Novaculite

An extremely fine, dense quartz rock famous as a whetstone.

Novaculite specimen — Photo: James St. John, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

How to identify novaculite

White to gray, smooth and waxy.
Very hard; breaks with sharp edges.
No visible grains.

Often confused with

Chert
Chert is similar; novaculite is whiter and more uniform.
Compare side by side
Quartzite
Quartzite has visible sugary grains.
Compare side by side

Where it's found

Ouachita Mountains, Arkansas
Texas
Oklahoma

Uses

Whetstones ('Arkansas stones') and stone tools.

Rock tumbling

Great for tumbling.

Did you know?

Its name comes from Latin novacula, 'razor'.

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