Thread: Just bought this...

Just e-bought a HB6 norton (pike) hard translucent arkansas stone, because I am amazed with the honing quality of my small norton (bear) translucent 2X1x1/4. What do you think, guys? Is this the same quality and grain?

This kind of material is hard to find in Brazil, and I never saw a "pike" stone before.

New HB6 Norton Hard Arkansas Oilstone Whetstone Sharpening Stone 6 Inch | eBay

I have no info just wanted to subscribe to this thread since I am also curious what other think.

Originally Posted by JSmith1983

I have no info just wanted to subscribe to this thread since I am also curious what other think.

You can just use the "thread tools", and select "subscribe to thread"

The probability is that it is a hard Arky, The question is...Is it a translucent Arkansas stone. The light transmittance suggests that it is. Interesting that Pike made them for the Overseas market.
Good luck, you may have a winner.
It will be very hard to lap and i would suggest the use of at least 220 or greater cutting power Silicon Carbide wet/ dry abrasive paper will save your DMT. Look up how to lap a stone in the library.
~Richard
And.... I did look at the photos again...
The hone is by Norton and of a different size than the Pike box.
Soft/Hard Arkansas Combination Stone
Retails here for USD $25

Picked up a Hard translucent from the same website Geezer linked to, yet to try it but have read a lot of good things about them. I think Norton bought Pike, hence the name on the box. I see it is an inch thick, you never gonna wear it out that's for sure...

I have pre 1950s Norton HB6 Translucent and it leaves stellar edges. Nice inch thick stone too, will never even begin to wear out.

Same thing as the "bear" translucent. At the risk of exposing myself for how much different junk I buy new and used....

.. norton went back to labeling their stones as hard arkansas a couple of years ago. They've got two different part numbers for a lot of the stone sizes for the old "hard translucent" printing on the sides of the stones and the current "hard" printing.

I had an IM 313 sized stone with identical labeling to the one above, its specific gravity was exactly 2.6, and it had some translucence, especially once the surface was oil (strange to say just the surface, but I believe the dusty cut surface left makes light transmission a bit harder).

It was a decent stone, and it will become a great one with use. I think more highly of the dans stones, but you won't find them cheap, especially not in a full thickness stone like that. You got a good deal, that stone will finish a razor and whether or not it's translucent won't matter as much as the density.

I sold a non-translucent stone with a density of 2.6 or 2.65 in the classifieds last year, and from initial use, it had the same feel as any other trans stones.

Now, as far as norton's labeling goes, there are a lot of old stock stone around, so you may still find one labeled "hard translucent", but that doesn't mean your stone is any different other than the decision to change the mark. I would assume that the reason for the change is that in reality, the density is the important thing and they may have had some properly fine dense stones that weren't translucent and got corresponding complaints about them.

Nortons are somewhere between natural whetstone's new stones and dan's new stones in terms of how much prep they need. They are flat or close to it, and they are a bit aggressive when you get them so expect to condition the surface a little bit or allow it to condition itself with use. Once it's been conditioned, it should put a smooth edge and bright polish on a razor.

No worries about the labeling on the stone, norton has only ever sold two levels of arkansas stones at a given time that I can recall (at least in any volume) and it used to be soft and hard, then it was soft and hard translucent and now it's back to soft and hard. There's not a secret level of subpar stones between them that are non-porous. Of course, they also sold washita stones for a long time, but washita stones and arkansas stones are not the same thing, even though there is overlap in their levels of fineness.

It arrived, but unfortunately the package soaked in the accumulated rainwater inside the block's damaged mailbox. The stone is perfect, and I do not think I`ll need to lap it. I tested with my knife edge light square and seems perfectly flat. The surface is also beutifully polished.

I am pretty happy!

Looks awesome! Enjoy it!

That looks great. If you remember, come back and let us know how it works. It reminds me of candy.