Please help! arkasas stones!

dalr753 · Sep 17, 2012

I bought a dans whetstone soft/hard ark. but i cant tell which is which! one side is grey and brown splotches, and the other pure white. ive done some reading but it all says that they could be any of these or any combo. please help!

dryhands · Sep 17, 2012

try giving each a few strokes with a knife you should be able to tell

David Martin · Sep 17, 2012

How did you purchase it and not get the information on the grades? Have you tried his site, it has the stone grades and a lot of good information? http://www.danswhetstone.com/stone_grades_101.htm

David Martin · Sep 17, 2012

My Arkansas stones from soft to hard in color are: 1st) Washita- a beige back ground with brown speckles (hard to find today). 2) Soft- is very white, pure white, no other color other than the sparkles. 3) Hard- is beige to khaki to opaque with a vein of pink thru it. 4) Translucent- khaki to translucent, able to peer deeply into the stone, one can get entranced looking into it. 5) Black- is black to deep navy blue, with no streaks. Hope this helps. DM

tiguy7 · Sep 17, 2012

Weigh them. The finer stones are denser.

David Martin · Sep 17, 2012

Yes, but many factors are in the equation. ie. what size are the stones and are they of the same thickness? I even thought he may have a combination stone?... Yet, a weight would lend itself toward expressing a Specific Gravity. DM

tiguy7 · Sep 17, 2012

If the stones aren't the same size, measure them and calculate the volumes in cubic centimeters. Divide the weight (mass) of the stones in grams by the volume in cc's, and you will arrive at the density or specific gravity.

Mahoney · Sep 17, 2012

Dryhands has the easy answer. The soft stone will cut more aggressively. If you can't tell with a knife, try something pointy like a nail or awl

drail · Sep 21, 2012

The splotchy colored side is the soft ark. and the white side is the hard. Trust me.

David Martin · Sep 22, 2012

Ok. How did you arrive at this conclusion? DM

drail · Sep 25, 2012

I have been using Arkansas stones for knives and gunsmithing for 40 years and I have drawers full of them. I also have a knife sharpening business now. I don't need a chart to tell them apart. Every hard Ark. I own is pure white or black or transluscent. Every Soft Ark. I own is multi colored grey/pink/ biege. I have never seen a soft Ark. that was solid pure white. Maybe I just haven't seen one. Go to Dan's Whetstones website. Great photos of raw and finished stones. Arkansas stones are probably the best stone available for the price. I also have ceramic and diamond stones but a good soft Arkansas will produce an edge that will shave very nicely. They are my favorite for sharpening kinves.