The SilkStone is a rare vintage whetstone from the United Kingdom, prized for its fine grain and exceptionally smooth honing feel. The history of these stones is obscure as to their exact origin, though they are certainly of UK origin.
They closely resembles a Thuringian in character, though it is generally a bit harder. When rubbed with a DMT plate it raises slurry readily, but it does not release slurry on its own during use. Like Thuringians, it shows subtle patterning when wet (visible in the photos). What truly sets it apart, however, is its rarity—Silk Stones are far scarcer than Thuringian hones.
With a dark grey to black tone and occasional marbling, these stones are dense and uniform, producing a soft slurry that yields a refined, razor-sharp edge. It is hard like a dark blue Thuringian and leaves similarly very fine edges, perhaps a bit more crisp and keen than the German hone.
We are confident that these unlabelled hones are the Cambrock Silk Stones; they were independently compared to several vintage Silkstones, some in original paper boxes. The sharpening capability and fineness were also directly compared as well as the appearance of the surface under a microscope.
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Origin: United Kingdom
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Surface: Dark gray to black , sometimes lightly figured or speckled
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Qualities: Dense, fine-grained, silky feedback, creamy slurry
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Use: Finishing edges on razors, knives, and precision tools
No longer quarried, Silk Stones are scarce today and valued both for their performance and as collectible examples of Britain’s sharpening stone tradition.
