’ve deprived someone else of one. It’s a small stone and I wish it was maybe a 1/4” thicker, but I quite like small sharpening stones. It’s fairly coarse, but I didn’t think as coarse as my India. It’s quite attractive, too, and I think will settle in to be a very nice, all-purpose stone.

Now if I can only get Raf to make me a pretty box, I’ll be all set!

Kevin

[Jim Koepke]

This could have been stock that was mined years ago. No one knows for sure except the source.

These would have likely sold as fast if the price was higher.

It is doubtful there is some "Arkansas Stone Conspiracy" unfolding before our very eyes.

This stone does feel a bit coarser than my stone labeled; Norton - Lily White Washinta.

It has a place on my oilstone sharpening bench.

jtk

[Mel Fulks]

This stone does feel a bit coarser than my stone labeled; Norton - Lily White Washinta

jtk[/QUOTE]
Jim , that is the first I've heard of the now being sold stuff being coarser than a Lilly White. I certainly trust your ability
to test and distinguish differences. Just from reading the current posts....I know I haven't heard of anything close to
that before. The impression I got was the new stock is between soft Arks and Washitas. Strange stuff. Thanks for buyin'
testin' and writin'

[Jim Koepke]

The new stone hasn't worn in of yet. Only a blade or two have touched it.

The feel and even the sound is different.

jtk

[Eric Rathhaus]

Hi Andrew - I was really joking. I suspect, as you do, that it's the cost of extraction and production not the existence of the stone in situ that limits retail sale.

[Rafael Herrera]

Since I'm making one for my stone, I might as well make a second one for you Kevin. Send me a PM.
Rafael

[Kevin Adams]

Since I'm making one for my stone, I might as well make a second one for you Kevin. Send me a PM.
Rafael

Dang, you’re my hero, Raf! I’ll send you a PM and we can figure out a trade maybe?

Thanks!
Kevin

[Andrew Pitonyak]

Given some of the posts about the new washitas, I personally inspected four of the new stones that were sent out. First, is the stone that I received. There is nothing special about it ans it looks similar on both sides.

washita_01.jpg

Now for a second stone, notice that there looks like a crack in the lower right corner. Here is an image of the stone AND a close up of that line. Nope, nothing to see here, looks fine.

washita_02.jpg washita_02_line.jpg

The third stone has at least one pencil mark on it, it is an x in the middle. There also appears to be a line drawn on the left, but I cannot tel for certain that there is a line. I have NO idea why there is an X draw on this stone.
washita_03.jpg washita_03_x.jpg

The next stone has a very clear defect on the left. It looks like a smiley face and it is circled in a way that looks like a heart.

washita_04.jpg

The parts that would make up the mouth and the eyes are sufficiently soft that I could scrape it out with my finger nail.

washita_04_smile.jpg

The other side of the stone has no apparent defects.

[ken hatch]

Ark stones and for that matter old stock Washita stones spoil us because most come near perfect. In the world of JNATs that is not necessarily the case, many stones will have good and bad areas and it is up to the user to learn the stone. These Washita stones may be the same. The question is do they bring enough to the table to learn the stone, for myself they do, a fast natural grinding stone that can be used with either oil or water is pretty special.

ken

[Kevin Adams]

So just a follow up on this thread from a while back...look at the box that Rafael made for my Washita...stunning craftsmanship! I had an old piece of bubinga laying around that was just the right size for the stone since it’s so thin. I am enjoying using the stone and the box made by Raf makes it even nicer to use. Thanks again, Rafael, now on to make more boxes for my other stones.

Kevin

623E42D4-113E-444D-9E06-33D4EC69F54A.jpg
9C2FEA96-C465-4F32-8A27-E649A57E91E0.jpg
F571898E-8F6D-4F26-A189-57D769D4E90A.jpg

[scott lipscomb]

That box is really nice! Is it just the lid that's let in? I can't quite tell.