Translucent vs Lily White Stones

Re: abrasion resistance and hardness

joel

>unfortunately the chart isn't a good predictor of sharpening behavior because the Arkansas stones surface is more rounded than a sharp friable waterstone surface. It's comparing apples and oranges.

Re: abrasion resistance and hardness

Don Clark

>I should have emphasized in my post that MY RECOLLECTION of Stephen's post was that there was a very large difference between a black, hard stone and a translucent. Both, I believe were older stones. The idea is that they were of similar density-the black one was easily abraded by a standard grinding wheel and the translucent one hardly responded at all. Stephen- Are you around? Is my memory defective?

As an aside, I should mention that I have two small translucents. One is an older Pike/Norton Hard Arkansas. The other is new. After flattening the old one with a diamond stone, my impression is that the newer stone cuts noticably better and leaves just as fine a surface as the older Pike/Norton stone. Both seem to cut better than newer black arkansas stones. The black ones, even when fresh, seem to burnish the steel as Joel described. I spoke to an old fellow who is a dealer in Arkansas stones, and he indicated that my impressions concerning the difference between black and translucent stones are correct, but he had no explanation. He added that the finest black stones (blue/black) are called surgical stones because they were used by surgeons purely to burnish or polish the scalples.

Truthfully, I have spent many hours researching the "net" and the local library trying to find out why these "perceived" differences exist and can find no explanation. Perhaps it is all in my mind-sort of a placebo effect.

Don Clark

Re: one of the less than 5% *LINK*

Patrick Gibbons

>Joel, I think there is some confusion here. The Native Americans did trade novalculite extensively but it was used to make arrowheads, fish hooks, spear points and the like. My brother and father collected these greatly in the 1950's and 60's. My brother and I are only now aware that almost all of these were robbed from Caddo Indian burial mounds throughout Oklahoma, Arkansas and Texas. This was an incredible archaeological loss that cannot be rectified. I have also included a link about Lily White Stones that may be of interest.


Lily White Stones

Good Link, but....

David Miller from Iowa

>then I had to go out the shop and look in the whetstone box(I use synthetics but that hasn't kept me from picking up stones over the years when they were a deal). I hauled them all out and washed them off, found I had a nice array of various types including a couple nice boxes, and BAM, suddenly I declared myself to be a whetstone collector. Scheeze, it really is a sickness.

Re: Novaculate Fossil Micrograph

William R. Duffield on the Cohansey

>I don't think I saw that one on my prior search. In this case, Google turns out , unsurprisingly, to have taken the shotgun approach. The fossil and mineral hunter newsletter talks about fossil bivalves in one article and novaculite in another one. There probably are some people in the organization that might have more knowledge, or who at least would find my stone interesting. I'd send them an e-mail with the photo attached, but I'm not sure I'd want to field a bunch of "wannabuy" requests from a people I don't know at all. Note that I have no problem with Joel's comment, since I know him, highly respect his opinions, and am pleased with his "obviously defective" compliment.

Too cool to sell it.

Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX

>

Re: one of the less than 5%

joel

>my interest is in commercial exploitation for sharpening which is why I asked the questions I did. I don't think I see anything in the various links which suggest national avaialbity in the early part of the 19th century. But it makes perfect sense that both indiginous tribes and local colonials used the stones for whatever purpose they could.

Great crowd

Todd O. Cronkhite Native of Maine

>Wow, have I ever learned alot about stones, I sure am glad I asked. David and Patrick, thanks for the terrific links, they where most interesting and informative. I see I need to get a bit more active in rooting out a nice Lily White now. If nothing else it sure is a thing of beauty what with it's whiter than white color.

William , thats quite a unique stone that you have there, and consider it one of those items that comes along so rarely that you should ensure that it goes to the "right" person when you are done with it. I'm sure that I wouldn't even use it, but instead put it away for safe keeping.

Todd O.

Re: Todd, Todd, Pam, Joel

William R. Duffield on the Cohansey

>Rest easy. There's no way I would sell this stone!!! Number One Son will become it's steward when I'm gone. I have no doubt he will honor and protect it.

There's lots of translucent novaculite between the front face and the bivalve, I'm only using it for final honing, and only when I can't get to my preferred techniques, so I don't think I will wear it out any time soon.