Thread: Usable for straight razors? Stone ID

Originally Posted by roughkype

Grit size, though discussed all the time, doesn't really apply with many naturals. Novaculite hones work to their top potential when polished smooth by a flat steel face, as described in the post I linked to last night.

You should still get a 4/8 if you're interested in honing.

Best wishes

Thanks.. that's the kind of direction I am looking for. I think I'll need something like a King 1k, the Norton 4/8 and the Ark...

As far as grit, you really cannot grit rate a natural stones because there were no controls when they were made, they were made over thousands of years. So your stone may cut different from one side to the other.

It is most probably a finisher, how good a finisher will be determined by the stone itself and how it is prepared for finishing. That is what they are talking about in those linked threads and it makes a huge difference in the stones performance.

If it is a finisher I would use it after at least an 8k with better results after a 12K. If you used post 8K you will just have to do more laps, many more to achieve the same level of results.

If your Dad uses it to sharpen knives and it looks like some oil staining on the wood base, I would not lap it, the surface may already be in great shape. Especially since the box has protected the face from damage. It would be very difficult to wear out an Ark Stone, many of mine are over 40 years old and look brand new. Clean it with some 409 or Simple Green.

Lapping a finishing ark is a big job. Check the stone face for smoothness with your fingers and possibly beveling the corners of the stone with a diamond stone. Then hone a knife with pressure and water feeling for roughness. If it is smooth it is good, it should feel like glass. Lapping an ark with a diamond plate will ruin a diamond plate in minutes, they are very hard stone which makes them great finishers.

Burnishing a hard stone with hard steel give you the glass like face, if prepared properly. It also makes it a slow cutter, but that’s a good thing for a finisher. You want to polish the edge, not re-cut a bevel.
Years ago we all used oil on Arks, I switched to water and soap because oil or kerosene is smelly and messy. Lately I have been using Smith’s Honing Solution a water soluble solution that works like oil but without the smell mess and staining on the stone. I would use Smith on your stone. Wet the stone and add 2-3 drops of Smiths. Keep the stone wet and experiment with the amount of pressure for best results.

Before you do another thing with that stone, WASH IT WITH WARM SOAPY WATER!

I am not positive, but it looks in the pictures to me, as if there are gold rubs on the surface of the stone. if this is the case, it means this stone was used at one time as a gold testing stone, and acid was applied to the surface. I'm not a chemist, I have no clue if there would be any sort of residual acids and how they might react if they exist, with any oils or honing solutions. A cleaning hurts nothing, and would be good for it. If that stone is a glass like as you say, it will be a fine and dandy finish hone. Don't let anybody talk you into "roughing up" the surface, or try to make slurry with it. That's just going backwards. Enjoy a nice heirloom.