Foot powered wet stone formula

• Look here.

I don't think I've ever seen anything on that but making bricks would be close?

I have a few books of methods of the 1800's and it seams no matter what they were making, 14%clay content when mixed with agerate was maximum. Any more clay content then the piece would crack as it dried.

Porcilin is nothing more than fine potters clay fired at 2000º. I have a couple porcilin rods for sharpening knives that works extrealy well. They put a finish edge on a knife very fast.

Cement is nothing more than fine clay or limestone fired at 500º(?) as the fine clay is blown over the fire.

Lard is a stiff fatty oil and I can't see why it would be used as oil and water repel each other. Maybe the lard was used on the finished stone face to keep the cooling water from disolving the stone?

Before cement was discovered they used lime and water as a cement that worked very well. Many stone biuldings that are well over 200yrs old used lime mortar base.

To obtain fine clay from any soil, pit the soil with a heavy amount of water working the soil to keep a thick slurry then let settle over night then skim off the thin clay layer the next morning then repeat. Most clay making pits were first dug out then slurry mixed with a drain opening then sun dried. They then could control how long the heavy water slurry would stay in the pit producing a finer clay.

T_Bone

I set a drip system over my stone to cool my steel. Coffee can with a small hole punched in the bottom. Works very well. From the stone grain, I'm pretty sure mine's quarried, not manufactured. Only complaint I have is that it's too coarse for putting a keen edge, but that's what you get with a single stone system.

Japanese water stones, 3 of them up to 5000 grit, are what I use when I want a really sharp tool. Surprisingly fast, such that I retired my oil stones. The pedal grinder is great for larger hand tools that don't have to be quite so sharp.