Thread: Translucent Arkansas

My "grey" translucent Arkansas arrived from the US and took virtually no lapping - thanks Dan's - so after about 400 laps with an old razor it was starting to get a nice gloss on the surface. I took a blade I had honed the other day on my Soft - hard and Surgical black which was extremely good and gave it 100 laps on the 5x2 Trans Arkansas. Oh boy I really have the progression I'm after now. This blade is so sticky on the thumb pad. I've always liked hand honing but bigger hones felt a bit awkward while this one is just right for me. Great hone.

I have a translucent Arkansas that I use sometimes when I can't get satisfactory results from my other hones. I normally finish on a Coticule, or a C12k but there have been a few times when nothing else would work but that little Trans. Arky did the trick.

They do give a good edge.

Yeah don't mind the naysayerz who say Arks don't give good edges - they just don't know what they're doing. Arks give really top-tier edges when they are prepped right.

Originally Posted by eKretz

Yeah don't mind the naysayerz who say Arks don't give good edges - they just don't know what they're doing. Arks give really top-tier edges when they are prepped right.

I feel like this is the case with many naturals - it's all in how the stone is prepped. Good prep, great edge. Poor prep - poor edge.

Originally Posted by Marshal

I feel like this is the case with many naturals - it's all in how the stone is prepped. Good prep, great edge. Poor prep - poor edge.

That is almost certainly true with the harder stones.

I got a Dan's Black Ark and I am not sure if the edge is sharper then my Suehiro 20k but it sure makes the shave smoother. Sometimes after using my Escher under running water I'll go to the Black Ark and it really makes a difference.

Hehe, now I'm going to dig out my little translucent, white as a lightbulb it is, and have a go at three razors just off the wrung out Vermio, we'll see.

Is the black Arkansas finer than the tranny?

I was always confused by that. Just picked up a black from dan's... a nice 6 x 3. Looking forward to it big time!

Originally Posted by J743

Is the black Arkansas finer than the tranny?

I was always confused by that. Just picked up a black from dan's... a nice 6 x 3. Looking forward to it big time!

That's an on going can-o-worms. I think the finest stone at Dans is the black, or at least that's what I was told when I bought mine.