EDC · Necklaces · Story · Viking Whetstone · 1 comment ·Jul 01, 2019

History and Evolution of the Viking Whetstone Pendant

“Knívleysur maður er lívleysur maður.”

“A knife-less man is a lifeless man.”

~ Faroese Proverb

A Modern Take on a Traditional Viking Sharpening Tool

Keeping knives and tools sharp, especially while out in the field, has been an issue since blades were first carried. Over 1000 years ago, Iron Age Vikings actually had a solution to this problem which we now know as Whetstone Pendants. A whetstone pendant to the Vikings was a small piece of stone used for sharpening that included a hole so that a leather carrying strap could be tethered.

LEFT: Genuine Viking Whetstone Artifact Circa 800-1500 AD RIGHT: A fragment of a Roman to Medieval pendant whetstone; Circa 43-1500 AD

While it is not exactly clear, even to scholars, how the Vikings wore these pendants, it is hypothesized that Vikings suspended these knife sharpening tools from their belt. To mimic this traditional style, with a modern twist, we laced ours with a versatile, adjustable, and high-quality leather cord for multiple options to carry it. Wear it around the neck for a stylish and functional pendant necklace or cinch it all the way down so that it can be hitched to your belt or clipped onto your pack.

HOW THE VIKING WHETSTONE IS MADE

Inspired by this ancient tool, we wanted to put a modern twist on one of the most useful things one could carry. We maintained the original concept but designed them to function as both an accessory to your everyday look and a functional tool. Knowing that we could quarry Arkansas Novaculite, we were able to have them produced right here in the USA.

The process begins when large boulders are hand selected from our quarry in Arkansas, USA. Each boulder is meticulously culled and examined for type and flaws before they are selected to be carved out for our Viking Whetstone Pendants.

Using a 48" diamond-plated saw, the boulders are processed into a more manageable uniform shape and size.

In order to get each stone made into its unique shape, it requires mostly custom machinery and lots of user skill. All in all, the entire process requires a lot of hands-on labor: the stones are cut down further, lapped, drilled, ground, and shaped to meet the design requirements.

Once the whetstones are received at the Wazoo HQ, each Viking Whetstone Pendant is hand-tied here in the USA!

MORE ABOUT THE VIKING WHETSTONE PENDANT

Made from world-famous genuine Arkansas Novaculite (99% pure silica), the rarest and finest abrasive stone in existence

Great general purpose fieldstone for edge maintenance

Medium fineness (600-800 relative grit size)

Typically, stones in this grade are lily-white in color, however, our manufacturer has been kind in the past to seek out unique colors and patterns especially for us when available. *Sorry, we cannot let people pick colors

Each stone has been carefully chosen, hand-cut, ground and drilled

The “Napoleon Claw” knot is a unique knot inspired by Viking/Celtic knot,

thought to be an otherwise unknown knot before Bart Colosino brought it to our attention

Stone dimensions: 1.9"L x 1"W x .25"H

SHOP THE VIKING WHETSTONE PENDANT

"Stay sharp out there!"

1 comment

Joshua Mar 02, 2023

I just finished watching your video, on Dan’s wet stones,,ie your Viking pendant. I own a couple of Dan’s wet stones,, they’re Amazing,,,!!! “The Best” That being said,, Iam definitely picking up one of your Viking stones,,,,!!!!