The term ‘Surgical Black’ is sort of a mashup of Norton’s lingo, combined with the overall respect for the hardest black Arkansas stones. Norton used to sell an Arkansas stone stamped ‘surgical’ – it was grooved for sharpening curved cutting instruments, presumably for the medical industry. It was not a black stone. But the naming convention took off, and many stone sellers branded their black stones as ‘Surgical’ – some were in the top tier of specific gravity, and some were not. The same holds true today, buyer beware. To be in this class of stone, it much be the densest and finest type of Arkansas stone – and not every black Ark is in that class.
