Looks like a Thuri to me. Seen a lot of use.
Mystery hones... Let's see what you have
- Thread starter kcb5150
- Start date
Thanks for your insight, I don't really know thuri grain. It could use a BBW backing or something.
This is after a night in simple green half diluted. It was cutting extremely quickly straight off the sic powder/atoma 140-400. It still cuts quickly after some burnishing, at least on my western and Japanese plane blades. One of the photos is after maybe 10 seconds of sharpening.
I scrubbed it with a brass brush all over and I’m not sure if that caused the sides to turn white. The top was sort of frosted before I started sharpening.
I went around with a Les Lat slurry stone all over the surface, and one of the very ends might be a tad softer than the other due to slurry formation. Most of the stone produced hardly any.
I scrubbed it with a brass brush all over and I’m not sure if that caused the sides to turn white. The top was sort of frosted before I started sharpening.
I went around with a Les Lat slurry stone all over the surface, and one of the very ends might be a tad softer than the other due to slurry formation. Most of the stone produced hardly any.
Novaculite... possibly a Turkey. Nice, also suggests date is roughly accurate. They fell waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay out of favor once Washita's started getting exported. I doubt many (if you don't count the modernish Cretan versions that claim they are Turkey hone) were mined after the mid-late 19th century. Whats the length/weight?
It's 8 x 2 max and 1.5 thick, not sure about weight. I was just looking up turkeys myself, seems like a possible match. Currently doing a shave test.
There are plenty of novaculites that are similar to slates in that if it's not a famous one they may never be ID'ed. But with fractures like that and that sort of semi-translucent dark mottled coloring... nothing seems out of place for a Turkey, and you'll find 5 turkeys for every "mystery novaculite", so odds are on your side.
They are also crazy aggressive cutters, even when polished up, just like you describe.
I've had one or two that shaved decently. But they were tiny and absolutely flawless (no cracks or gaps). Overall, not a great shave. Edge quality closer to Washita than Hard Arkansas off most of them. I like them for knives, and for looking at. Gorgeous stones.
If you dig there's a lot of 100+ year old sharpening guides that mention them. Mostly they got supplanted by coarse/soft washita's for woodworking because they are so prone to breaking/separating and you need to be careful to house them and protect them from breaking; from what I remember reading.
They are also crazy aggressive cutters, even when polished up, just like you describe.
I've had one or two that shaved decently. But they were tiny and absolutely flawless (no cracks or gaps). Overall, not a great shave. Edge quality closer to Washita than Hard Arkansas off most of them. I like them for knives, and for looking at. Gorgeous stones.
If you dig there's a lot of 100+ year old sharpening guides that mention them. Mostly they got supplanted by coarse/soft washita's for woodworking because they are so prone to breaking/separating and you need to be careful to house them and protect them from breaking; from what I remember reading.
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That was actually a really nice shave. I did 50-100 water only passes on it with my W&B, which already had a jnat edge, and the edge did improve. I've never made or used a novaculite edge before, it sounds crispy on the strop and on the face but is also smooth. The shave was half turkey/half coticule and the difference in effortlessness was tangible, though the post shave feeling was very similar.
Thanks for the heads up on their fragility.
Thanks for the heads up on their fragility.
The sides and bottom even turned white when I scrubbed them, and I read that turkey stones might have chalk and lime in their composition. I know these things used to be rare, but are they anymore?
- Thread starter
- #331
They smell like sulfur when lapping.
Forgot to add the action shot.
It's a speedy little devil for sure. Neat stone.
Thought I had spied a dark Charnley under the crud of this stone described as green and black (I'm one out of three.). It takes some imagination...
Still think it's a Charnley at this point....
Striations on the surface and spots that remind me of hard water spotting, but strange brown inclusions....
The side of the stone reveals more of these inclusions, from light to rusty brown in color.
I noticed some of the chipping on the stone is kind of conchoidal, flint like. I haven't run a SG on the stone but I think it's a little denser than a my Charnley.
Still think it's a Charnley at this point....
Striations on the surface and spots that remind me of hard water spotting, but strange brown inclusions....
The side of the stone reveals more of these inclusions, from light to rusty brown in color.
I noticed some of the chipping on the stone is kind of conchoidal, flint like. I haven't run a SG on the stone but I think it's a little denser than a my Charnley.
- Thread starter
- #335
Is it green? Grecian maybe
Yes, it's green.
It's generous sized bench stone at 8 15/16" x 2" x 1 5/16".
This is after another day in the simple green half diluted. I must say I liked it better mottled brown. It darkens a little when wet but nothing like it was. What’s going on here? Lack of moisture or oil?
- Thread starter
- #339
Turkish oilstone. Looks like one lf the chalkier ones. Very fast stones but super fragile.
- Thread starter
- #340
I would get that thing in the box and just keep it there. You will need to keep an eye on those fissures holding water. Honestly, given my experience with this type I would avoid any water because around the fissures it could become sandy and spit up grit.
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