Thread: Arks? Where to buy?

Originally Posted by Orville

The translucent is supposed to be finer than the black, but the Lee Valley blurb says "they" noticed little if any difference.

I guess the Lee Valley person was mistaken when she said their stones were ready out of the box.

I've used the fine dans stones without doing anything to them. Their lapping process makes them very settled in, and they're close enough to flat.

Other makers (norton, natural whetstone) have a coarser finish and need to be settled in and/or lapped.

As far as buying goes, were I to get more than just finishers, I'd get either:
* a vintage labeled washita that's known from the pike mine
* a hard stone that's originating from dans (black or trans doesn't matter). Naturalwhetstones black trans is a good dense stone, but it does need to be broken in

And if I couldn't find a good vintage labeled washita, I'd get what natural whetstone calls "hard" (it's only about $35 and is not a true hard like a trans or black). It can set a bevel in a hurry if you slurry it on one side and prep an edge for the trans on the other. I'd never go to the slurried side more than the first time setting a bevel on a razor that was way out of whack.

I went and bought a 4 stone 8" x 2" soft, hard, black and trans Arkansas kit. Set me back a couple hundo but I'm sure they will come in handy at least the girlfriend said it was okay. Happy wife happy life and new stones

Originally Posted by S0LITARYS0LDIER

I went and bought a 4 stone 8" x 2" soft, hard, black and trans Arkansas kit. Set me back a couple hundo but I'm sure they will come in handy at least the girlfriend said it was okay. Happy wife happy life and new stones

Feedback on how they perform will be appreciated. My HAD is feeling neglected. Haven't bought a stone since my Zulu last year.
Prior to this community I thought ark's were for turning tools and knives, not razors. Folk on here have indicated tons of feedback to the contrary so I may be buying more than pen kits at Lee valley next weekend.
Cheers.

I'll let you know when they arrive I'll have to work them to get then razor ready. I also plan on using most of them for knives and other things as well