Norton Woodcarver’s Ultimate Slip Stone Roll

We think this set of 27 small oilstones is the coolest thing in the entire Norton catalogue. Norton has been selling stone rolls practically since the Stone Age, mostly for tool and die-makers who would use it for touching up steel molds. Old-fashioned products always live in the shadow of being discontinued, but obviously some Norton folks know how cool this product is, and it continues to live. After much discussion with Norton, we all had the same great idea. Take the same roll and stuff it with all the slips a woodcarver could possible want. So that’s what they did, and the new woodcarver’s slip stone kit was born. This could also be a very handy set for anyone who frequently sharpens molding plane irons, auger files and anything pesky. (Sharpening with buffing wheels and rouge works really well for carving tools, but eventually the edges of the tool will round over. With molding plane blades, even a small amount of rounding really affects performance. ) If Norton discontinues the kit one of these years before you get yours, don’t say I didn’t tell you so. But then again, Norton may not, and our grandchildren may be having this same discussion.

We fully agree that the kit is overkill. But as most of you know, having the right tool for the job can save a lot of time. And anything that can make sharpening less a chore is a major boon. .

The full list of stones is below and you can match them to the photograph. Basically the roll has [all the slip shapes in medium India stones (in red) for shaping and matching translucent Arkansas stones for finish honing and touch-up.

The best part of using oilstones for sharpening carving tools is that the little slips can take a lot of pressure. The Arkansas slips will break if you drop them, but the India stones can take huge amounts of abuse (just use them with cutting oil so that they don’t clog). The other great feature about oilstones is that these slim stones are pretty strong and won’t wear when you sharpen oddly shaped things, so the stone profiles will be good for a lifetime or two.

Made in USA.

Square Files	Description	Size	Part Number
MF34	India – Medium	4 x 3/8	86085
HF33	Hard Translucent	3 x 1/4	86590
Triangular Files
MF134	India – Medium	4 x 3/8	86250
HF113	Hard Translucent	3 x 1/4	86620
Triangular Tapered Files
MF544	India – Medium	4 x 1/2 x 1/4	86685
Round Tapered Files
MF644	India – Medium	4 x 1/2 x 1/4	86655
Round Files
HF813	Hard Translucent	3 x 1/4	86800
Diamond Files
MT134	India – Medium	4 x 9/16 x 3/16	86715
HF843	Hard Translucent	3 x 1/2 x 3/16	86815
Round Edge Slips
MS24	India – Medium	4-1/2 x 1-3/4 x 1/4 x 1/16	87150
FF24	India – Fine	4-1/2 x 1-3/4 x 1/4 x 1/16	87145
HS3	Hard Translucent	3 x 1/3-4 x 1/4 x 1/16	87040
MS34	India – Medium	4-1/2 x 1-3/4 x 3/8 x 1/8	87165
FF34	India – Fine	4-1/2 x 1-3/4 x 3/8 x 1/8	87160
HS4	Hard Translucent	4 x 1-3/4 x 3/8 x 1/8	87045
Tapered Shape Stones
MF 424	India – Medium	4 x 3/8 x 3/16 x 1/8 x 1/16	86915
MF 464	India – Medium	4 x 1/2 x 1/4 x 5/16 x 1/8	86990
Carving Tool Slips
MS12	India – Medium	2-1/4 x 7/8 x 3/16	87215
AS12	Hard Translucent	2-1/4 x 7/8 x 3/16	87250
MS22	India – Medium	2-1/4 x 7/8 x 3/16	87220
AS22	Hard Translucent	2-1/4 x 7/8 x 3/16	87255
MS42	India – Medium	2-1/4 x 7/8 x 3/16	87230
AS42	Hard Translucent	2-1/4 x 7/8 x 3/16	87265
Knife Blade Files
MF724	India – Medium	4 x 1 x 1/8 Back	86775
HF873	Hard Translucent	3 x 3/4 x 1/8	86830
Gouge Stones
FS76	India – Fine	6 x 2 x 1 x 1/2 x 3/8	87305
Auger Bit Stone
MT10	India – Medium	4 x 1/2 x 1/4	87470