Greek oilstones from Crete

D

dikrek

Joined
Mar 7, 2005
Messages
15
Hello everyone,

I'm Greek and almost everyone in Greece uses a special stone from the island from Crete with a bit of oil for sharpening.

I've been using this method for upwards of 25 years and it leaves a fantastic edge, very polished, very quickly.

There are no grit numbers, you just get a chunk of stone for like $3 and you use it for the rest of your life. Obviously, you need to know how to sharpen freehand.

It's still messy though and I got a meyerco sharpen-it since it's so small and convenient. I find it chips some edges and can't properly sharpen some high-carbon kitchen knives. Some came with a less than optimum grind and it totally stumbles there, even using the carbide blades.

I went back to the stone from Crete for an especially stubborn knife that just flatly refused to be sharpened by the meyerco. Shaving good in 5 min. Used some 3-in-1 oil and that took care of some blade discoloration, too :)

Should I even bother trying a sharpmaker or some kind of flat stone? The sharpmaker does look cool and people seem happy with it.

I just thought I'd mention this since there might be an interest. Anyone going to Greece on vacation should pick a stone, or if you have Greek friends going over, ask them for a "ladakono kritis". For $3 or thereabouts you can't go very wrong...

Take care,

D
 
If your stone works, there is no need to change. The Sharpmaker and the other jig-type fixtures were developed for people who can't or won't learn to hand sharpen.
Bill
 
That stone sounds incredibly cool. I was going to email you to see if what it would take to get you to ship me one but you have your email hidden. What could I do to make it worth your time?
 
I only have the 1 stone my dad gave me ages ago, which I'll probably give my kid when I become too arthritic to use it.

I might go to Greece this Fall, I'll pick a couple of good stones if people are interested. Can't bring too many since they're heavy, not thin like the fake Arkansas ones people seem to be selling nowadays.

I should probably start importing them and reselling them, just not business-minded I guess... I wonder what it would cost to ship literally a ton of the stuff.

D
 
Thought I would give this old thread a bump for the natural stone users out there or those that enjoy an oilstone.

These stones have a long history and have went by various names, Cretan Oilstone, Turkish oilstone, ladakono. The stones show up in the old catalogs but the popularity of Washita really hurt their popularity, as the Washita was cheap and it was freer from faults.

You might see them being advertised as being used with soap and water, or oil. In my opinion they are strictly an oil stone. At one time they were imported in barrels of olive oil and they had it right. Presoak in oil before use.

I think they are a great stone and come at a bargain price if you live in Europe, shipping will kill you in the states.



 
I do have two, a small one and a bigger one. They just look like grey rocks, which is what they are.
Being natural material they only come in very fine grit. I have not used them in several decades but they were probably the first sharpening stones that I have ever used and they worked well. Very good for learning how to sharpen as they only take a small amount of material away each time. As mentioned, olive oil was the oil of choice for them. Widely used, as were many natural stones, before other modern systems and "stones" came about.
 
Ourorboros said:
There is a place in the US that sells them. Considerably more than $3 though.
Click to expand...
Do they have them in stock?

I just have one of them and it is for sure on the coarse side of what is reported, nice toothy edges and very fast for a natural, but I would like to try another just because...
 
garry3 said:
Do they have them in stock?

I just have one of them and it is for sure on the coarse side of what is reported, nice toothy edges and very fast for a natural, but I would like to try another just because...
Click to expand...
I just checked and no. It was Griffith Shaving Goods and they used to have a variety of American and European natural stones. Looks like they really cut down inventory this year.
 
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