Historical whetstone now at hand

Whetstone manufacturing in Loos has been a long occuring tradition. Its only remaining roots traces itself back to the 17th century, beginning with Hans Gustav Borg and transferred from each generation until present day. All waterstones are quarried & manufactured in Loos, Sweden. See catalog for all available products. You can also visit our main website for more information.

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  • Early History (Viking Age)

    Excevations in Helgö (Sweden) found whetstones manufactured from slate pertaining to the locality of Loos. These were manufactured in the years 500-600 AD. During the early 1800s newspapers designated the Loos whetstone ("Loosbrynet") as already being well known.

    History 

  • Borg & Gjers (1800-1900)

    Hans Gustav Borg built the first water powered sawmill in Loos during the 1800s, it has thereafter been transferred generationally. Whetstones were manufactured and sold at several yards in the area.

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Present Day

Slate is quarried and manufactured in Loos with old quarries still being used. Smaller whetstones were the primary ones being made during the 1800s (the ones being practical to carry during forest work and haymaking), today a wider range of whetstones are made.

Manufacturing process

We currently produce a variety of whetstones suitable for different purposes; larger whetstones, scythe whetstones, pocket whetstones and then a general assortment of stones based on the standards used in the 19th century, when length was approximated according to each inch. There exist different qualities of slate within the Loos region, the ones currently for sale are ones of a finer grained variety unless directly specified, with a grit size around 1200-1500.