Thread: Hard Arkansas

I'm with ya, I like a narrower hone too. Most of mine I had cut 8x2

TE= thickWid;1362911]I'm with ya, I like a narrower hone too. Most of mine I had cut 8x2[/QUOTE]
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How thick?

They are 1 inch thick

Kool....
Thks
considering a purchase

Well I just bought a set from Dan's. Soft/Med/Black. Here's hoping .

Truth be told I just put an awesome edge on a pocket knife with my last remaining Ark. I have no idea what it is - I think it's a med or fine. Either way, I really like a knife with an Ark edge. If it gives me a great shave too - all the better .

Originally Posted by earcutter

Well I just bought a set from Dan's. Soft/Med/Black. Here's hoping .

Truth be told I just put an awesome edge on a pocket knife with my last remaining Ark. I have no idea what it is - I think it's a med or fine. Either way, I really like a knife with an Ark edge. If it gives me a great shave too - all the better .

I think you will like it lots. I actually just had a light bulb go off in my head about making the black work faster. I used the powers of creating a micro bevel to make it work faster. I know I am not the first to come up with this idea but it really does work. I will hone it normally all the way up to the black and then do 50 or so laps with an added layer of tape. So far it seems to be working just fine but I have only done three or four razors so far with this new method. Of course YMMV.

Have been using Arks for years now, you cannot grade any naturals especially Arks by type or Vendor.
Some translucents are finer finishers than blacks and some blacks are finer.

You cannot also tell how it will finish by feeling the face or looking at the refection, though they may be good indicators. I have had stone that finish or not, completely different from one side to the other.

Put the razor to it and shave with the edge… that is the only test that counts. There are no absolutes.

Stone prep does make a huge difference, once flat, you can pre-finish fairly quickly on Wet and Dry.

I also burnish with an old carbon steel cleaver with soapy water and lots of pressure. A large knife is easier to hold for long periods of time under pressure than a chisel or plane blade, but they do work. Just use the larges/widest/hardest you can find.

Do not raise a slurry… you are ruining the finish on the stone. Water and Smith’s Honing Solution for honing.

An Ark edge is one of my favorite edges.

Do you guys polish up your soft and med Arks as well?

Pleqse explain burnisihing an arkansas. Are you embedding metal particles to clog the pores so it wont cut as fast?

I just burnish the finishing Arks, Translucent and Blacks. I have done a Lilly White, but it is not a finish stone for razors.

I use synthetic stones to bevel set and pre-polish and finish on an Ark or other natural finishing stone after a 12K super stone.

Burnishing with carbon steel does work well for the Chinese Guangxi Stones, some can be quite good finishers, burnishing takes them to another level.