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Smith's Ark in wood box

Found a few Smith's Arks in wooden boxes unused...but I cant for the life of me find any details online about them aside from what's on the box. No historical website data from Smith.

Smith BAB6- 6" Black Hard

Smith HAB8- 8" Hard

I have been reading and reading and still I struggle to understand the progression of Arks and what so many different sites and threads call them and their equivalent grits. I'm losing my mind a little trying to sort it all out.

Any ideas what these are worth or if they are worth picking up to start my collection? Right now I went cheap to start and have been keeping my hone with lapping film. Ready for the next step.

Thanks!

Alex
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They are going to have some collector value because of the boxes, if they're affordable buy them.

Personally I wouldn't pay a whole lot for them as I don't value collectibles that much and new arks are not that expensive.

Are the stones in good condition?
 
They are going to have some collector value because of the boxes, if they're affordable buy them.

Personally I wouldn't pay a whole lot for them as I don't value collectibles that much and new arks are not that expensive.

Are the stones in good condition?
I agree with you. The collector value holds no weight for me. They are tools, and if they were made differently years ago than now, it might be worth more.
The stones are from factory. He opened the cellophane bag they shipped in years ago to show me. But hes asking $125 each (willing to go down if I express interest)

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You didn't post photos of the actual "Hard" Arkansas stone, however due to the year of original sale, it could possibly be a translucent. Norton only used "hard" and "soft" descriptions for years but their "hard" stones were either translucent or black. If the hard is actually translucent, then both of those are no doubt "fine" stones.

I am assuming both stones are 2" wide and around 1" thick. I have used a few vintage Smith's stones in the past and mine were good stones. This is in comparison to the stones from Norton and Dan's Whetstone company. The Smith's vintage stones do not bring as much money as the Norton vintage stones but a NOS Norton translucent, 8x2, would certainly bring more than $125 on ebay. The hard black being only a 6" stone wouldn't bring as much IMHO.

If you have a picture of the stones, please post them.

Chris
 
I'll go get pictures of the actual stones today. I want to say they were both dark, but at the time I didn't know what I was looking for. Thanks for the awesome response!

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Here's the pictures I got.
The BAB6 was brand new.
HAB8 was lightly used I guess. A much lighter color.

Both are 1" thick.

Thanks for all the help!
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The 8" "hard" stone is definitely not what I was hoping it would be. It certainly does not appear to be a translucent stone and, in my opinion, is not worth the asking price by far. The "hard black" may be a black translucent, however it is hard to tell. Upon further inspection, the black may be a good stone but I wouldn't pay the asking price since it is only 6" long. That's my two cents anyway. Best of luck.

Chris
 
Thanks, Clays. I'll just buy a set online and avoid the extra expense of the "vintage" value for no additional benefit.

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One looks like a translucent grey/black and could be a decent stone for a razor. Just a guess based on the picture, but does look like a finer stone. No way worth the asking price. Maybe pick a price you would be willing to pay and make him an offer. The other stone unless $20 and under for knives you might want to pass on.
 
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