Now that Arkansas stones are once again getting the attention they deserve, we need a place to show them off. Hard, soft, vintage, modern, Washita, if they came from The Natural State, let’s see em!!
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Arkansas Love...Let's see those Arks!
- Thread starter David
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Nice. Love the black line down the center.
Agreed. It’s s nice little design on the stone!
Here is mine, pictured with a little Thuringian for size comparison.
It's a bit of a monster at 8x3x1. Probably the biggest stone I have and my only Ark.
It's a bit of a monster at 8x3x1. Probably the biggest stone I have and my only Ark.
Double sided convex ark from Jarrod, 8x3, with a straight edge showing the curve.
No longer have this one.
Partial family portrait:
These two get by far the most business:
These two get by far the most business:
Here's the Washita's I've kept around. I've probably got a few more broken and/or pocket stones in the garage and such, but these are the ones on the shelf.
Top Down:
A BRIGHT RED washita that is fully translucent (can see a flashlight through the almost 2" stone) and CRAZY porous. This thing is fast, hard and heavy. Certainly not going to give you a Lily White finish, but good god does it remove steel.
A new acquisition of a similar flavor to the one above, but less extreme. You see these on eBay fairly frequently from old woodworkers estates. Red, Hard, Fast, translucent, and coarse.
A new acquisition as well. No back label, but has a side label that I've only ever seen on Rosy Reds before "Guaranteed Satisfactory Or Money Refunded"
Vintage Norton Lily White
A "Woodworker's Delight" These are marked as being Graded "L.W. & R. R.", which I believe means they are always either a Lily White or a Rosy Red, but they wouldn't guarantee which you would get.
My Washita Treasure. Another WW Delight... but 10". Only seen 2 or 3 of these, ever.
Top Down:
A BRIGHT RED washita that is fully translucent (can see a flashlight through the almost 2" stone) and CRAZY porous. This thing is fast, hard and heavy. Certainly not going to give you a Lily White finish, but good god does it remove steel.
A new acquisition of a similar flavor to the one above, but less extreme. You see these on eBay fairly frequently from old woodworkers estates. Red, Hard, Fast, translucent, and coarse.
A new acquisition as well. No back label, but has a side label that I've only ever seen on Rosy Reds before "Guaranteed Satisfactory Or Money Refunded"
Vintage Norton Lily White
A "Woodworker's Delight" These are marked as being Graded "L.W. & R. R.", which I believe means they are always either a Lily White or a Rosy Red, but they wouldn't guarantee which you would get.
My Washita Treasure. Another WW Delight... but 10". Only seen 2 or 3 of these, ever.
Attachments
Vintage Norton Translucent Black
Modern Natural Wetstone Co. Translucent Black
Semi-vintage (70's-80's) Surgical Black
Modern Hall's Surgical Black
Vintage Butterscotch Translucent in a gorgeous handmade and initial'ed box. This belonged to a woodworker who knew his stuff.
Vintage Butterscotch Translucent penknife in a paddle
Modern Natural Wetstone Co. Translucent Black
Semi-vintage (70's-80's) Surgical Black
Modern Hall's Surgical Black
Vintage Butterscotch Translucent in a gorgeous handmade and initial'ed box. This belonged to a woodworker who knew his stuff.
Vintage Butterscotch Translucent penknife in a paddle
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Damn, Ian went all in.
Very nice stones. I think there’s a good chance that’s a Rosy Red. I don’t recall ever seeing that side label on anything else.
Very nice stones. I think there’s a good chance that’s a Rosy Red. I don’t recall ever seeing that side label on anything else.
Pretty stone and box.
Yeah... I'm debating trying to clean the surface with some SG, so I can see what it really looks like. Worried the SG might wick up and destroy or loosen the label... probably will try doing a just bare minimum mm or so deep soak.
The funny part is when I trimmed my collection down a couple years ago... the arks were probably the most heavily hit... because I mean... if there's any stone you'll NEVER wear out, it's a hard arkansas... so I had just a silly amount.
Used to have a ton of 6" and 8" translucents too, but they all got sold in the first culling, along with maybe another 10 or so Washita's. The Washita's are the thing that hurts... basically unless it's a labeled Lily White... they NEVER sell for what they're worth. I expect by the time I retire, they'll have gone up 1000% or more in value, as the supply of good vintage ones (Modern Washita is just soft arkansas... I don't know of a mine who is getting ACTUAL Washita's any more) is sure to dry up soon... and they're insanely cheap still. (You can buy 8x2" in almost new condition for $20-30)... and unlike hard arks... they actually wear and break.
The funny part is when I trimmed my collection down a couple years ago... the arks were probably the most heavily hit... because I mean... if there's any stone you'll NEVER wear out, it's a hard arkansas... so I had just a silly amount.
Used to have a ton of 6" and 8" translucents too, but they all got sold in the first culling, along with maybe another 10 or so Washita's. The Washita's are the thing that hurts... basically unless it's a labeled Lily White... they NEVER sell for what they're worth. I expect by the time I retire, they'll have gone up 1000% or more in value, as the supply of good vintage ones (Modern Washita is just soft arkansas... I don't know of a mine who is getting ACTUAL Washita's any more) is sure to dry up soon... and they're insanely cheap still. (You can buy 8x2" in almost new condition for $20-30)... and unlike hard arks... they actually wear and break.
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I'd sure like to see some full size photos of those translucents.
What are your feelings on the Natural whetstone trans blacks? I’m really tempted by them but i don’t think I’ll gain anything over my jet black Dans
Honestly you probably won’t. The beautiful stones, but really the distinctions between all of these high quality hard Arkansas is quite minimal
