Genuine Arkansas Translucent (Extra Fine) Pocket Knife Sharpening Stone Whetstone 3" x 1" x 1/4" in Leather Pouch TAP-13A-L

This is a great stone for putting the finishing touches on a blade. It is ultra fine, and can bring a blade to razor sharpness. That said, it is only for that. Do not buy this stone for regular everyday sharpening. You need a selection of coarse and fine stones for that. But for that fine sweet edge on a blade that's already sharp but you really need to be as sharp as absolutely possible, this is the guy.

This is a decent honing stone. I've used it in combination with a diamond sharpener. This is very fine and gets gummed up with metal material after use. I use my diamond stone to shave it back down to shape and clear the debris. I've used it maybe 30 times for sincere sharpenings (plus hones) in the 3 years I've had it. It's still holding up pretty well. It's got a few hairline cracks on one side, but I think it will last me another 3 years. In my opinion it's a pretty cheap item and I've used it hard and it's performed it's duties. It's basically $3 per year of abuse and doing its job like it should.

Best stone for sharpening the old fashioned way

I purchased several of Dans Whetstones in 2016 and they are awesome. My review for them is at the bottom. I am keeping that part of my review JUST IN CASE I HAPPENED TO GET A BAD STONE THIS TIME. I am using the older stones strictly for gunsmithing, so now in 2020 I purchased another (soft/medium) for knives and a hatchet while camping. I don't know if I got a bad one or the stones are now cut different but all the edges on it are beveled. This is fine for sharpening blades or polishing flats for gunsmith projects but useless for certain smithing where you need that perfect 45 degree angle (like hammer hooks) The sheath quality is also now lacking. Used to be a nice dark and supple leather. New sheaths are off white, thinner and feel like plastic. Even the stitching has been cheaped out. The stitching does not go far enough up the sides and the stone slips out easily. What are they trying to do , save a penny on thread for every 10 sheaths made? Dropping rating to 4 stars, it's still a great stone for the money, just not what they used to be. I wish the price went up and the quality remained the same. Remember to check out the bevels on the newer stone in the photo. 2016 REVIEW First class and what a beautiful stone! Cut perfectly with sharp edges at exactly 45 degrees and all surfaces are perfectly flat. All corners come to a sharp point with zero chips Price even a smaller Translucent Arkansas stone at a gun smith retailer and you will pay twice as much. I am using this stone for a few 1911 trigger jobs. The stone is large enough to easily polish the sides of parts such as hammers, sears, even a trigger bow. It takes a perfect 45 degree cut of a stone to smooth & polish hammer hooks, this stone can do that too! Make sure to use a light oil when working, wipe clean and reapply often. I purchased this one in extra fine and another in fine (only $13, are you kidding me!?) My next Amazon order I will be purchasing one in medium. (only $10!!!!) The cool leather pouch is a nice touch, great job Dan!

It's a nice pocket stone. I wanted to try this type of stone but didn't want to spend a lot. It works well. I used it after the hard arkansas stone. It does put a nice edge on it, enough to shave with. I plan on getting the full sized one next. If you're new to honing then try a set of small stones to get a feel for it and later you can get full sized. I would recommend this product to newbies. Dans whetstones are very nice and cut well. No cracks or chips.

These sharpening stones are a premium item, very luxurious and fun to use. I wish i had a few k to spend on the big ones, but these small stines will do for now. I bought the soft, medium, hard and translucent. Would recommend all of them. I use japanese whetstones so i use these with water instead of oil. Works great

Pretty nice little stone, no problems sharpening a 6 inch tanto knife. Came lightly burnished.

I have owned a few of Dan's Arkansas whetstones and use them for all my knife sharpening--larger stones for kitchen knives and smaller stones for pocket knives, wood carving knives, gouges, etc. I find the extra fine is perfect for touching up a pocket knife. That said, I bought two of these pocket stones for hunting, where the leather sheath is important for protecting the stone in a pack, and while the stones look great the leather sheaths have really gone down hill. The leather is extremely thin and feels like it can tear easily, the stitching no longer goes far enough up the side, and on one side the stitching even ran off. This is not inconsequential given that the stones can actually chip fairly easily and break if dropped on a hard surface. This is frustrating enough given the price that I'm docking three stars. Please maintain the high quality. I'll probably return these.