During a recent visit to Liberty Tools in Maine, I bought a bench stone salvaged—the proprietor claims—from a hardware store in Boston that had been boarded up for decades, then recently cleaned out by new owners. The store was filled with old tools, but all in mint condition. <!—-><!—-> <!—->
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The bench stone is made by Greenlee. It’s in an attractive cedar case packaged in a colorful cardboard box.The box says “Fine India Bench Stone, 6”X2”X1”, product No. 3900.” The cedar case has the company logo. The only other information is imprinted on the side of the stone itself: “#3900 Special Arkansas Made in U.S.A.” The cardboard box has a color photo of several chisels being sharpened on the stone. <!—-><!—->
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It’s a beautiful white stone—not Arkansas translucent quality, but finely grained. At the very least, I’d like to know the grade of the stone, beyond the general designation “Special Arkansas.”<!—-><!—->
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I’ve corresponded with a Greenlee tech guy who kindly responded but said he had no information about this older product.<!—-> <!—->
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Anybody recognize this stone?<!—-><!—->
Thanks,<!—-><!—->
Mark <!—-><!—->
Replies
Don't you love Liberty tools? How in the world does that old building stand with all that weight? I helped roof that place many years ago, before it was the tool barn.
I wonder if the stone was part of a multi stone system. India stones are man made while Arkansas are natural. The print on the stone and box don't agree. Generally, there are three types of Arkansas stones, soft, hard and hard black. The soft would be the next finer grit from a fine India. Fine India stones are about 320 grit by American grading standards. I have a hard white and a hard black. My 1000 grit Japanese water stone will put on a higher level of polish than either Arkansas stone. You may have a soft Arkansas stone, which would be a good intermediate stone after a coarse one. A new 6" x 2" x 7/8" in a cedar box is around $23, did you get a bargain?
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
Hammer,
Thanks very much for the response. You're dead right about the box and stone descriptions not agreeing. Hadn't noticed that. I actually have a pretty full collection of Arkansas stones (except a full-sized translucent, which I absolutely can't afford). The Greenlee stone seems in-between the "grits" I have. I'll know more when I give it a try, which I didn't want to do before finding out a bit more about what I had.
Bargain indeed! Can't ever remember visiting Liberty without coming away with some kind of treasure. Life begins every March 1, when they open for the season with their annual spring sale. I caught them last month on a Saturday when they had unofficially opened for restocking.
If you helped roof that place, I won't ask your age....I had always assumed it was pre-war. Civil. Great old building.
Thanks again for your help. Mark
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