Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1891-01-01
ABOUT olL-sroNEs
Hashita Rock, In Arkansas, the Source
Supply For America.

Washita Rock, in Arkansas, the Source Of
|. Supply For America.
Washita oil-stone rock is crystalised
SILICA, The crystals are very small.
and are formed into clusters with the
point ends interlaced, leaving numerous
cavities These minute CRYSTALS are
hexagonal in shape, with sharp r7intA
and can be seen under ~ coma
when magnifed about one l.adred
times They are harder than steel and
that is why whetstones cut from this
rock will never wear away and sharpen
eteel tools Washita whetstones ara
called oil-stones because oil must be
used to fill the cavities and float away
the steel PARTICLES that are cut of the
tools"
The peculiar geological formation
from which these rocks are taken is not
known to exist outside Of the State of
Arkansas, where it occurs in many of
the mountains of Saline, Hot Spring,
Garland and Montgomery Counties
These strata are in vertical position,
varying from nearly perpendicular to
nearly horizontal,s and had been consid-
erably broken by upheaval or folding Of
the earth's crust
There are many grades in the quality
OF this rock, from very hard and vitreous
flint to the softest milestone grit
Nearly all of it is very hard and vitre-
Gus or contains some impurity. One
grade, of a dull white color, full Of
cracks and having but little grit
called bastards stone, is plentiful
10
used for whetstones Some Of the
Washita rock quarried is not uniform
in its texture, but contains hard spots
and soft streaks that make uneven grit
in the whetstones Sound blocks, COM
posed of perfect crystals uniform in
hardness and having sharp grit are
only found in few quarters in Garland
County, near the city of Hot Springs
The different grades of Washita rock
that are used for whetstones weigh from
125 to 165 pounds per cubic foot The
best grades for good oilstones weigh
from 1S5 to 145 pounds per cubic foot
The hardness aud weight and the
sharpness of the grit in any Washita
oilstone depend entirely upon the char
acter of its capitalization; and no fine
polish or nice finish on the surface, no
fancy name, will change the grit.
Nature made and arranged these crys-
tails mysteriOusly, and man can not
change them. The oilstone manufact-
urer only cuts the rock into milestone
shapes aid sizes; nothing more. he
can not make the grit in whetstones
better than it is in the rock, and he can
not make good oilstOnes of Washita
rock that is impure or vitreous, or Of
unequal hardness
The softest Washita rock contains
many grains of sand among the crys-
tails This quality has sharp grit but
slight cohesion, so that the crystals
separate readily and the stones wear
away too fast Such whetstones contain
many sand holes The lightest-weght
rock that has perfect and uniform crys-
talizations without any grains Of sand
is the best quality to sharpen all wood
workers tools, and it makes the most
durable oilstone The lightweight
whetstones generally have the sharpest
grit because they are the most porous
In them the crystals are interlaced in
such manner as to leave many cavi1
ties. and each cavity presents a great
number of crystal points The he 1
and heavy rocks are not sufficient
porous, be ng too compact In the
many of the crystals interpenetra
each other in a manner that leaves les,
cavities and fewer crystal points En-
g.neering and Mining Journal