Thread: WTB Arkansas

Looking for another finisher and have done my research about Arkansas stones. Some people love them, some not so much. I am looking for something to try that is already set up (lapped, burnished) so I can see if that might be a viable finisher for me.

I don't think I want to invest the effort getting a nice stone and making it ready just to find out it's not for me.

Look to Dans Whetstones. Their True Hard stones are extremely flat, as all their stones, and usually don't require additional lapping. As to burnishing, much is made of the high gloss burnished finish. Actually you can get by with much less. Take a chisel, do enough strokes to make the surface silky smooth. Doesn't take much. Others have recently talked about the natural burnishing that takes place over time with use.

As to liking Arkansas True Hard genuine Novaculite as a finisher, or not, trust me and other voices here, oh you will.

To follow Longhaultanker's thought I'll throw in his reply from a post in "hones" (third post in the thread).
Great info on Dan and his stones...
[URL="http://straightrazorpalace.com/hones/132158-what-arkansas-finisher.html"]
I'm researching them myself for the future and found this quite informative. THANKS Longhaultanker!
Jer

Originally Posted by Longhaultanker

Look to Dans Whetstones. Their True Hard stones are extremely flat, as all their stones, and usually don't require additional lapping. As to burnishing, much is made of the high gloss burnished finish. Actually you can get by with much less. Take a chisel, do enough strokes to make the surface silky smooth. Doesn't take much. Others have recently talked about the natural burnishing that takes place over time with use.

As to liking Arkansas True Hard genuine Novaculite as a finisher, or not, trust me and other voices here, oh you will.

Basically this. You don't have to burnish them to get a fine edge. I just like getting the most out of my stone that I can. They will naturally take a burnish over time as you use the stone, provided that you don't run sand paper or a diamond plate over it to 'upset' the surface.

Spending an hour or so polishing and burnishing the stone just saves the time you'd spend otherwise waiting for that natural burnish to set in through use. But you can still work and shave happily with the surface as it comes from Dan's.

Currently, A very kind member here has sent me no less than 3 Jnat stones to try my skills with so that I may learn more about them. Perhaps you can find some one to loan you a stone to try out too?