Arkansas Stone

[Old Savage]

Friend of mine gave me his dad's Arkansas stone. He believes it is from the 50s, very fine - smoothest stone I have felt. Anyone use these?

[RKrodle]

I have a couple and use them as a finish stone on my knives before moving to a leather strap.

[kimwcook]

I have a couple and use them as a finish stone on my knives before moving to a leather strap.

Yep.

[2571]

They're nice. Take care of 'em & they'll last foever. I'm 60 & still using my dad's stone.

[JerryB]

It would just be plumb sacrilegious to use anything else here in Arkansaw. I like to kerosene on my stones, it seems to keep them open better.

[RKrodle]

I like to kerosene on my stones, it seems to keep them open better.

One of the very few things that I like WD-40 for.

[44magHunter]

Yep I like to use my Dads stones for the finishing touches on my knives. Some of them are so smooth they feel like polished glass. They sure help your knife keep an edge.

[20cows]

Yep!

[bogus bill]

Me too.

[J Miller]

I have several knife sharpening stones. One might even be an Arkansas stone. With them I can put a really dull edge on a fairly sharp knife in about one try. Never did get the hang of knife sharpening. Pretty sad isn't it?

Joe

[Bigahh]

It would just be plumb sacrilegious to use anything else here in Arkansaw. I like to kerosene on my stones, it seems to keep them open better.

I also use them, and will try the Kerosene as the honing oil can always seems empty. I had the same problem as Joe then one day I must have hit the angle, and figured it out. When you are doing it correctly it feels like you are shaving off a bit of the stone. You can "Feel" it draw pushing the knife away from you the same amount on each side of the blade, and it works.

[Chuck 100 yd]

I have an Arkansaw stone of about the same vintage. I still have the original wooden box to. Mine is about 2 1/2 x 10" and like others use it as the last step before the strop.
Joe, sharpening is easy. You are doing something wrong.
Maybe we need a how to thread with photos.
An old German feller, in Solingen Germany in`68`, showed us guys ,on a USO trip to the Puma factory, how to do it properly.
Now the reason for dull knives is just being lazy.

[J Miller]

I have an Arkansaw stone of about the same vintage. I still have the original wooden box to. Mine is about 2 1/2 x 10" and like others use it as the last step before the strop.
Joe, sharpening is easy. You are doing something wrong.
Maybe we need a how to thread with photos.
An old German feller, in Solingen Germany in`68`, showed us guys ,on a USO trip to the Puma factory, how to do it properly.
Now the reason for dull knives is just being lazy.

Yep, without a doubt. I've tried to do this as instructed by several different folks who really can put an edge on a knife. I've even used the Lansky kits with the same dismal results when following their directions. What I need is someone who will sit with me and coach me as I'm doing it.

That would be great. I'm up for a good "HOW TO" thread.

Joe

[Barcelona Rick]

OS those stones are offered in several different colors which tell ya if they are coarse, medium or fine. I use them all the time.....I usually finish up with a ceramic rod that was used as an insulator for a thermocoupling in a gas fired furnace. Arkansas stones are readily available and very inexpensive....sewing machine oil works really good with the wet stones....

jumbeaux

[soon 2 retire]

OS - Your stone looks like one I have. The grade is translucent hard arkansas which is the best grade of arkansas stones. New perfect stones are pretty expensive. I bought mine as "blemished" from Sierra Trading Post. It has a couple of nicks here and there but it sharpens just fine.

It does a good job for me; but I'd appreciate someone posting a tutorial on knife sharpening. Always open to a better way. I'd especially like to hear what the old guy from Puma Knives in Germany had to say.

Bob in NE Indiana

[jnyork]

I just went in and googled "knife sharpening tutorial". Looks like there is about 3 days reading there, plus some videos. I will try to wade through them and see if there are a couple really good ones to post here.

[Bullard4075]

One of my fondest memories is my maternal grandfather honing his woodworking chisels on a stone.
If memory serves he used 3in1 oil.

[Chuck 100 yd]

Sharpening the German guys way......

I will try to keep it short and simple.
Clean and oil/wet your stone. Lay the blade flat on the stone. Lift the back of the blade about 1/8 to 1/4" off the stone while the edge is still in contact with the stone. This is to establish the angle you want the cutting bevel to be.
Always keeping this angle as close as possible,now sweep the blade over the face of the stone as if you were cutting a thin slice off the face of the stone. make long strokes the length of the stone and sweeping the blade in such a manner as to work the entire cutting edge from end to end. Apply light but firm pressure on the blade and sweep it across cutting edge first. Never drag the blade backwards. Lift the blade off the stone after each stroke.
Depending on if the edge is very dull or just needs touching up will determine weather you need a course or fine stone. Badly abused bldes will need the bevel completely re made and a very course stone will be needed to do this.
Now, sweep the blade across the stone as described above 10 times on one side and flip the blade and repeat 10 times on the other side.
Next 9 times per side and then 8 times per side.
Do this until you are down to 1 pass per side of the blade. Remember your angle, if it changes as you sharpen you are wasting your time and will end up with a dull blade.
You should now have a blade with a good edge and only need to strop it remove the faint wire edge that forms from stoning.
I have a heavy piece of saddle leather glued to a piece of wood and coated with jewelers rouge that I strop with.
When stropping you drag the blade backwards but at the same angle you used to sharpen. You are only trying to remove that fine wire edge that will only bend over and make it dull again if not removed.
If the blade is truly sharp,just try this. Holding the end of the handle between two fingers lay the cutting edge across your thumb nail. Now drag it across your nail. If dull,it will feel dull, if sharp it will make your skin crawl. Happy sharpening


PS, using a steel only straightens out a bent wire edge and returns sharpness for a short time. A knife that is truly sharp will shave the hair off your arm as slick as can be.
I used to walk around with hairless arms all the time. I don`t have to prove to myself that they are sharp any more.

Hard to explain but easy to do!!

[RKrodle]

That's pretty much the way I do it. I have bought, recently, some diamond stones and really like them. They are great for setting a bevel for your style of sharping. No two people hold a knife the same or at the same angle when sharping a blade. After the diamond stone I go to a hard Arkansas and them to the strop. I use a latigo cinch strap with jewelers rouge rubed into it. I put a D ring on it so I can hook it on something and use it like a barber. Chuck 100 yd, I still walk around with hair missing off my arms .

[AJMD429]

Where do you get "jewlers rouge"...?

[RKrodle]

Where do you get "jewlers rouge"...?

I've picked it up at gun shows and I think Home depot and the like carry it.

[Blaine]

You have to do your first beveling cut until you can't see the edge in the light. Then you can move onto what ever final sharpening medium you like. When I'm home the crock sticks are my favorite, but I can get buy just fine with the two sided Diamond stone.

[jackruff]

I've used an Arkansas stone ever since I bought my first one (I still have it) in a little store on Petit Jean Mountain - in Arkansas, of course, in 1972. They work great!

[Hillbilly]

Jewlers rouge... usually any big industrial supply can conjure up some... especially if the cater to the tool and die trade (we still do tool and die work in the USA, don't we).

If you ever noticed the bushing on a high voltatge powerline transformer... the part that goes into the tank you don't see is a nice peice of smooth porclein... shaped as a tapered rod... makes a dandy knife hone. We would always liberate those bushings from damaged transformers after we drained oil to send em for salvage or rebuild.

[piller]

I use the Arkansas oilstones some, too. Ricky and Tycer can verify that I can sharpen knives fairly well. Ricky can put an edge on a knife as well as anyone I have ever seen, and Tycer is right up there, too. I sometimes use diamond stones in the field as they are quicker to use, but they can't put an edge on a knife anywhere near as well as an Arkansas stone. I do think that a steel does help to sharpen a knife, and that it is not just for when there is a wire edge. A steel or a leather strop, when used properly, will simply line up the fine "teeth" of an edge which are too small for the stone to either grind off or align. I you look at the edge of a knife under about 30 power magnification, you will see a sawblade-like edge. This is perfectly normal. The size of the "sawteeth" is dependent on the type of steel. Most good carbon steel has smaller teeth than most stainless steel. This is not always true, but most of the time it is. There are metals which can be added to stainless steel to make the steel grain size smaller which will make the "sawteeth" smaller. Vanadium is only one of many metals used for this purpose. When properly sharpened with precise, consistent angles, and then finished on a steel or a leather strop, a good blade will hold its edge longer than if it isn't finished. A wire edge on the otherhand can be indicative of bad sharpening technique or improperly heat treated steel. Both of which make for a poor working edge. A steel or a strop can also be used to re-align the edge of the blade in between sharpenings so that the sharp edge has a longer useful life.

[awp101]

I have several knife sharpening stones. One might even be an Arkansas stone. With them I can put a really dull edge on a fairly sharp knife in about one try. Never did get the hang of knife sharpening. Pretty sad isn't it?

Joe

J Miller, does this help any?

http://knife-knife.com/how-to-sharpen-a-knife

[AJMD429]

Not to divert the thread, but what does a "razor strop" do that an arkansas stone doesn't do...?

[pokey]

Where do you get "jewlers rouge"...?

here, for one of many places.

http://www.riogrande.com/MemberArea/Sea ... +Compounds

[Bigahh]

Not to divert the thread, but what does a "razor strop" do that an arkansas stone doesn't do...?

I was told years ago it will even out the tiny "Birrs" left by using the stone. If they are not taken off, the edge will dull much faster.

[John in MS]

"I still walk around with hair missing off my arms "

Years ago, when I was working hard on perfecting my sharpening skills (never got there!)
I drove my wife crazy by shaving my arms, and sometimes even the occasional patch on my leg while testing this or that knife. I called it "new knife mange."

[mescalero1]

My girlfriend will not touch my knives,
she says they are " dangerous "

[soon 2 retire]

My girlfriend will not touch my knives,
she says they are " dangerous "

Mescalero,

I've found the opposite. You force a dull knife which causes you to lose control. I have the scars to prove it. A sharp knife is a joy to use almost taking no effort. I had a time convincing my wife of the same thing though.

Bob in NE Indiana