Knife blades wear out over time, and you have to use a whetstone to restore their sharpness. A whetstone is a special stone for sharpening cutting tools, which removes wear and restores their sharpness. Let us take a closer look at one of the most popular sharpening whetstones: Arkansas natural sharpening stone.
Arkansas stones are made of Novaculite and characterized by uniformity and a degree of purity within 99.5% (SiO2 content). They are used for high-quality sharpening of cutting tools.
They are natural abrasives that are mined in the United States and were named after the Arkansas state. These stones are quarried according to open-Ρut mining technique at a depth of almost 20 meters. The material is considered rare because its only deposit is in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas. Locals obtained stone from riverbeds, particularly the river that bears the same name.
The hardness of the stone complicates the process and makes the work time-consuming. Experts acquire the rock and proceed to cut out the blocks. They then meticulously split these blocks into the required dimensions, ensuring to maintain the integrity of the grit quality and prevent any damage to the abrasive structure.
No one knows the exact age of the stones. Experts assume that they are as old as 250 million years! For some time the Arkansas stones served as a track ballast material. They were used as a filler on railway tracks during the times of steam locomotives. During the World War II, Arkansas stone was considered a strategic raw material for the military industry.
Arkansas stone consists of quartz crystals (silicon dioxide, also known as silica). It has a fine grit. The grit size is within 1-6 microns. The symplectic structure provides the stone with strong bonds between the fractions.
Despite concerns about the depletion of these natural resources, current data indicate that the supply of novaculite suitable for sharpening stones is still abundant. The amount of novaculite in the Ouachita Mountains is sufficient to continue sharpening stone production in Arkansas for the foreseeable future.
According to the degree of hardness, Arkansas stone is divided into the following types:
Novaculite is a common name for these natural stones.
You can find this bar in stores in four options:
Sometimes professionals have all stone options in their arsenal.
Arkansas stones' varying grit range allows you to select the right bar for sharpening cutting tools according to consumer's needs. They come with different grain sizes. It turns out practical when you need to do a complete sharpening of a blade. You remove the burrs with a coarse abrasive and profile the edge. Then you use a fine stone to finish the blade surface. And here is an answer to why you should possess different grit stones.
Sharpening stages:
All Arkansas abrasives, including hard and black, allow you to sharpen the blades to a mirror shine.
Arkansas stones have a broad range of applications. Let us highlight some of them in which they provide high-quality sharpening:
Proper storage will give Arkansas stones a long and satisfying performance during their service life. We recommend storing the item in a dry place, inside a wooden box or case. Because moisture will gradually destroy its structure and deteriorate its sharpening capabilities. It is also necessary to protect natural fragile abrasives from impacts to avoid damage to the surface.
We also recommend keeping the bars out of direct sunlight. Due to the fact that UV exposure will have a negative effect on the structure of the stone. Remember to store each item of a different type or grit level separately. This will prevent damage as well as infection of the fine grit stones by coarser grits.
Remember to avoid serious temperature fluctuations in your storage area. Do not forget to clean the stones and do regular flattening. You will notice metal burrs and abrasive residue remaining on the surface after work. Use a soft cloth and water for this. To flatten the stone surface and remove deformations you will need a hard lapping stone or tempered glass and powder grits.
Compared to other sharpening stones, Arkansas has the following advantages:
Arkansas stones retain high-performance properties for a long time, which allows you to use them to give your knives perfect sharpening.
You can find Arkansas stones in physical and online stores that offer sharpening supplies. You can find four types of these stones available in stock in the TSPROF online store. Soft, Hard, Black, and Translucent stones, along with a convenient aluminum backing plate with a sticky layer that facilitates their use with TSPROF sharpeners.
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