Thread: A Charnley? Or something else?

I do not slurry my arks above soft.it doesn't help imo .now I do activate my hards at times .

Originally Posted by Blistersteel

I do not slurry my arks above soft.it doesn't help imo .now I do activate my hards at times .

Yep, my understanding is that the smoother the surface of the Charnley/Ark, the better the finish on the razor. Certainly, the best of my Charnleys has a really smooth honing surface.

I was thinking of getting some of the softer Arks for coarser work, and was wondering what the optimal process would be to get them to work faster. I assume DMT plates are the best option.

Originally Posted by yohannrjm

Yep, my understanding is that the smoother the surface of the Charnley/Ark, the better the finish on the razor. Certainly, the best of my Charnleys has a really smooth honing surface.

I was thinking of getting some of the softer Arks for coarser work, and was wondering what the optimal process would be to get them to work faster. I assume DMT plates are the best option.

A DMT will work fine.although if you want to save money wet&dry sic sandpaper wrapped about a flat piece of steel will also activate your arks/charnleys .of course silicon carbide grit on a granite floor tile that is dead flat will work very fast also.btw I use 500-600 grit sic to wake up my softs etc,this also works to reactivate an India or sic grindstone btw.cheers -cam-

Roughly flattened today another 3 CFs as I am doing check and sorting out of my collection. Looking forward to pick some SiC grit next week that should speed up the work even more than sand.
As with prces in UK yes you can get sometimes cheap CF but as well there is now higher risk of bying dud as sellers are now aware of desire for CF and trying to flog anything like one including dirty tricks with leaving stipes of swarf which can fake the CF look.

After hearing about the arkansas hones here, I decided to buy and try one. I picked up a black/soft arkansas combo from Natural Whetstones. It came in and needed a lot of flattening.

I decided to try the valve grinding compound on a glass plate to do this. It took a while, and finally I got it mostly flat - except for one corner which is over 1mm thinner than the rest of the hone. It doesn't matter, as it's not really a honing surface.

I then worked it over lightly with a DMT 1000. Then I burnished the surface with several knives. It has started to get a bit of a sheen, but nothing like the mirror surface that some of you guys have.

I was hoping some of you have some tips on further burnishing the surface of this hone.

Being impatient, I gave it a go on a good Le Grelot. It produced a decent shaving edge, but it wasn't quite as keen as my fully prepared Charnley could do. I'm pretty certain the Arkie can produce a better edge - I just have to prepare it properly.

One great thing about the combo hone is the soft Arkansas, which has already been used to sharpen several of my knives.

Usually guys use a chisel to prepare the surface post lapping

Originally Posted by kcb5150

Usually guys use a chisel to prepare the surface post lapping

Thanks. I don't have any chisels, but I was hoping that doing the same thing with knives would work. It seems to be improving, but very slowly.

I guess I'll just keep using some elbow grease on this and I'll keep at it until the surface gets to where I want it.

Yohannrjm .to make your finishing ark ready in minutes first do your SIC in 80-90 grit then 5-600 grit .next wash your lapping plate off clean and then put some aluminum oxide powder in 1,200 to 2,000 grit on with a little water.then do figure eights and circles to polish it out quickly. this is how I do it.this is hours quicker than rubbing a piece of metal on it.

The black from Natural Whetstone is imo more of a prefinsher. The black from Dans is a pure finisher.

Thanks for the tips, guys. Is there a source of SiC or aluminium oxide that allows purchase in small amounts? It seems like I can only get it in 1 lb lots (too much for me).

Wid - I was wondering about that. It could certainly be the case, and I may just get a Dan's Black eventually. Posts on these forums seem to be divided on the Natural Whetstone Black.