The Washita Thread

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I don't have one but you're right - they did look like Smith's, didn't they. One would have to assume that wherever they got their old Washitas from is now inaccessible or unviable in some way.




Interesting stuff. Sounds like a good amount of info for ET to go and find us all some 'real' Washitas! ;)
The rumor was that the Norton mine was not played out but Norton decided it was no longer profitable. Still they made some limited runs and the last run I don't believe is from the same source as the earlier ones.

Looking at the known mines and their location I have to question the rumor of a Washita mine being flooded by a reservoir.

All the above is based on hearsay and speculation. I don't know anything as fact. :oops:

I did ask Smith's if they still mined their own stone and owned their own mines. I probably won't get a response but we shall see.
 
LOL!
deltaplex mentions scuba gear in jest and now it's a real possibility.

cotedupy, do you know the source of the Fiddich River stones?


Haha... tbh I doubt I ever will, I'm more of a fair-weather diver, rather than a feckin-around-in-freezing-cold-and-dark-Welsh-lakes kinda diver. I will go to those quarries at some point later this year though I think.

I don't know about the FR unfortunately. Though given its visual similarity to some 'Glanrafon' stones I'd guess it's more likely Welsh than Scottish. There's a very old post on SRP, by someone who knows an awful lot about this kind of thing, saying that they were/are simply cut and sold by a guy at a Welsh market, who has the stone on his property.
 
I was in dental school 64-68, US Army 68-70, and in both spots I sharpened instruments..
Looking through my old stuff, I found these three stones, and some accompanying paper.
Black hard Arkansas, army issue.
White hard Arkansas on the edge says "Arkansas oil stone co. Hot Springs, Arkansas
I think Washita, from Smith's in Hot Springs, and although can't see in the picture,View attachment 163352View attachment 163352
a triangle shape slip..I think I bought this around 67 when I was in Hot Springs to
visit the mines...



Here's an interesting thing for you B... apparently your little Norton Hark dental instrument stone is a little bit rare and sought after by collectors:


Screenshot 2022-07-18 210910.png
 
I've seen complete kits go for $300+


Jaysus, that's quite something! What does the rest of the kit involve?

I was round at a friend's recently and he'd bought a cheap old chest of drawers at an auction, to put in his shed. Turned out the entire thing was full of old dentistry stuff. I did look for stones, but didn't seem to be any...


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Jaysus, that's quite something! What does the rest of the kit involve?

I was round at a friend's recently and he'd bought a cheap old chest of drawers at an auction, to put in his shed. Turned out the entire thing was full of old dentistry stuff. I did look for stones, but didn't seem to be any...


View attachment 189160

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It was awhile back. Couple years. There was a NOS one on eBay with original box, instructions, etc. Details are sketchy. I just remember I bid on it and didn't come anywhere close.

That's quite a cabinet of goodies there.
 
Haha... tbh I doubt I ever will, I'm more of a fair-weather diver, rather than a feckin-around-in-freezing-cold-and-dark-Welsh-lakes kinda diver. I will go to those quarries at some point later this year though I think.

I don't know about the FR unfortunately. Though given its visual similarity to some 'Glanrafon' stones I'd guess it's more likely Welsh than Scottish. There's a very old post on SRP, by someone who knows an awful lot about this kind of thing, saying that they were/are simply cut and sold by a guy at a Welsh market, who has the stone on his property.
Ya, I don't know about the source. Just second hand information. I do wonder if the Fiddich stone is a slate?

https://sharprazorpalace.com/hones/139430-unknown-stone-interesting-possibility.html
" Neil Miller said in an old 2012 post about the Fiddich River Stone. He said The stuff found in the bed of the Fiddich River is describes as being a laminated marble. Further up is found a black/red layered type of marble which perhaps is of the same sort as that found in the river bed."
 
Ya, I don't know about the source. Just second hand information. I do wonder if the Fiddich stone is a slate?

https://sharprazorpalace.com/hones/139430-unknown-stone-interesting-possibility.html
" Neil Miller said in an old 2012 post about the Fiddich River Stone. He said The stuff found in the bed of the Fiddich River is describes as being a laminated marble. Further up is found a black/red layered type of marble which perhaps is of the same sort as that found in the river bed."

I would call it some kind of argillite or slate yep. It certainly isn’t marble.

My one btw came from a swap with Tom (Rideon66), as he had two, plus the red and black stone.
 
After reading a little on how to clean up up old kerosene (applies to old oil also), after it hardens, or polymerizes? 🤷‍♂️, to put oil on it.

I have what is believed to be a Dalmore stone which has old kerosene in it. I put the stone in a plastic bag and doused it in mineral oil. It's been 2 days now and I'm starting to see something happening.
PXL_20220804_191859761.jpg


The mineral oil is starting to change color. I'm going to leave it for a week and see what happens.

Thought it may be if use for some of these old Washita's and other old oil stones.
 
Time for another fun porosity vid!

When I first tried out the second of the three Washitas I sold recently I was expecting it to be on the finer, slower end of the spectrum - it seemed hard, and had a high SG. But it wasn't... in use the low end of the stone is fast af, with the hardness meaning that it still finishes very high with lighter pressure. I was so impressed I took a little vid, just look at those twinkles!




The stone will wending its way home back over the Atlantic to see @SolidSnake03, who I was surprised to hear has never had a Washita before. He's starting with one of the very best I think, but on the off chance he decides they're not for him and wants to move it on at some point - I would strongly advise jumping on this one.
 
Very nice collection. What would you say is the effective synthetic equivalent grit range is from coarsest to finest?
Hard to be too sure, because I only really use natural stones.

The thing with Washita, the speed and cutting power very much depends on how much pressure you apply, and you can get quite a broad range out of one stone.

I guess a faster stone with pressure would cut something like a 500 or a bit lower, and a fine one with a light touch could be about 4k ish.
 
I had a few hours to kill on Monday in Bristol, and remembered a friend had recommended a small, second hand tool shop there (she's a jeweller so knows about this kind of thing). Place was a treasure trove! I had to leave all sorts of things but came away with as much as I could carry, here they are after a bit of a cleanup...

Fast, coarse and soft 8x2 Washita:

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Big 9.25 x 2 block of Idwal:

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Amazingly cute Idwal-Washita twin set, stuck firmly in their rather nice box:

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And a couple of seriously cool finds; an immaculate, completely chip-free, 8x2 Norton green label Translucent:

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And a gorgeous 7.25 x 2 coti. This is a very high quality coticule, though better for razors than knives. Someone on B&B who knows about this kind of thing said this was likely to be from the Old Rock mine, which is cool. I don't know a huge amount about the various coti mines, but people seem to talk about and covet Old Rock stones, so was very happy to hear that:

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