Don't know how many people use whetstones. years ago my little brother gave me an Arkansas stone for my birthday and I used it to sharpen all my knifes. It worked well but had a few flaws that finally let to it cracking. A few years ago I started carving and ended up with some 100+ Pfeil tools to maintain. I looked at stones from the local and web woodworking stores and decided to try to go to the source. I found a place in Arkansas named Dan's that had significantly lower prices. I bought a soft, hard and translucent stones along with quite a few slip stones and was really impressed with what I got. I had bought the 8"x2" size then and liked them so much I just bought the same in 3"x12". I asked for the 1st grade and these things are massive, perfect and flawless stones. One happy camper I am.
No affiliation with them, here from Oregun, but if you in the market give them a look.
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