Thread: Usable for straight razors? Stone ID

My dad left me this when he passed away (along with a sizable knife and less imposing straight razor collection). Curious if it could be put in service for straights...

There is no indication of grit...it's smooth as glass.





I haven't done a web search yet, but will...

Looks Like an Arkansas hone!

That will probably work fine for razors, give it a try!

What size is it?

Looks like a nice older large Black with some translucent occlusions. There were a lot of those stones marketed in the 60 & 70’s in similar Cedar boxes, they are great stones.

Put a knife edge to it and look at the bevel. The good ones will leave a Hazy, Kasumi bevel. There is a lot written on using Surgical Black Arks or Arkansas Finishing Stones. They can be very nice finishers if you take the time to learn them, stone prep and lots of laps. Back in the day, before synthetics they were state of the art and coveted finishing stones. They still command a few dollars.

It is one of the stones I like to shave straight off of, no stropping. To me it is a unique edge, keen yet comfortable.

Originally Posted by sharptonn

Looks Like an Arkansas hone!

Excellent!! Not sure how I could have missed that...

Originally Posted by Euclid440

What size is it?

Looks like a nice older large Black with some translucent occlusions. There were a lot of those stones marketed in the 60 & 70’s in similar Cedar boxes, they are great stones.

Put a knife edge to it and look at the bevel. The good ones will leave a Hazy, Kasumi bevel. There is a lot written on using Surgical Black Arks or Arkansas Finishing Stones. They can be very nice finishers if you take the time to learn them, stone prep and lots of laps. Back in the day, before synthetics they were state of the art and coveted finishing stones. They still command a few dollars.

It is one of the stones I like to shave straight off of, no stropping. To me it is a unique edge, keen yet comfortable.

Time frame would be right. My dad would have bought this around the early to mid 70's. Probably never used it.

I have Norton 4/8 coming which I was planning to use exclusively, ala JaNorton, but sounds like this might make a good addition. I don't have it here with me, but I am going to call it 8" by 2.5".

I would think it would be wise to lap it before I use it?

Water or oil? Does it matter? I would expect I can soak it; it's fixed to the cedar base.

Google search "Lile Hand Made Knives". These are fine hand crafted knives. The stone is quite a find. Enjoy

Here's a good thread on prepping Arkansas stones. See this post especially; I used the technique on a Charnley Forest (same mineral as Arkansas hones) and converted it from a regrettable purchase into a really superb hone.

Check the flatness against a really good straight edge (Starrett or better) or a machinist's reference block before you invest the time in lapping it flat. If it's already flat you can save an irretrievable week of your life.

Best wishes and enjoy that hone!

Excellent info!! Thank you.

How might I determine the approximate grit? The thread you linked to makes passing mention to 4000. I want to purchase complimentary stones.. Don't want to buy a Norton 4/8 if this one is close to a 4k...

So far, all I have been able to find is this chart that puts the grit at "1200+'. Not a big help.

Congratulations MikekiM, surgical black and black translucent Arkansas stones can be used for finishing straight razors. They are used with oil. They are slower (100 min to 200+ passes) and tend to leave a toothy edge or micro serrations. Proper stropping or a pasted strop can smooth the edge. Thank you for sharing.
Mike



Lil dab will do.

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