Thread: RE: The Potential of Black Arkansas & Translucent as a Razor Finisher

Originally Posted by 1KnifeGuy4U

I am purely interested in the potential of the Arkansas stones. Because there are people on both sides of the fence; some who claim the Arks aren't capable of adding anything, and others who claim they can, I find this topic most interesting. Also, because these natural stones aren't rare in the U.S., but in fact there are several sources for them; they aren't at all like the Japanese naturals or the rare European stones in that anyone here can own one.

I'd like to think that some stone gurus somewhere could learn how to maximize the potential of a high grade Ark stone. It's America's sharpening stone.

Here is what I can tell you..

I started SR shaving in 1981 at 22, the barber that taught me about it helped me find my first two razors and helped me order the Arkansas stone (note that this stone ran $102 back then and was ordered not in stock at the Knife shop) and the Illinois strop to keep them sharp.. From 1981 until about 2002-03 I shaved those razors and every weekend I would touch them up as I had been taught on that stone...
For all those years that system worked and provided me with close comfortable shaves, really what more does one need ???

Sometime around the beginning of 2003 I dropped the second razor and moved away from using SR's for the next 3 years I suffered again, as my face just hates anything but a straight. At the end of 2006 I told the wife that it I needed to find some more straight razors, so I spent the next 6 months acquiring some off ebay I spent some time restoring these blades and really making a hobby out of it, in July of 2007 I found B&B and shortly there after found started reading this guy "Adustmet69" aka Lynn's posts and found SRP which had way more info on SR's.

Pretty soon I had bought a Norton 4/8 and realized just how much difference there was in honing on a waterstone vs an oilstone, about 1500 razors went by, and I added a few more waterstone finishers.. Now after about 10k razors across a plethora of waterstones and a few oilstones, the same old Arkansas a couple more, and a CF that I own and a multitude of others that I have tested at the meets..

Here are some things I have found,,,

Knife sharp and Razor sharp are not anywhere close
Arkansas stones require very careful prep to be of any use at all on razors
Although Arkansas stones are plentiful and cheap in the US many of them are next to useless for SR's
A useful Arkie can be made next to useless in the wrong hands
Once you have the right Arkie that has been carefully prepped and is used correctly on a "Shave Ready" razor they will act as a good finisher
I find little difference in said Arkie and a quality CF edge on my face, but take that with a grain of salt and try it yourself
Smith's Honing Solution is a magical product for people that own expensive waterstones and expensive oilstones and worry about oil contaminating their waterstones
Honing a SR using a "Progression" of Arkansas stones works, but not as well as using waterstones note I said "well" easier is a given, but waterstones are not only faster but they set the bevel more evenly.. I do not know why, I only have theories...

So in conclusion, yes Arkansas stones when chosen wisely, prepped diligently, and used as a finisher expertly, will give an excellent shaving edge...

Excellent summary of long personal experience with arkies.

So nice to see someone with nice Razors, a nice Translucent, and a nice Charnley Forest throw down the gauntlet and give it a go. If someone gets great results, I'd like to know how they prepped their stone.