Thread: Hard Arkansas

A good way but not a foolproof way to tell if your translucent or black arkie is ready for razors is be its reflectivity. I usually don't stop breaking it in till I can hold it flat and see detailed reflection off of the surface of the stone. Like crystal clear kind and that's with it being dry no oil or water on it. Once it gets to that point then I will hone a razor on it and shave test. If it's good then I know I'm done if it's not then I go back to using a heavy large chisel on it and see if I can get it any finer. I personally use an old masonry chisel and lots of pressure and set work it till my wrist hurt and wash off the oil and dry it then check reflectivity. Again this is not foolproof some stones get reflective pretty quickly. Another way is by touch. My best arkie feels like really smooth glass to the touch.

Originally Posted by OldTraf

At the risk of sounding like a jerk, you'll know that the ark is ready to use on razors when it does a good job honing them. When it's not settled in enough, you'll get a harsh edge and not very good polish. A fully settled in ark stone will put a bright polish on a razor, even with pressure.

As far as reprofiling edges on hatchets, if there is a lot of heavy work, it's customarily done with a grinding wheel, then the moderate work is done with files (and if the file quality is good, you can get a finish edge with it), followed by carborundum or india axe stones (that are in the 220-320 grit range).

Thanks. Kind of figured the first, just didn't want to use my face as a hone. I did that with a Dovo Best Quality 6/8 that was sold as shave ready. Used a CrOx strop vigorously then linen and latigo until it shaved well.

As far as the hatchet goes, it is a test case using hand tools starting with a big a$$ Pferd chipbreaker, working through a corundum stone, etc. I want to see what it will entail. I have grinders, but don't want to ruin temper etc. It will give me a platform to break in the Arkies. I have used them on knives, but assiduously cleaned and swarf. Won't do that again.

When I get old axes, which I don't do too often, but sometimes (old axes have some geometry that new axes don't - most notably a bulge in their cheek that makes them easier to release from wood, a subtlety that's not easy to duplicate in a drop forge), I usually use a 60 grit belt (which avoids too much heat) at fairly low speed, then files and then stones. I keep a spray bottle at the belt sander and spray it on the axe from time to time to see how much it steams. Axes are usually just above spring temperature, and are probably tempered around 500-600 degrees, so you have some wiggle room.

That said, if you have a good US or european made mill file, it's really enjoyable to use draw filing across the edge. Easy to cause problems with fingers, though, if you don't wear gloves while doing it.

In my experience, knives that are not that hard, etc, don't take as good of a polish off of an ark stone because the abrasive (even on a settled in stone) can cut deep. As the steel approaches high 50s hardness, a stone that will roll a burr on a soft pocket knife will instead put on a bright polish. I usually use my stones in the shop for a little while after lapping them, then when they no longer raise much of a wire edge on a chisel and put a bright polish on the back, they're ready to go. A freshly lapped or diamond cut stone can be extremely aggressive, especially some of the fresh cut stones. I'll bet some of the cutters (most notably natural whetstone) have gotten stones back from users put off by how coarse their dark gray translucent cuts at first, despite the fact that they are excellent stones.

Dan's gets complaints on the flip side of that, where people send back soft arkansas stones because they use the same lapping process on all of their stones, and it puts the soft arks to sleep (makes for nice trans and black stones, though).

I learned to sharpen and hone on the Arkies in 1980. There was no catalogs with razor hones and no internet then. It was yellow pages and white pages. If your town did not have it you were out of luck. I have some experience with these stones. Use your eyes if you don't see any imperfections on your stone new or old. Then use your thumb nail in a reverse manner. Draw your nail toward you while holding the stone out in front of you. Your nail will pick up on any marks you eyes can't see. Then if that goes well wash the stone!!!!! Then lick it. Do both your black and translucent that way if you have both. If your tongue fails to pick up any imperfections. Start using those stones. The stone that felt the smoothest on your tongue use with no pressure until the blade of your razor sticks into your thumb nail with ease. Then a very good barber hones will really put icing on the cake. A couple of no pressure passes on the barber hone and then the thumb nail again. Just to make sure you did not botch something up. I don't know much about other stones I only own Arkies, but I have a gut feeling you are not going to go wrong with the Arkansas stone.

i think the member called geezer has a few posts on the subject,do a search for barber hones/reconditioning etc.

“What did you do years ago to wake up the coarse stone? On woodworking sites, people get upset because the soft arkansas stone will begin to cut slowly as it goes to sleep, and they put it away and that's that.”


Low grit Silicon Carbide stone and kerosene.

if you have a soft ark i'd flatten it and then rub it with a rough cloth for maybe 5 minutes, imo that will pull any rough particules up and out of your stone...hard arks are a different case imo, use a piece of HARD and FLAT steel to rub it till you get a nice shine and or can see light reflecting (without oil on the stone) the reflection shouldnt be mirror like IMO ! Leave the mirror for your trans/blacks. And as always ymmv. Hope i've helped and not hashed it up for anyone. Cheers and shave on.

Burnish with a Carbon Steel cleaver, you can pick them up for under 5 buck at antique stores and flea markets. They are also handy to have in the kitchen.

With that you can really put some pressure on the stone face and get across the whole stone.

I do heavy pressure half-laps with Smiths and water until it is slick like glass.

Put a razor on the stone and as you burnish it the feel will get slicker, until it is almost like wet glass.

Here’s an old 10X3 black.

Yes, I have a couple of soft Arkies. I have a few knife blades with no handles, so could start thinning the tangs. I will take any and all ideas and decide which ones to try.

The brand is "sharpening systems" never heard of it and it is new. 8 by 2 inch. Not many arkansas hones made it down here. I did miss a Norton white a while back.

Originally Posted by Grazor

The brand is "sharpening systems" never heard of it and it is new. 8 by 2 inch. Not many arkansas hones made it down here. I did miss a Norton white a while back.

Well if the price is right I would say go for it.