The Turkey stones were novaculite (quartz) same as the Arkansas and
theCharnley Forrest stones.
http://www.antiquetools.com/sharp/sharphistory.html
The pressing question was could they get a 30,000 grit turkey and
whatbore did one shoot it with? One should think 410 would be sufficient
Sgt42RHR@a... wrote:
> Galoots Assembled,
> > In the 21st century, sharpening chisels and planes is big
> > business and> in some quarters approaching cult status. There
> > are many and varied> modern-day approaches to sharpening planes
> > and chisels, with adherents to each> method employing a wide
> > array of hand and electric powered abrasives. Today> there is an
> > almost obsessive concern with bevel angles, back bevels,>
> > primary and secondary bevel angles, grinding, grits, honing, and
> > polishing. > Books, magazines, and videos sometimes suggest to
> > contemporary woodworkers> that with the right plane, tuned
> > carefully, and with a blade correctly> cambered and sharpened, a
> > well-planed finish will require little or no sanding and> is
> > ready for final finish. Furniture makers of today can purchase
> > stones> up to 30,000 grit, use diamond paste, or automotive
> > chrome polish on glass> to achieve surgical sharpness on chisel
> > and plane blades.
>
> My particular interest is in 18th century furniture making and
> related> material culture and technology. Furniture from the middle to
> the end of the> 18th century is often held up as the pinnacle of the
> art and craft of> woodworking, is the focus of countless books and
> articles, is collected and> displayed in museums, and commands breath-
> taking prices at antique auctions. > Against the context of our modern-
> day obsession with sharpening, the broad> question I am trying to
> answer is this: How did 18th century professional> furniture makers in
> England and colonial America sharpen their tools? More> specifically,
> how did they sharpen the planes and chisels used in fine> finish work?
> What sharpening tools and processes did they use to bring a> surface
> to the point where it was ready for scraping, or sanding, or>
> application of the final finish.> To begin to answer this question, I
> turned to documents from the period: > books, images such as
> engravings and paintings, newspaper advertisements,> account books,
> invoices, and photographs of artifacts, including the> following.
>
> Gaynor, J. M. and Hagedorn, N. L. (1993). Tools: Working Wood in > Eighteenth-
> Century America. Williamsburg, VA: Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.
>
> Hummel, C. F. (1968). With Hammer in Hand: The Dominy Craftsmen of
> East> Hampton, New York. Charlottesville, VA: University Press of
> Virginia.
>
> Mercer, H. C. (1960). Ancient Carpenters=E2=80=99 Tools: Illustrated
> and > Explained, Together with the Implements of the Lumberman, Joiner
> and Cabinet-Maker> in Use in the Eighteenth Century. Mineola, NY:
> Dover Publications.
>
> Pennsylvania Gazette, October 26, 1749.
>
> Rees, J. and Rees, M. (1997). Christopher Gabriel and the Tool Trade
> in> 18th Century London. Mendham, NJ: Astragal Press.
>
> Sheraton, T. (1970). Thomas Sheraton=E2=80=99s Cabinet Dictionary,
> Vol. II. New> York: Praeger.
>
> Stiefel, J. R. (2001). Philadelphia Cabinetmaking and Commerce, > 1783-
> 1853: The Account Book of John Head, Joiner. APS Library Bulletin,
> Winter> 2001, n.s. Vol. 1, No. 1.
>
> It is apparent from these sources that an important tool for
> sharpening> was the grindstone. Appearing in 12th century
> illustrations, the grindstone> is a tool we would all recognize. The
> grindstone makes an early appearance> in colonial America when Captain
> John Smith reports in 1607 in Jamestown> that the Indian Chief
> Powhatan asked for one. Mercer cites probate records> from 17th
> century Massachusetts indicating grindstones were imported from >
> England. The John Head account book (1712-1753) shows that he bought
> from > Mr. Branson a grindstone along with lumber and hinges. Also, in
> the > mid-eighteenth century the Pennsylvania Gazette (1749) includes
> an advertisement > from Joseph Trotter for =E2=80=9CNewcastle grind
> stones. . .to be sold. . .Very> cheap for ready money.=E2=80=9D A
> photograph and description of the later 18th century> Dominy
> grindstone (1770-1800) appears in Hummel=E2=80=99s book, With Hammer
> in > Hand. Toolmaker Christopher Gabriel in an 1791 inventory shows
> two > grindstones in the yard. Like modern grindstones, the 18th
> century grindstone was> sandstone and probably used for coarse shaping
> and initial sharpening. By> itself, it would not have been
> sufficiently fine for putting a sharp edge on> chisels or plane
> blades. As is the case today, this would have required a> finer
> sharpening medium.
>
> With our focus squarely on the 18th century, we can eliminate manmade>
> abrasive stones and the many types of Arkansas stones as 19th and 20th
> century> sharpening tools. Based on period documents, it=E2=80=99s
> clear that the primary> finishing stone used for final sharpening was
> the Turkey stone (Turkey> oilstone, Turkey slate). Like many imported
> minerals in the 18th century, it> was so named because it was quarried
> and imported from central Turkey. Turkey> stone is a very fine-grained
> siliceous rock
> . > Period references to Turkey stones are common. In a list of a
> chest of> joiners tools imported in 1760 from England by William
> Wilson, of> Philadelphia was =E2=80=9C1 Turkey Stone Clear of
> Knotts.=E2=80=9D An invoice for a set of English> joiner=E2=80=99s
> tools obtained by Falmouth, Virginia, storekeeper William Allason>
> from storekeeper James Bowie of Port Royal Virginia, Mary 31, 1768
> ends with> an entry for =E2=80=9C1 fine Turkey Oil Stone.=E2=80=9D
> The 1797 Benjamin Seaton tool> chest also contains a Turkey stone. >
> The accounts of toolmaker and merchant Christopher Gabriel reveal
> that in> 1787 he had 55 =C2=A3 accounted for =E2=80=9Coilstones &
> &.=E2=80=9D In Gabriel=E2=80=99s accounts in> 1788 he specifically
> notes over 42 =C2=A3 =E2=80=9CIn Turkey Stone.=E2=80=9D In 1791,
> the> accounts of property on hand includes =E2=80=9CSaws, Turkey
> Stone, Edge Tools, and made> up Work=E2=80=9D to the value of over
> 304 =C2=A3. Transcriptions of Gabriel=E2=80=99s 1791> inventory
> include =E2=80=9C30 lbs. Waste Turkey Stone,=E2=80=9D and
> =E2=80=9CCwt 1 =E2=80=93 1 Qtrs 15 lbs> =C2=BD (140 =C2=BD lbs?)
> cutt Turkey Stone; 2 =E2=80=93 1 =E2=80=93 11(236 lbs?) Ruff ditto;
> 125> slips of ditto; and, 28 lbs of Blue Stone=E2=80=9D (probably
> slate according to Rees &> Rees); =E2=80=9C3 Oilstones
> Cased=E2=80=9D (Rees and Rees note that =E2=80=9CPopular opinion is>
> that no workman would buy a case for an oilstone so these must have
> been> intended for the gent=E2=80=99s trade =E2=80=93 or were
> they?=E2=80=9D). Finally, in his 1800> inventory, Gabriel shows
> =E2=80=9C84 Turkey Slips.=E2=80=9D Thus far I have found no period>
> reference to sharpening stones other than those noted here.
>
> To summarize, it appears that in the 18th century furniture makers>
> sharpened their chisels and planes using grindstones followed by
> Turkey oilstones.> Slips of Turkey stone were distinguished from other
> kinds of Turkey> stone, and this is not surprising given the number of
> molding planes used in the> period. Did period furniture makers go
> beyond sharpening their blades> with Turkey stones? I have not yet
> found period references to stropping,> although they certainly had the
> materials and techniques as evidenced by the> use of razors and the
> need to sharpen them. Did they use honing compounds? > I have not yet
> found references to this practice although we know from>
> Sheraton=E2=80=99s Dictionary that Tripoli was available and used to
> finish wood. We> can also assume that given the nature of jewelry
> making of the time that it> is likely that polishing rouge or
> compounds were available, though again, I=E2=80> ve not yet located
> any period reference to their use in sharpening> woodworking tools.
>
> Some of the questions that remain for me include, what was the likely
> grit> value of Turkey Oilstones or Blue Stone=E2=80=94and how does
> this number relate to> modern sharpening stones? Are natural Turkey
> stones still available> commercially? Are there period documents
> describing sharpening woodworking> tools that involve the use of
> strops or honing compounds?
>
> Cheers, John
>
> John M. Johnston "There is a fine line between hobby and mental
> illness." Dave Barry
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