Originally Posted by
DaveW
I'm a big fan. I have a text trail on this forum gushing about them already. Two things to add to this conversation, though:
* Dan's black and trans are as good as any that have ever come from the ground. Don't get caught up in chasing vintage stones (but no reason to turn them down, either, if you find them for the right price).
* I never try to wake up oilstones. If you need something stronger, go backward to more air gaps in a stone
I have used soft ark (well, that's the one concession to waking up, I will lap the surface of a cheap soft to wake it up - they will cut as fast as any other bevel setter if awake, but beware that means they can be just as hard on a razor spine, too), followed by washita (no need to ever lap the washita once it's flat and conditioned), followed by black or trans, whatever is handy.
the edge is as good as any other natural stone.
As an alternative to the temptation to wake up the stones by lapping or slurrying them, you can instead depart from the normal light touch we go with and bias a bit of medium firm pressure to a bevel, and don't be too picky about the stroke type. Just not so much pressure that you flex the razor, but some pressure is fine and it will not affect the edge when you lighten up the pressure level to finish the edge.