Cretan stone

[Legion74]

I bought a gunk covered stone in an antique store today, guessing it might have been a hard Arkansas. Turned out to be a nice old Turkey stone. Happy with that.

 

[Blank Blades.]

Definitely get one! Get more than one. Get ten. They are amazing.

The Cretan stone was known for a long time as the famous Turkish Oilstone / Turkey Stone, and was regarded for most of the last 2000 years as the very best sharpening stone in the world. It still has a pretty strong claim to that IMO.

They are hard, but are more friable than other novaculites, so uniquely among them they can actually bevel polish. Particularly good for erasing jigane scratches and putting a nice haze on, though you won't get a super bright core. Still it's pretty nice: The Washita Thread

I prefer them with oil, though tbh I've only tried very briefly with water. I'd be interested to know whether you can also get a nice bevel finish with water @KingShapton ...?

Here's some history: The Turkish Oilstone Matter

(Since writing those initial posts I've found a few more old Turkish stones, as well as some more historical evidence, including something from 1902 that explicitly states Crete as a source for Turkey Stones. I'd be 110% that the Cretan stone is the Turkish Oilstone).

That does sound nice, but there must be something else to them, for them to hold the title for the best stones in the world for that amount of time.

I've never heard of them before so I would love more info on them.

 

[cotedupy]

That does sound nice, but there must be something else to them, for them to hold the title for the best stones in the world for that amount of time.

I've never heard of them before so I would love more info on them.

Did you read the my posts in that thread I linked to (the first two and the various follow ups)? There's a pretty decent whack of info there, probably more than anywhere else because a lot of that research I did myself.

 

[Blank Blades.]

Did you read the my posts in that thread I linked to (the first two and the various follow ups)? There's a pretty decent whack of info there, probably more than anywhere else because a lot of that research I did myself.

Ugh . But then I have to click to do that.

Man you guys make my life so hard.

 

[Legion74]

I got a new one yesterday, so time for a group shot.

Cretan on the left. The rest are antique Turkey stones.