Hone sequence

I just got a Arkansas Black from Dan's and found it to be flat. I burnished it and took it out for a lap with a razor I bought on eBay. I had to set the bevel with my Naniwa 1k, the Naniwa 5k, Jnat, Naniwa 12k, Suehiro 20k, Arkansas Black, Chromium oxide paddle and my English leather paddle strop. I wasn't sure what hones to use so I tried them all. Worked pretty good. Great edge and will shave with the razor tomorrow. Where does the Arkansas Black usually go in the sequence? I won't need all the above now that the bevel is set. To refresh I would usually use my 12k & 20k or just the 20 k and chromium oxide. Now that I have the Arkansas, I am curious to see what can be omitted?

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Originally Posted by jkatzman

I had to set the bevel with my Naniwa 1k, the Naniwa 5k, Jnat, Naniwa 12k, Suehiro 20k, Arkansas Black, Chromium oxide paddle and my English leather paddle strop.

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You are using a Whole lot of hones there :)


The Jnat is an unknown grit level
The Arkie is an unknown grit level

To test hones you need to have a positive level jump off point

I used the 8k's for year as a jump off point between Polishing and Finishing

I would get the razor to that point with an 8k where I knew I had a CCS from that edge then I would test the new hone and see if it improved that edge..

From what you have I would guess your jump off point to be either your J-nat or your N12k..

sometimes taking hones out of the progression and not "Over-finishing" will yield a much more comfortable edge

I guess this is going to be a trial and error. Want to experiment with the ark after the 12k. Is chromium oxide necessary after the ark?

If I am testing a Hone then I don't even use Linen, just about 20 on leather to burnish the edge a bit so I can REALLY feel the edge off that hone ..

after I get where I like I can always tweak it with more stuff later :)

I would hone the razor with the 12K and then hit the Arkie with it and check under magnification to see where it fits. Then I'd shave off the edge and see if I felt a need to go anywhere after that.

Like Glenn said your arkie is an unknown grit being a natural. Throw in the fact that individual Arkansas stones will vary more depending on the level that it is burnished and this really isn't a question you can get an answer to from any one of us. I would do what Glenn suggested above and just do it trial and error. It's the best part anyways, figuring out the puzzle. Jump in. The waters fine! :tu

I have several black Arkies and unfortunately the scratch patterns range from about 10k to 20k.
It really is trial and error.
Practice on the arkie with a kitchen knife or a hunting knife to compare the scratch pattern.

And have you considered HAD rehabilitation yet?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jkatzman

I had to set the bevel with my Naniwa 1k, the Naniwa 5k, Jnat, Naniwa 12k, Suehiro 20k, Arkansas Black, Chromium oxide paddle and my English leather paddle strop. I wasn't sure what hones to use so I tried them all.

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The suehiro 20k is about the king of the finishing hill right now. Using an Ark, or chrom-ox following a 20k would degrade the edge IMHO. When using an Ark, translucent or black, to finish a razor I do 1K (if it needs the bevel set) 4k or 5k (depending on the series) 8k or 10k, then the black ark or the trans, not both. I basically never use chrom-ox or paste after I hone. I want to see what I 'got' with the hones. If I'm in the middle of a shave and feel the need I'll go to chrom-ox, but that is the only time. YMMV.

I took an old Genco razor and went to my 12k then the Ark. The Ark is so glass smooth, 2 hours of burnishing, that its hard to tell when your done. What I did notice is after say 50 laps, the blade wants to stick to the Ark. I thought it needed more oil and it still wanted to stick. I checked it under my glass and the bevel was very smooth. Next, the shave. Very comfortable. No tugging or irritation. I am curious now to see how a stainless steel blade reacts. My first impression, I really like the Ark as a final finishing - polishing stone. It feels more comfortable shaving then the Suehiro 20k.

Food for thought, but if it were me I'd drop the Jnat and the 20k from the progression then. Assuming of course that you don't find a blade that likes the 20k better than the Arkie.

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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.

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+1 here too :tu

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 :rofl2: 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.