Black Hard Arkansas

Thomas J Ekman

Thomas J Ekman

Joined
Jul 29, 2000
Messages
555
Is there a diminishing supply of black hard Arkansas stones, as can be read in Tactical Knives, for instance, or is it a marketing thing, to boost (declining) sales in Arkansas stones?
 
This is just a guess, but if there is a decline of the stone I would bet it is the finished product that is becoming hard to come by. Anytime the demand for a product goes down, the natural response of the supplier is to cut back on the supply. It's my guess this is a marketing ploy. I'm a geologist, and I can safely say that there will be enough Arkansas stone to furinsh the sharpening industry for many generations. It is possible that a particular quarry is playing out. However, there are plenty of other sources out there that will provide stone that is just as good (if not much better).

-Al-
 
Nope, it's the truth. The emergence of man-made stones, diamond hones, etc... have bitten into the natural stone market. But, it is getting very hard to find excellent quality natural stones. A lot of the new stones you see today are just OK, but of the quality of older, or high end Arkanas stones.

HTH:)!!!
 
alelser- What is the chemical composition of these stones, and what is the difference between the hard and soft ones?
 
Although I've never sat down and done a detailed chemical analysis using XRF, I have looked at them pretty closely in hand sample. Every one I have looked at have been quartz sandstones. Some appear to be eolian (wind-blown, dune deposits), while others appear to be beach deposits. What makes them so good for sharpening are 2 things: (1) their quartz content, and (2) their consistancy. Quartz is a very hard mineral -- much harded than almost any steel. A stone that is made of 90% quartz and 10% cementing agents (usually other forms of dissolved silica, but often iron-oxides, calcium carbonate or others depending on the environment of deposition) will make a good sharpening stone. If this composition is uniform enough it will be even better. One time in a pinch at my parent's house I used my mother's sandstone drink coaster to sharpen my EDC. Did a great job. Now I should also mention that there are other components that will make for a good stone. Some of the darker stones probably have a higher percentage of heavy minerals. These mineral aggemblages will usually include minerals with hardnesses that are also much greater than that of most steel. This will make for an even better stone. Finally, whether a stone is used for honing or agressive removal usually depends on the grain size of the minerals.

Hope that helps, as I'm being called to dinner by my lovely girlfriend.

-Al-
 
The stuff in Arkansas stones is a somewhat unique material peculiar to the Hot Springs Arkansas area. It is called novaculite and is principly comprised of microcrystaline quartz and recrystalized chert. Besides making great whetstones, it is an ideal material for flint knapping. Since the black and translucent forms are not blasted out of the earth, but cut to prevent fracture, and it is mined in a very small and specific region of the country, I do not doubt that the supply source for this mineral is running scarce, but other market factors may be more important. I have been seeing an increase in the cost of the hard translucent stones for woodworking increase dramatically in the last few years. Fortunately, synthetic ceramic stones today are just as good if not superior to arkansas stones for knife sharpening.

Arkansas Geological Commission

Prehistoric Novaculite Quarries in the Ouachita Mountains

Novaculite - the Arkasansas Sharpening Stone by LL Babcock at KnifeArt.com

Novaculite 101

Stone grading 101

The last two links are particularly interesting because the web site is owned by the Dan's Whetstone company which claims that shortages of Black arkansas stone are false and that they plan on being in business for some time to come. Translucent and black arkansas stones are essentially the same. It may be true that the translucent stuff is getting harder to find, but possibly because flint knapping has been increasingly popular and may be driving the price up for translucent stones. I don't know. I hope these links help. I had fun finding them and increasing my fund of knowledge a little ;)

Para
 
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