Natural Whetstone Company?

O

OldMarineVet

Joined
Aug 2, 2014
Messages
185
Does anybody have any experience buying online from Natural Whetstone Company. I'm a 1st time sharpener trying to buy a decent Arkansas Hard Stone and a decent Arkansas Black Stone. I'm considering the 2 stones below. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

=============================================================
6" x 2" x 1" Hard ARK Whetstone Sharpener/Wooden Box
NW621HASB
http://www.naturalwhetstone.com/productssharpening2.htm
$39.95 $19.95
This (one) 1" Thick Hard Novaculite Sharpening Stone is the REAL McCoy! This is the Genuine Arkansas Hard Novaculite Whetstone mined ONLY from the Ouachita Mountain region of Central Arkansas. This is the finest knife sharpening material in the WORLD! This bench stone can put a quality polished edge on any blade. It measures 6" x 2" x 1" and comes in a BEAUTIFUL Hand Crafted Cedar or Hardwood Box. If you are looking for a High Quality sharpening stone that will last a LIFETIME, this is it! This stone is approximately 800 grit and makes a GREAT GIFT!

==============================================================

Black Arkansas Whetstone Sharpener in Wooden Box
NWBAWSB
http://www.naturalwhetstone.com/productssharpening.htm
$47.95 $34.95

This (one) 1" THICK Black Novaculite Sharpening Stone is the REAL McCoy! This is the Genuine Arkansas Black Novaculite Whetstone mined ONLY from the Ouachita Mountain region of Central Arkansas. This is the finest knife sharpening material in the World. This rare bench stone can put a surgical quality edge on any blade. It measures 6" x 2" x 1" and comes in a BEAUTIFUL Hand Crafted Hardwood Box. If you are looking for the Rolls Royce of sharpening stones that will last a LIFETIME, this is it! Makes for a GREAT GIFT!
 
Never bought from them. What types of steel are you sharpening? Some of the new harder steels cannot be sharpened with the AR stones just keep that in mind.
 
Ernie, I plan to sharpen 2 SOG Trident folders (AUS8), a SOG Seal Team Elite fixed blade (AUS8), an M6 Bayonet, Wusthof Steak knives, and a Wusthof Carving Knife. I will start with a steak knife before the more important knives :) I have a combination 40 grit/60 grit diamond stone on order. Pretty sure I won't need the 40 grit for any of these knives. Thank you
 
The good number of views with no feedback about Natural Whetsone Company isn't a good sign. But, my bad experience with bestsharpeningstones.com might be making me paranoid. In the meantime, if somebody can recommend an internet merchant where I can buy an Arkansas Hard Stone and an Arkansas Black Stone (each around 6" x 2" x 1"), that would be great! Thank you
 
OMV, I didn't respond for exactly that reason--I have not experience with 'Natural Whetstone Company' but I will say I have quite a bit with Dan's Whetstones http://danswhetstone.com/
And their stuff is beyond reproach. I visited with them at Blade Show this past June and bought a piece of 'end-cut' black which I am about to mount into a 'box' they told me how to make. Long story short, visiting with those folks just inspired more confidence in the items I had already bought from them. I recommend them without hesitation. One thing to keep in mind, if you have a lot of knives with the new supersteels in them, you should probably look into other stones, like diamond or Shapton glass--which are glass plates imbued with different compounds--Just FYI.
 
Fish, perfect! Very helpful. I'll be in touch with Dan's tomorrow. Thank you very much.

Thanks also for the tip on "supersteels." I'll confirm SOG AUS8 is not a supersteel and confirm Wusthof knives are not supersteel (looks like it might could be.) Thanks again.
 
OMV, I don't know about your Wusthof's, but your SOG's AUS 8 should be OK. If you end up needing some help with stronger steels, give a shout out around here to the poster Obsessed With Edges, he is super-knowledgeable about the new to newest steels, but in summary, I think he will be pretty consistent in recommending Diamond stones for most steels.
 
While I'mI not sure exactly what Wüsthof uses in your knives in particular, they do generally use X50CrMoV15 in much of their product line. It tends to be heat treated soft, and is not a particularly wear resistant steel.
 
OldMarineVet said:
Fish, perfect! Very helpful. I'll be in touch with Dan's tomorrow. Thank you very much.

Thanks also for the tip on "supersteels." I'll confirm SOG AUS8 is not a supersteel and confirm Wusthof knives are not supersteel (looks like it might could be.) Thanks again.
Click to expand...

You might be OK using Arkansas stones with these steels. Neither of AUS-8 or Wusthof's stainless (identified in Cynic2701's post) are considered 'super steels'. Wusthof's will likely be a bit 'softer' (less wear resistant) than the AUS-8, which isn't very wear-resistant itself. If you do notice you're having a little difficulty with sharpening either on Arkansas stones, you might supplement them with a simple hardware store stone in SiC (silicon carbide) or AlOx (aluminum oxide). Stones such as these could be found at Home Depot (Norton's 'Economy' stone in SiC), Ace Hardware (essentially identical to the Norton @ H.D.) or Sears (aluminum oxide). In lieu of the hardware store stone, you could also just use some wet/dry sandpaper in SiC or AlOx to do any heavy grinding, and do the finishing chores on your Arkansas stones. Simpler stainless kitchen knives like the Wusthof usually respond better to slightly coarser grit anyway, and the hardware store stones will be a good fit for that, as will the sandpaper in grits from 220 thru ~600 or so.


David
 
Last edited:
Vet, I've visited with the folks at Dan's as well and noticed their products are of good quality, well finished. Pay what ever he's asking with confidence. I'd still get a combination coarse/ fine Norton India stone as a first stone before going on to the Arkansas stones. I have all grades of the Arkansas stones. Though I only use the washita around 4-500 grit and apply a diamond slurry to it so it cuts faster. Thanks for serving. DM
 
Last edited:
FYI. I ordered bench Arkansas Hard and Arkansas Black from Dan's yesterday. I would have probably been screwed again without feedback and suggestions from you guys. Thanks, again.
 
Vet, you won't be disappointed with those stones. Let us know how it goes once you get a little time on them with your blades--

Best--Don
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top