Lewiston teller. [volume] (Lewiston, North Idaho) 1878-1900, 1891-09-24
ABOUT THE MILESTONE.
ARKANSAS FURNISHES THE
FINEST OF THEM.
-r,,e stone Is Very Costly and Is Cut Wit,
Diamond Dust-The Razor Hone
f. Imported from Germany
-GrindstOnes.

y
Is tho production of whetstones. =" said
Curator Merrill OF the Smithsonian In
STATION, to Il reporter Of the Wash.
;nc,on Star. civilization NAV be
said 10 depend primarily for its devel-
oprnent upon edged tools, and so it is
interesting to consider the most i'm.
pruved method 50 far devised for the
sharpening OF the implements used in
the mechanical and other arts.
.trhe finest whetstones known for
Che sharpening OF tinc-edged tool, are
obtained from Arkansas. In that state
al~ be is of what is called novaculite
which is what is scientifically known
n, an altered schist.' This means :,
.,eposit Of a flinty nature, usually com
binad with limestone, the rock thus
produced being changed in such y,
manner molecularly, by processes not
altogether understood. as to supply a
surface most suitable for grinding
Arkansas furnishes the entire supply
of n0vaculite for the United State.
also filing large part of the export
demand, which is very cOnsidera bic.
The main deposit of the material is in
:. single hill about 500 feet high For
the sharpening of keen-edged tools.
razors excepted, this novaculite is ,,n-
rivalled. 1t is very beautiful stone.
of snowy whiteness. and is quite costly.
because it has to be cut by diamond
dust, owing to its extreme hardness.
Mex. in point of quality for whet
stone purposes is a gray, fine grained
sandstone from Orange county, Ind.
1t is called indiffcrently 'Hindustan
stone.' Very commonly it is made
into long spikes for sharpening knives
upon in the kitchen, and for this pur
pose it is far better than steel. Another
sandstone employed for the same pur-
pose is quarried in Cortland county.
n. Y, and is called without any
reason that l know of Labrador
,tone.' 1t is a dark gray color.
"A still coarser milestone for scythcs
and other such tools is made from
Berea grits. Il sandstone found in the
neighborhood of Berea, Ohio. Also
there are certain qualities of fine
grained micaschists-ac crystalline rock
or quartz and mica-which are OBJ
tanned from New Hampshire and
Vermont. and utilized for homes
wherewith to grind tools of the bigger
sort. But 1t must be understood that
there is hardly such thing as a whet-
stone quarry. Nearly every quarry
from which whetstones are derived is
worked chiefly for obtaining building
stone the small pieces of particularly
fine grade only being utilized for
making whetstOnes.
Three stones imported from
abroad are employed in this country
for whetstOnes. Best known of these
is the German razor hone, which is
commonly used by BARRIERS for sharp
enng their razors, and is in all proba-
oility the best substance for the pur-
pose known. 1t is found chiefly near
Ratispon, Germany, in the old river
he'd. During the period of early geo.
logical formation the river brought
down to that point mud was deposited
on the bottom. This mud varied in
material from one season to another.
depending upon the source from which
II was derived. SO that during one year
II was white and during another blue.
Subsequently, in the course of ages.
the mud became stone. aud now the
white layers serve to sharpen the
blades by which civilized men all over
The world keep their faces clean of
mar. Because the white stone is cost
ly it is usual to back thin slab of it
with another slab OF the cheap blue
stone. fastening the two together with
cement. Such is the ordinary razor
hone OF commerce. These German
homes cost only fraction of what is
charged for nOvaculite scraps of the
same size, but there is a duty upon
Them, which together with the ex-
pense OF transportation, renders them
about as high in the market. There
are two other foreign whetstones COM
monty used in this country. One of
these is a ine-grained schist from
scotland known as the Water of Ayr. ;
and used much by carpenters and
stone cutters for rubbing down the
surface of other stones. The other is
the Turkey oilstone,' resembling
iiovaculite.
The stones used in this country for
grindstones are mostly from Ohio and
Nova Scotia, the latter supplying the
oes: grade, which does excellently for
'cythes OF foreign grindstones most
come from England. OF all whet-
stones the most curious and interesting
are those which are utilized by en-
sravers to sharpen their engraving
zoos. They are OF every shape i'm
Aginable, from long needle-like points
10 tne-edged sticks the object being
70 grind the little points and edges of
me steel instrument which could not
be sharpened upon an ordinary stone. !"