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Hard Arkansas Oil Stone Brand or Manufacturer's name help

R

RODDYJB

Aluminum
Joined
Jan 14, 2009
Location
BC CANADA
The label on the wooden box says the following...
"Hard Arkansas Oil Stone"
"For Jewelers Engravers Machinists etc.
"The best in the world"
"Important, Use sperm or lard oil"
"Made in USA"
Any idea on what the actual brand/maker's name is? There is a monogram logo on the left that says either KB Jr, or BK Jr. We likely all understand the Jr. part.

Here is a pic of a similar one I found online...
arkansas - Copy.jpg
 
Norton Abrasives and Dans Whetstones both have various hard Arkansas grades available. Hard, Black,True Hard or Translucent are available from Dans Whetstones. All have close to the same specific gravity numbers which is the only scientific way to grade the grit size on Novaculite abrasives. The main difference on hard arkansas stones of the same S. G. is the appearance hence the descriptors. True Hard can be nearly white or mottled or even have pink or green patches with most being medium grey in color.
The stones are available in bench sizes as well as various file shapes.
Other grades are Washita, and Soft Arkansas.
To the OP, Your label is obviously an antique with the manufacturer unknown. A clue is the reference to Sperm Whale Oil. Outlawed for many years it is a remarkable lubricant with qualities hard to match.
Joe
 
Last edited:
SIP6A said:
Good luck finding a hard Arkansas stone. Those were mostly mined out years ago.
Click to expand...

That is a common misconception. There are several mines producing new Arkies still. Dan's, Natural Whetstone, RHD Preyda (used to be Hall's IIRC) and even Norton. And no, they aren't made of old crushed tailings glued together either.
 
RODDYJB said:
The label on the wooden box says the following...
"Hard Arkansas Oil Stone"
"For Jewelers Engravers Machinists etc.
"The best in the world"
"Important, Use sperm or lard oil"
"Made in USA"
Any idea on what the actual brand/maker's name is? There is a monogram logo on the left that says either KB Jr, or BK Jr. We likely all understand the Jr. part.

Here is a pic of a similar one I found online...
View attachment 248876
Click to expand...

I concur with Joe that it's quite old. The label somewhat resembles those of Pike stones but it's different. No doubt made to resemble them on purpose.
 
If the trademark was registered, you might be able to find who packaged the stone. Can't really see the logo or trademark on the right side -- might provide a clue?

The maker of all genuine novaculite products is, of course, is Mother Nature. The hardness and quality of the stone will speak for itself. Most likely someone besides KBjr (or whoever) quarried and likely finished it.

A bit of history for sure. Arkansas stone has largely been replaced by other abrasives and sperm oil largely gone for 30 or so years. I'm told that when it was first banned, auto transmission failures spiked a bit due to taking a bit of sperm oil out of the ATF formulation.
 
PeteM said:
.

A bit of history for sure. Arkansas stone has largely been replaced by other abrasives and sperm oil largely gone for 30 or so years. I'm told that when it was first banned, auto transmission failures spiked a bit due to taking a bit of sperm oil out of the ATF formulation.
Click to expand...
I was in the industry when the transmissions were failing. Truth! And the number of failures was significant. We had 3 trans guys with helpers and they were always high producers with big houses...
Joe
 
The stones I am familiar with are produced by Smiths in Hot Springs Arkansas. They used to have store in Hot Springs.Interesting town.
 
Yes, I posted it on a couple forums as I have various stones but had never seen or heard of this one.
I just signed in to update this post and saw your reply.
Could be a Norton Pike. Thanks everyone for your replies.
 
PeteM said:
If the trademark was registered, you might be able to find who packaged the stone. Can't really see the logo or trademark on the right side -- might provide a clue?

The maker of all genuine novaculite products is, of course, is Mother Nature. The hardness and quality of the stone will speak for itself. Most likely someone besides KBjr (or whoever) quarried and likely finished it.

A bit of history for sure. Arkansas stone has largely been replaced by other abrasives and sperm oil largely gone for 30 or so years. I'm told that when it was first banned, auto transmission failures spiked a bit due to taking a bit of sperm oil out of the ATF formulation.
Click to expand...

I found a pic of the right hand trademark, maybe that will indicate it's origins...
arkansas 2 - Copy.jpg
 
Last edited:
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