Description
The Skerper Arkansas tactical pocket stone is a multi-purpose sharpening stone for on the go. The Hard Black Arkansas stone (comparable to an American 2000-3000 grit synthetic stone) is a great maintenance stone if you want to keep your knives and tools at optimum sharpness with a nice polish. There are many corners and angles on this stone to get into each serration, as well as those hard to sharpen areas. There is even a groove for sharpening fishhooks and points. The Skerper tactical stone comes packaged in a protective leather pouch and has a paracord lanyard.
A mixture of Hard Black Arkansas and aluminium oxide
Hard black Arkansas has a fine grain. This, however, also means it won’t quickly remove a lot of material. During outdoor activities it is better if a stone is a little more aggressive to make sure the whole sharpening process won’t take up too much time. That is why this tactical pocket stone is enhanced with aluminium oxide. The same material many ceramic sharpening stones are made from. This makes the stone more effective in use.
About Skerper Arkansas
The Skerper Arkansas natural sharpening stones come from the mountains of the American state carrying the same name. This is the only place in the world where novaculite can be found. The stones are mined, cut to size and professionally flattened. Thanks to the special cryptocrystalline structure each stone will finely remove material. In addition, the stone will maintain its shape and effectiveness for a long time. No need to lap or flatten the stone in between. Because they are real natural products, each stone will have natural discolourations. The stone you receive, can therefore differ from the one you see on the website.
Grain size and hardness
The Skerper Arkansas stones come in a variety of grits, sizes and shapes. The Arkansas stones are graded by their hardness, with five different grit sizes. Soft Arkansas is the lowest of the grits, comparable to an American 400-600 grit synthetic stone. Up next are the Hard Arkansas (800-1000 grit), Hard Black Arkansas (2000-3000 grit) and Surgical Black Arkansas (4000-6000 grit). The highest of the grits is the Translucent Arkansas, comparable to an 8000-10.000 grit synthetic stone. The different sizes of the stones will suit home sharpening that requires a big stone surface for kitchen knives, to the pocket stones for the people on the go. Whatever your sharpening needs, with Skerper Arkansas you will always have the right stone for the job.
How to use the Skerper Arkansas natural sharpening stones
All of the Skerper Arkansas stones will benefit from the use of honing oil. Some of the products come in sets with oil and stone(s). If not, we highly recommend a bottle of honing oil to go along with the stones. Please apply a few drops on the surface of the stone and it will help with preventing the stone from clogging, reducing friction during sharpening and keeping the stone clean. Using water instead of oil is also an option. From what we’ve experienced however, the oil gives a slightly better result. Cleaning of the stone will also be a bit more difficult when using water. Especially once you’ve used the stone with oil.
The stones are splash & go: a couple drops of oil and you are good to go. You don’t have to wait for the stones to absorb the moisture. When sharpening, position the blade in a fixed angle. Sharpen both sides of the blade equally until they meet at the apex. Since these stones are natural products, there may be slight variations in colour to the one pictured. When using oil the stone and wood will darken but it will not change the quality of the sharpening. Once you’ve finished sharpening, wipe it with a cloth to clean the stone. Now you can safely store the stone in the leather sleeve.
Specifications
