[Regia-NA] Testing a Theory about whetstones!

[Sudden Service #5]

Hej!
    Well I have to eat my words.  The whetstone test for impure silver
worked far better than I expected it to.  I first took a piece of fine
silver (.9999) & made an initial rub test spot it looked kind of dark, not
shinny at all.  Next to the fine silver I rubbed a piece of Sterling (.925)
& the mark was noticeably a little darker.  I then debased a small piece of
fine silver with about an equal weight of brass wire (I don't know the exact
composition of the wire I used) by melting them together, I pickled &
polished the resulting silver compound (.5~).  It was about the same color
as the Sterling when viewed as a piece of silver, but notably less malleable
than the fine silver.  When I rubbed it on the other side of my test mark it
came out much darker than either the fine silver or the Sterling.  While I
am not ready to concede that this was the only purpose of the whetstones, I
will believe it is one possible use for a commonly carried item.  Ain't
experimental archaeology great!
Pax,
Olaf