Thread: Hard Arkansas

it doesn't weigh as much as my black Ark of nearly identical measurements .however it is heavier than my hard Arkansas of the same size. oh well it works fine for a cleanup stone.

Looks like a Washita to me

Originally Posted by Wid

Looks like a Washita to me

That was my first thought.

Just had my first shave off of my translucent black ark. Smoooth and sharp - very nice. I ran through a Shapton Pro progression from 1,000 - 2,000 - 8,000- 12,000 then kicked on one layer of tape and ran about 50 laps on the coarsely lapped side of my ark with a few drops of Tap Magic and then cleaned it up real good, wiped down with acetone to remove the oil and gave it about 50 laps on my plain bridle leather hanging strop. First pass first stroke was so smooth and "soft" feeling I thought I wasn't even shaving, lol. Literally got the squeegee feel I've heard people talk about. I had to kill the edge on this razor to try the ark - got too impatient to wait until it dulled. Next time I'm going to change the progression to Shapton Pro 1,000 - 2,000 - Trans Black Ark and see how that goes. I may try the more finely lapped side of the Ark next on the current edge but not sure if I will bother until some time in the future as it's already very good.

Anyone who says you can't shave off of an ark is crazy.

So you just did 50 on the rougher side? What grit was the rough side laped on?

Yup 50 on the coarser side. But don't forget it was concentrated right at the edge since I used a layer of tape. The coarser side of my stone was lapped with 120 grit loose SiC on a cast iron lapping plate. However I wouldn't call it a 120 grit finish, as arks break down SiC grit pretty darn fast, and as it breaks down it leaves a significantly smoother finish.

I was frankly quite surprised at how well it did after everyone saying how the stone needs to be steeled for so long to get a good edge. I didn't rub any steel at all on that side. Maybe that is the difference between translucent and translucent black?

Not sure but it sure shaved nice. I quite often get bumps on my neck from shaving even with a good edge because I've got really sensitive skin there - I even get bumps with a brand new Fusion cart for example. Sometimes I will only shave my neck WTG because of that. No bumps from this edge even with a full BBS ATG regimen.

Impressive. I will be lapping mine soon and plan to do some testing

How large of a secondary bevel did you get with 50 laps?

Don’t know about a 2K to finish stone jump. I use a Black or Tranlucent after a 12k Super Stone all the time with great results.

The thing about Naturals is… they are all different.

It would be interesting to lap and steel burnish the other side of your stone and compare the edges.

I don't remember exactly how large the secondary bevel was but it was very obvious - the 12,000 finish was a bright mirror or inky black depending on the lighting and angle it was looked at, the Trans Ark finish was a lot more hazy/rough looking. I will try to post a post-shave bevel pic later - got to take the baby to the doctor shortly.

The other side of the stone is a mirror and had had hardened steel rubbed on it every which way but loose - I thought I posted pics on this thread a page or two ago. I will probably try that side on this edge next just out of curiosity. I decided to try the coarser one first just to see what it would do.

Edit: here's the other side of my stone from the earlier post:

http://straightrazorpalace.com/hones...kansas-24.html

If the stone is really well settled in (polishing more than cutting), 2k synthetic to black or trans ark will be a big jump. You may have some success with it anyway if it smooths the edge, but I think you'll have more success if you come to the black ark with a razor that's in better shape than a 2k will leave it.

50 laps with tape is a lot for a coarsely graded ark. I think you will like the polished edge more, but when shaving and honing, nothing is guaranteed, I guess. I'm sure that side will make a bright mirror polish, though.