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Sharpening Stones

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In order to do your best carving, your knives and chisels have to be sharp. There are any number of "sharpening systems" available, most of which cost hundreds of dollars. Having begun carving before those things even became available, my grandfather taught me how to sharpen using a nondescript natural whetstone. I still use the one he kept on the back of his bench–they last that long.

Later, I was introduced to Arkansas stones, which as you can see from the photo, is what these are. The company's literature states:

"This is the rarest and finest abrasive stone in existence. It is the pure form of Novaculite rock, found only in the area surrounding Hot Springs. Our fine light oil, with smooth, even strokes, will give you the sharpest edge or keenest point..."

Okay, that's the advertizing. Here it is from this carver's perspective:

Arkansas stones are the finest available, and the coarse, medium, and fine ones in this set are particularly nice. Just flip the one you want up in the base, put on a little of the supplied honing oil, and you're good to go. They will give you an excellent edge, no doubt about it, but the finest edge? I suppose they would given sufficient time, but we are all pressed for time these days, and the finest edge (and the fastest achieved) is one that has been honed on a leather strop or a cloth wheel using Jeweler's Rouge, once the stoning has been done.

The quality of this Tri-Hone is excellent. We wouldn't offer them if they weren't. Better still, it's 100% American made.

Arkansas Tri-Hone.........a really good deal for $25.00
(I've paid more than that for a carving knife.)

More than good tools and more than good carving wood, carvers need information. There's no sense in having to learn the hard way when it's so easily avoided. You'll find sharpening information and even how to make your own knife in this book.

From the back cover of Basic Decoy carving...
Every time I looked for information and had difficulty finding it, I thought to myself, 'This stuff really ought to be written down in one place.' Well now it is, and this is the place."

Have a look, and see what you think...

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Duck Trap Decoys
P.O. Box 88
Lincolnville Beach, ME 04849

phone: 207-789-5363

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