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- May 18, 1999
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A few of us old timers here have mentioned using "found" native rocks for whetstones over the years and I thought that some of y'all might be interested in something I found the other day while initially looking for info on Boarding Axes.
Also IIRC there have also been some of these "Jade(?)" whetstones found in China where archeology digs have been done.:thumbup:
HERE is a link to an article about very old found native whetstones.... "[SIZE=+1]Artifact CCC 50049 was recovered from the 1622 Fleet, Santa Margarita shipwreck site during the summer 2000 season by crew diver Phill Short of Old World Survey and Recovery, Inc., subcontractors of Motivation, Inc." ....[/SIZE]found as you can see at an old shipwreck.
It is very similar to the new ones that Ragnar has on his website....
......about which he has too say, "
Viking Whetstone
In Viking times small whetstones were often worn as pendants. These are reproductions of whetstone pendants found in a Viking Age ship wreck at Kalåstad, Norway. Similar pendants have been found in York, Birka, and Gotland. They are cut from Jasper, and seem somewhere between the hard black and translucent Arkansas stones. That means they are super fine, quite a bit finer than the stones shown below. They are suitable for the final edge and polish, rather than removing nicks and general sharpening. They vary in color and size, but are mostly muted reds and greens, and about 3" tall, 11/16" wide, and 1/4" thick. Some of them are quite striking, but I expect the best sharpening would be achieved with the plainer ones."
Ed Fowler once mentioned in one of his Blade Magazine article's about picking up a rock on his Willow Bow Ranch in Wyoming and sharpening his personal knife with it. Ed said he was later inundated with requests for sharpening stones from his ranch and the helluvait was that it was just a simple rock laying about that can be found almost anywhere. Even though not all "found" rocks are suitable whetstones.The whole point in posting this is that just because you may be way out in the bush and your knife goes dull for whatever reason there may be an alternative too the more familiar whetstone that you left at home because you wasn't figuring on being gone very long. You may scratch your knife blade something horrible with a native stone but knives and other gear becomes cheap when your life depends on an at least reasonably sharp knife.
Also depending on where you live you may just have access to some really fantastic native whetstones! Arkansas is a good example because of the naturally occurring Noviculite that's more commonly known as Arkansas Whetstone's and it comes in several grits. I'm not sure if Noviculite is found in other areas or not but a suitable stone can be found most everywhere....
Here are some examples of natural Noviculite I found on another forum that belongs to a well known knife maker that is very generous in sharing information....:thumbup:
Also IIRC there have also been some of these "Jade(?)" whetstones found in China where archeology digs have been done.:thumbup:HERE is a link to an article about very old found native whetstones.... "[SIZE=+1]Artifact CCC 50049 was recovered from the 1622 Fleet, Santa Margarita shipwreck site during the summer 2000 season by crew diver Phill Short of Old World Survey and Recovery, Inc., subcontractors of Motivation, Inc." ....[/SIZE]found as you can see at an old shipwreck.
It is very similar to the new ones that Ragnar has on his website....
......about which he has too say, "
Viking Whetstone
In Viking times small whetstones were often worn as pendants. These are reproductions of whetstone pendants found in a Viking Age ship wreck at Kalåstad, Norway. Similar pendants have been found in York, Birka, and Gotland. They are cut from Jasper, and seem somewhere between the hard black and translucent Arkansas stones. That means they are super fine, quite a bit finer than the stones shown below. They are suitable for the final edge and polish, rather than removing nicks and general sharpening. They vary in color and size, but are mostly muted reds and greens, and about 3" tall, 11/16" wide, and 1/4" thick. Some of them are quite striking, but I expect the best sharpening would be achieved with the plainer ones."
Ed Fowler once mentioned in one of his Blade Magazine article's about picking up a rock on his Willow Bow Ranch in Wyoming and sharpening his personal knife with it. Ed said he was later inundated with requests for sharpening stones from his ranch and the helluvait was that it was just a simple rock laying about that can be found almost anywhere. Even though not all "found" rocks are suitable whetstones.
The whole point in posting this is that just because you may be way out in the bush and your knife goes dull for whatever reason there may be an alternative too the more familiar whetstone that you left at home because you wasn't figuring on being gone very long. You may scratch your knife blade something horrible with a native stone but knives and other gear becomes cheap when your life depends on an at least reasonably sharp knife.Also depending on where you live you may just have access to some really fantastic native whetstones! Arkansas is a good example because of the naturally occurring Noviculite that's more commonly known as Arkansas Whetstone's and it comes in several grits. I'm not sure if Noviculite is found in other areas or not but a suitable stone can be found most everywhere....
Here are some examples of natural Noviculite I found on another forum that belongs to a well known knife maker that is very generous in sharing information....:thumbup:
:grumpy: