2 stones under the sea. Any hone potential?

[albsat]

Hello there,

I picked these 2 stones out of a rocky beach. Any potential to turn them into a honing stone? The grey was the one that I liked. The other seemed very orange under the sea and it is very light. Now the orange colour has vanished a bit.

Thank you

 

[Fordfather]

Are they sedimentary? Metamorphic? Igneous?

Have you checked the matrix, under a microscope? Any silicates in the matrix?

There's a lot that goes into a natural hone, geologically speaking.

 

[albsat]

Are they sedimentary? Metamorphic? Igneous?

Have you checked the matrix, under a microscope? Any silicates in the matrix?

There's a lot that goes into a natural hone, geologically speaking.

I know and I understand mine was a very generic question. I think the gray one is metamorphic, but it is just a wild guess as I am far from expert into this matter.

 

[Fordfather]

Generic questions are hard to answer. I suppose you could try flattening them, and testing a few razors on them.

 

[Legion]

Basically, most rocks will hone to one degree or another. How well it works, well, one way to find out.

Speaking from bitter experience, it is pretty annoying spending a lot of time flattening a rock, only to find out it is a dud. Probably safest going to an area where rocks have known honing potential and picking up stuff that looks the same, but it's your time and effort.

 

[Gamma]

Determining potential would rely on your ability to identify, cut, slab, and test them. Discovering stone suitable for sharpening would depend heavily on understanding what makes a stone good for sharpening purposes, as opposed to just pulling random pieces out of the surf. None of the stones in the pix above would spark my interest, honestly. Probably do better with a piece of slate from Home Depot.

 

[helicopter]

I flattened a rock from my garden, and it worked on soft hrc58 kitchen knife steel, but not very well. It was a fun learning project. Basically, the stone cut very slowly, dished quickly, and put a coarse and uneven grind on the edges. It was messy because it shed so much slurry. It did leave a visually attractive scratch pattern.

I won't be doing any similar projects until I am in a location known to have natural stones well suited to sharpening. There are a couple such locations in Northern Michigan, but I haven't pursued them yet. I already have several good natural stones that likely out perform anything I will ever dig up or find in nature.

 

[psfred]

Any silicate stone will work as a hone in some fashion, but a useful one is a different story. Only way to tell is to flatten it and try something on it, you will find out fast.

As noted, just because a rock scratches steel does NOT mean it's a useful hone!

 

[Mr Kooby Shemayrew]

Me and a friend did this last year, found an area where a river emptied into the ocean and had some nice looking stones. After a lot of work I was able to get a few stones usable.

One rough stone was able to finish a knife. It wasn’t particularly remarkable, and it is not fast. It was able to create a quite strong kasumi finish - but I just have no desire for kasumi finishes.

Two which look like tightly packed silica are able to finish a razor. Unfortunately they are on the smaller side and I prefer large bench stones. Also, other than simply being able to finish a razor, I do feel that they are remarkable either. Are they in some way better than my JNATs or Arks? I don’t think so.

But go have fun. The process was fun and I have a heck of a lot more respect for the people in the industry that created the stones I purchased. It is a lot of work.
If you are working with dry stones - or are exposed to any dry dust - ENSURE YOU ARE USING AN ACTUAL RESPIRATOR. You do not want that dust in your lungs.
If someone has a wet tile saw that would be a huge help. I don’t have one and I was using a diamond cup on an angle grinder. Makes a big mess.