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- Jan 14, 2001
- Messages
- 18,959
tmix,
The standard sharpening stone shipped with most RMK's from the late 1950's into the late 1960's was a two-part gray Norton brand stone with two line text stating that it was a Crystolon stone and was made in the USA. These dual-grit stones used blue, then white, then yellow ink...in that order, each for several years...
But, it's my understanding that RMK was having difficulty obtaining these stones after they were discontinued around 1968. What happened next has confused Randall knife collectors for many years; possibly I can help shed some light here on the issue...
RMK kept (keeps) their sharpening stones loose in a bin, which often resulted in a 'first in, last out' situation for stone use - during the late 1960's, RMK workers were reaching the bottom of the bin, while Bo Randall was simultaneously attempting to source other stone types...
Thus, you have the Norton stone type mentioned above, along with older stock two-part Norton and Carborundum brand stones - in addition, an off-white, unmarked 'speckled' stone was used for a short while; along with a single line text white colored 'Soft Arkansas' stone...sometime around late 1972, or early 1973, an unmarked solid gray (not two part) single grit stone was introduced. This solid gray stone type saw use well into 1976.
Any of the above mentioned stone types would technically be 'correct' for your knife. Hope that helps
The standard sharpening stone shipped with most RMK's from the late 1950's into the late 1960's was a two-part gray Norton brand stone with two line text stating that it was a Crystolon stone and was made in the USA. These dual-grit stones used blue, then white, then yellow ink...in that order, each for several years...
But, it's my understanding that RMK was having difficulty obtaining these stones after they were discontinued around 1968. What happened next has confused Randall knife collectors for many years; possibly I can help shed some light here on the issue...
RMK kept (keeps) their sharpening stones loose in a bin, which often resulted in a 'first in, last out' situation for stone use - during the late 1960's, RMK workers were reaching the bottom of the bin, while Bo Randall was simultaneously attempting to source other stone types...
Thus, you have the Norton stone type mentioned above, along with older stock two-part Norton and Carborundum brand stones - in addition, an off-white, unmarked 'speckled' stone was used for a short while; along with a single line text white colored 'Soft Arkansas' stone...sometime around late 1972, or early 1973, an unmarked solid gray (not two part) single grit stone was introduced. This solid gray stone type saw use well into 1976.
Any of the above mentioned stone types would technically be 'correct' for your knife. Hope that helps
