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.
Read more about this topic: Sharpening Stone
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