Thread: Hone sequence

Originally Posted by jkatzman

I checked it under my glass and the bevel was very smooth. Next, the shave. Very comfortable. No tugging or irritation. My first impression, I really like the Ark as a final finishing - polishing stone. It feels more comfortable shaving then the Suehiro 20k.

+1 here too

OK, took gssixgun's advice and honed an already sharp Genco and a Dovo Bismarck. The Dovo I just could not get a smooth shave with it. I reset the bevel on a Naiwa 1k traditional stone, Naniwa 5k, 12k and this time I used the Ark after the 12k. Did 100 laps on the ark and shaved with it no strop. Wow are they shaving smooth. I was going to send out the Dovo to get it honed but not now. I compared the 2 razors bevel to others I have honed and noticed on the Ark razors how much smoother the bevel is under a glass. Can't wait to use my Jnat then the Ark. Thanks all for your advice.

Yep, I was also going to suggest moving to the Ark off the 12K and shaving without stropping to see what sort of edge the Ark provides.

I find that a properly burnished Ark does smooth edges out well. I doubt it removes much metal at all, but whatever it does, I like the results. The edges also seem to hold up better than some other hones for me, but that's very subjective and I will not insist that this observation is true.

Yup simplify, no point going from a Jnat finisher to an Ark finisher. Your Jnat is a finisher? Just because it’s a Jnat, doesn’t mean it’s a finisher.

Because hard Arks are polishers, you do need a refined edge, or do a lot of laps. So after the 12k super stone, strop on linen and leather then go to the Ark, strop on leather and shave.

A micro bevel, also works well with hard burnished arks, just add an extra layer of tape.

All the finishers these guys have mentioned will probably put a laser edge on your razor. I have shaved off of a Norton 8K (awesome hone) by the way! I use the Arkansas stones. I prefer the translucent for a finisher. I don't have a microscope to look at the razor's edge with so I use the next best thing. Mennen after shave it's cheap some where around $ 1.99 It is made with battery acid, Kerosene, and alcohol! Just kidding ! Out of all the good stones and hones you got this stuff will pick the winner. The one with the least amount of burn wins.

Haha! An alum block works pretty good for that test too.