Hard Translucent Arkansas

Trans Boxed Small 1

 Boxed NOS Norton Hard Translucent Arkansas Stone

Here’s a seemingly NOS Norton ‘Hard Arkansas’ stone that is what people in more modern times refer to as a Translucent Arkansas. When there were only two grades – hard and soft, the translucent stones were lumped into the ‘hard’ category.

This one is a real gem – mounted in its original factory oak wood box, it appears to have never been used. There are no oil stains or marks on the stone or the box that would indicate otherwise.

This is a smaller stone, yet extremely effective. A dozen laps or so across the top will take a razor right back to it’s starting condition. The caveat being that the edge had to be on-point to start with. This is not a ‘hone’ in the traditional sense – this is for maintenance work. It could be used for final finishing after a full honing progression but it’s length would mean that the finishing stage lap count would be exceedingly high. I’d prefer a 6-10” hone in that slot. A stone like this, for me, belongs near the sink for quick touchups or daily maintenance.

The box is in excellent condition, but the branding shows some wear. The label on the inside is in immaculate condition. The Behr Manning logo is absent, so it’s my guess that this stone probably dates to the late 50s but it’s entirely possible that it’s from the early 60s.  

Approx. Stone Dimensions: 3.9 x 1.9” / 99 x 23 mm

Guesstimated Depth of Stone: 1.0” / 25 mm


© Keith V Johnson 2014 - 2018