This little Norton stone belonged to my dad who had it since the 1950s. I think it could have possibly been Army issue or bought from a hardware store I'll never know because my dad is no longer with us and I never thought to ask of the origin of this little gem, it came in a plain brown cardboard box with Norton on it, but the box is long gone. It was the only sharpening stone he ever owned or needed. This stone has been used in Korea, Connecticut, Indiana, and Germany by him throughout his military career on a couple dozen stockman pocketknives over the years.
It’s about four inches long and has a rough side for shaping new or worn edges but he mostly just used the smooth side. The stone is mine now, and I have yet to encounter a blade material that this stone will refuse to grind. I have sharpened carbon steel, stainless, J2, etc. all with quick and satisfactory results.
I too have traveled the world with this stone during my own military career from 89-98 to Texas, Alabama, Korea, and Florida. This stone has made me a number of lifetime friends because you see, most guys today don't know how to freehand sharpen though every guy likes knives, so when somebody would come back from the Exchange bragging about this new knife he just bought and which proves to be less than shaving sharp, they'd give me about ten minutes with this old Norton and finish off with about 10 backward strokes on a piece of leather and they're amazed/delighted as they watch the hairs pop off the back of my hand like a barber's straight razor--they think I'm some kind of a magician or something until I give them some lessons.
Best thing about freehand sharpening with a small size stone like this is they're great to take on field exercises wrapped in a rag with a little strip of leather for finish stropping and it takes up very little space, won't even know its there until someone's knife needs sharpening. The stone has always been used with saliva instead of oil. This stone never clogs and works fast, no small parts to lose, and fits great in a pocket. I wouldn't trade this stone for a gold monkey. It's now stored in my dad's footlocker with the rest of his things-pipes, watches, pocketknives, lighters, medals, etc. I have since bought myself a Norton JB134 that's just like the old one. Stones like this really should get more advertising exposure, I've never seen any for sale in Exchanges, but I bet they'd sell like hotcakes in PXs and BXs on military bases with some targeted advertising.