WHETSTONES

Arkansas stones are whetstones that are often used to hone the fine, sharp edges of Japanese swords, straight razors, scissors, knives and other cutting tools.

These sharpening stones come in a variety of shapes and sizes. They are generally available in two types of materials. The natural, translucent Hard Arkansas stone is a mined product, cut from the natural stone into the desired shape and then polished. Hard Arkansas stones will yield a fine honed edge and are the preferred sharpening stones for Japanese sword polishing.

The second type is a soft Arkansas stone called Arkeram, made from extra fine Arkansas stone powder that is molded into the desired shape then fired and bonded in a kiln. Soft Arkeram Arkansas stones have a faster cutting action but need to be dressed back into shape more often.

The word whetstone is sometimes mistaken as a reference to the water used to lubricate Arkansas stones when used. The word actually comes from the root word "whet," which means to sharpen a blade, not the word "wet" (the opposite of dry).

Arkansas stones should be used with or without water. Do not use sharpening oil with these sharpening stones.