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Must admit I have walked past a number of stones looking like that thinking they were Washitas. Never knew Arks came in that pattern or colour but the SG can't lie can it? I wonder if it could be a hard white Ark given the oven treatment or just badly stained but as long as it performs it does...

Years ago I made pine beds for my daughters, the wood was reclaimed or bought from the local DIY. Lots of mortices in 4x4 timber so I bought some Sorby morticing chisels in the required sizes. I cut the mortices on the floor in the hall sitting or kneeling astride the timber and the work went...

Must admit to turning into a stone collector as well more of a hobby outside of woodworking. Seeing a stone used by a craftsman a lot older than me emerge from layers of gunk and restoring it to it's former glory gives me a degree of pleasure. Learning how to get the best out of the stone I find...

I find the traditional stone boxes a bit over ornate so I have just made a bunch out of Sycamore and Cherry offcuts, simple mortised oblong boxes flat on the top for stacking. The Sycamore was a bit wormy so I nuked it in the microwave, advantage of that is that it dries the wood out, kills any...

By toxic do you mean inclusions of larger abrasive particles? Not up on razor speak! I would expect your CF to get considerably finer than a Washita but then you are only honing the secondary on it so it should give you a good edge. The CFs I have are very fine and put a good sharp edge on my...

Looks like a CF DW if those marks on the side are reddish brown and not just oil residue, the black spotches may mean LI though. I think the finest CFs had very little discolouration of the honing surface but I might be wrong. I do have an 8 mm thick piece here which is all one colour, needs...

I have read of stones being baked or cooked but not in oil, I would guess that you would end up with a darkened stone with finer cutting, a "toffee" appearance and probably the process would toughen the stone. I can imagine such slabs of rock but I would have to see for myself. I was told that...

These Cretans sound interesting awaiting a response from the GKS. I would have thought that a freshly lapped Ark would have cut faster due to new sharp particles being exposed they release them rather unwillingly in use if at all, bit like some of these much vaunted hard waterstones that need...

Will the real Turkey stone stand up please! I took a bit of a shine to the second stone mostly because it looks as if it has been hacked out of a mountain but looking at the layers in it and the amount of wear I am not sure. Anyway they will both go for too much dosh so I might just get one or...

The stones sold by the Greek knife shop look a bit like this 371779352254, not sure what this one is 291932471385 perhaps a black Turkey stone? The others that are now gone were quite glassy and vari-coloured but contained the fissures plus a translucent look to them. Hard to tell from ebay...

DW does that stone bear any resemblance to the Cretan stone you purchased? There have been a few on UK ebay similar to the above being sold as Turkey stones they seem to have an almost translucent look to them and contain a few fissures like your one.

What you really need DW is one of those Norris long panel planes, not sure if I could even lift one let alone use it effectively! Nice looking infill plane you have there, can't make out if it is dovetailed or whether the iron is tapered but that is a good looking plane. Something about the way...

Swagman, not trying to score points at all and I was not aware of your knowledge of the relationship between Chert and Novaculite, obviously you have not read posts made by a lot of forum members more knowledgeable than myself both here and on SRP. As for the sincerity gibe I have no idea what...

Swagman, if you speed read that link you posted then you will find that Novaculite is part of the Chert family and comes in a green colour as well as the various normal varieties from the Ouachita Mountains. Locations include the UK so my guess is that the stones you mention are Novaculite...

Not in the slightest Stewie in fact I enjoy using them but slate does have it's limitations. Novaculite is my preference but some sand stones and others are worth a look, watch this space. However I would not bother using any of them on my Japanese knives and alloy steel plane blades...

Prices for named stones on ebay now have gone through the roof way out of my price range. I will have to go and dig my own but I get the feeling there will be a long queue in front of me. Charnleys seem to come in different flavours but they are quite easy to get hold of and a piece I have is...

Exactly my requirements and what I have found with the slate stones is that you have to be very careful not to scratch the stone so not a lot of use for finer carving tools. They are good for putting a final polished edge on though but you can do that easier and faster with a loaded strop. I am...

One thing I have found while visiting various secondhand emporiums is that slates were in quite common use in the UK. Whether I have passed over beaten up Thuringens and Eschers in my travels I will never know and the only way to find out would have been to buy them and use them unless I get...

Nice looking haul DW. Best test for slate is with a copper coin which scratches slate quite easily, not so Novaculite. Looks like an LI to me the inclusions often look crystalline in nature but I am not an expert. Looking at some old catalogs the Lllyn Idwals and Grecian Hones are sometimes...

You can get tooling leather which is quite thick, smooth and hard, I did get some thin horsehide but it was dressed with some sort of wax. Quick rub down with worn out wet 'n dry sorted that and it is OK but it ain't horse butt! Motorcyclist jackets and suits are made from horsehide but I doubt...