Am I the only one who keeps thinking of the flood scene at the end of Oh Brother Where Art Thou?
Washita Thread. Show off, discuss, etc.
- Thread starter SliceOfLife
- Start date
It’s starting to get lighter in color. It’s been a week or so in some simple green. Going to keep it soaking for a while.
I've found pretty good novaculite littering the ground here but yeah I would imagine they'd have already gotten all the choice cuts of stone.k I've got about a dozen I need to lapped. It's easier to find super hard stones here, the softer ones are harder to come by here. I found this stone. i got to cut and lap it still, but it's a natural combo, the bottom layer is the finer one. Im not sure if this one is novaculite or not, maybe flint but it's some forn of crypto quartz or another I believe. I'm willing to try out any stone that looks or feels interesting! Hope the difference in coarseness shows up in the picture. You can see they are different grits.
timwcic
"Look what I found"
A summer’s worth of hunter gathering of Washita stones. Had a clean-a-thon this weekend. All were funky, greasy, filthy, stones and boxes. Had them soaking in a five gallon bucket until ready to reveal themselves. There might be a soft Ark mixed in, I will sort out. Various states of flat and dished but all have life left in them.
The top center is a hard Arkansas, got mixed in. Sorry for the confusion
Look What I Found—-Winner Winner Chicken Dinner
The top center is a hard Arkansas, got mixed in. Sorry for the confusion
Look What I Found—-Winner Winner Chicken Dinner
Wow that's amazing are any of the the really soft fine grit ones? I've got a washita coming Thursday with a black in the lid but I'm assuming it's medium hard- hard from the looks. I accidently got that soft/ fine one playing mystery stone but I'd like fond a whole bench stone. I also want to find one of the soft coarse ones eventually for big knives, machetes and axes. Were the lily whites ever coarse and soft or are they all fine in varying degrees of hardness? I've always used arkansas stones my entire life but I only learned of washitas (and countless other hones) from when I started straight razor shaving, and I feel like I've missed out of years of sharpening tools and knifes on the most appropriate tool for my lifetime of honing. Im greatly appreciative that you guys showed me the way(especially you tim, if it hadn't been for your tons of pictures of stones, especially washitas, I'd never have been able to identify them or any of the other excellent hones I've acquired). My tools, pocket knives and razors thank you all for your public service!
I have a WIB 27 that is a coarse lily white.
Are the a lot different from the hard/ fine, fine/ soft stones? Or just a little more teeth?
To me they are different because I do not consider them razor grade/razor stone. They are for tools and knives.
Yeah I wouldn't use a razor on a soft one even if it's was fine but i find the fine/ hard ones good for everything but finishing for me. I've got one that a much of a finisher as any hard ark though. I polish everything on a black for 20-30 min mindlessly in front of the TV, so as far as a finisher I wouldn't use them for that. I did do an experiment to see if I could shave off one and once I maxed out the stone I did spine leading strokes, then strop, repeat until it was good enough and honestly it was a decent shave. It was a rushed single pass so, not bbs, but not much would be as fast as I shaved but there was no irritation, no weepers, it was acceptable. I sharpen far more knives and tools than I do razors throughout each day so maybe that's why I'm such a big fan. My soft/ fine will sharpen a knife to the point it'll whittle stray beard hairs hanging out with ease but I don't know if I want to drag that edge across my face. It'll be more toothy than Sarah Silverman and probably bite just as much.
The way I understand it testing the absorption gives us the porosity. At least that is what it is used for in pavement design.
The interesting thing that I learned from measuring the absorption was the fact the the Washita appears to be less porous than soft arks but in fact they are not. Probably a waste of time really because absorption goes hand in hand with the specific gravity.
Hard/fine Washita's are indeed special stones. They can do a light bevel reset, all the way to prefinish and fast. They leave a shallow scratch pattern that a slow finisher can handle without to much work.
They are razor grade and work well on knives/tools.
They are razor grade and work well on knives/tools.
Been following this thread for awhile and recently bought a small Smith’s Washita. I know there is a lot of debate about Washita vs washita, so trying to investigate for myself. I just received the below today. Both box and stone are a little busted up in spots, but the top and most of the sides on the stone look to be in really good shape. Hoping to have some time this weekend to play with it. If anyone can estimate the age based on the label it would be appreciated!
I agree the hard/ fine ones are great razor stones, I use one everytime sharpen anything.
So this little gem came in today. Smooth, got "pepper" in the matrix, translucent to a half inch.. what do you guys say? Washita? Looks like every other really old one I have. Very dense and heavy. Experts check in!
@timwcic @SliceOfLife @Bowmaker Did pike always sell hard, soft, and washita stones or at some point did they only sell hard and soft at the beginning? Before they could make a mint marketing washita stones perhaps?
timwcic
"Look what I found"
I have many early Washitas and Hards from pike. Some recommending lard or sperm oil for lube. I have never seen a early soft before. Not that they are not there, just never seen one before
Does that stone I posted look like a washita to you? It's got teeth for sure and it's really fine because it's pretty dense. It came like this, to of the box is a stone I think. I thought it was a strop but it feels like a rock. It's soaking.
Edit: adding pics
timwcic
"Look what I found"
Looks like a washita to me. I have several in early labeled boxes with little effort and conditioning can easily be in the 5-7K range. The early pike Washitas can be real gems
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timwcic
"Look what I found"
Guessing 1890ish to very early 1900’s. good looking rock
