Japanese Waterstones
The Japanese traditionally used sharpening stones lubricated with water (using oil on a waterstone reduces its effectiveness). They have been doing this for many hundreds of years, and the first stones were naturally occurring. The geology of Japan provided a type of stone which consists of fine silicate particles in a clay matrix. This is somewhat softer than Novaculite.
Japanese stones are also sedimentary. The most famous are typically mined in the Narutaki District just north of Kyoto.
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—Ruth Benedict (1887–1948)