Thread: Translucent Ark?

Nice stone, will be interesting to hear the results of the shave.

Sent from a galaxy far far away...

That's a pretty stone, I like how you can see just the ambient light from the window sill seeping through the rock. Sounds to me like all she may need is a good burnish to truly be ready for action.

Since you've already got a Naniwa 12K I think you'll find using that Jnat to be surprisingly straightforward. If you're coming off that 12K I would wager you could safely forego any fuss with slurry, and go straight to water on the bare hone. But that's a topic for another thread.

In regard to the translucent, I'm with Steel and Grazor. Sounds like you did everything right on your end, if the stone was surfaced right you should be in for a really nice shave when you put that razor to the test.

Sounds to me like all she may need is a good burnish to truly be ready for action. Thanks for the feedback Marshall and others. A couple of quick questions for you guys or any other ark users:

1. Burnishing-If it already has that "wet mirror" surface sheen when you angle it lengthwise down towards a light, and the blade just glides across almost like glass, does it NEED further burnishing? If so, do I need to get out some kitchen knives and start working them across it?

2. Oil-I've heard Smith's, plain water, glycerin, 3-in-1, sewing machine oil, various "recipes" involving honing oil and solvents like kerosene, etc. I'll use anything simple and reliable. If I use much oil, do I need to scrub it off with soap and a scotch-brite pad or anything?

3. Laps-Assuming an already shave-ready, 12k Nani edge, if I truly want to make a noticeable difference and get those "silky" arkie edges I hear about, are 100 x-strokes sufficient? 200? 300, like I did today? Does it matter much?

I hear it's almost impossible to over-hone on one of these, though it seems like you could wreck a full-hollow, ultra-thin edge with such a hard stone and some wrong strokes.

Anyway, curious to hear further thoughts if anyone is not too far "into their cups" tonight! Thanks again-Aaron

edit: Two more questions I just thought of:
4. Burnishing-Even if it doesn't "need" it, would it do any harm to do sets of, let's say, Japanese-style back and forths with a little pressure using an 8" stainless chef's knife that is already pretty sharp? I don't have any chisels or plane blades.

5. Cleanup and glazing-I have heard of arks "glazing over" and becoming virtually useless until cleaned and refreshed on the surface? Should I worry about this? And given that arks have the reputation of eating expensive diamond plates for breakfast, what is the best way to clean and refresh the surface after honing, if necessary?

Again, thanks in advance!

1. No. If it already has a good finish it will only get better with use. No need to burnish any further u less it is not giving you the edge you want.

2. Any oil or lubricant works but my preference is for water soluble. So either smiths or ballistol oil.

3. The laps depend on your stone and particular blade/grind. I personally don't count laps. 300 should be plenty if the surface is burnished and it is light pressure.

Thanks Steel-I jumped the gun with that stainless 8" chef's knife just to see what I could do (ignoring the very tempting Chosera 1k right beside it!). When I took it out of the drawer, it had much less of an edge than I thought, actually-not quite butter-knife dull, but not much better.

Anyway, I did the aforementioned back and forths on the ark with a knife that really needed a full bevel set, and in about 10 minutes, I had a stupid sharp edge on it (along with some circles and x-strokes for smoothing). I was kind of shocked, actually-I had expected it to take a while to notice anything at all.

I didn't know these things were capable of such quick heavy lifting; I thought it was more of a hard, slow polisher. It will be interesting to find out what other super-powers this stone has!

I've used baby oil (mineral oil) or sometime Dawn dish soap. A couple of drops, add water to suit.

The wider the bevel (more surface area in contact at once) the slower the stone will be. If you can work at just the apex like when freehand sharpening a knife Arks can get the job done very quickly. They produce superb edges on plain carbon steels and even some alloys. They are among my very favorite stones for razor finishing, and I use them regularly on kitchen knives also.

That's a beautiful translucent. Love the banding. If you want to know what it really is like I'm not sure following a 12k will give you an accurate evaluation. Maybe try it after a 8 k edge and see?
Slippery slope, you'll want to feel it following a good hard Ark next.

Originally Posted by Paulbuck

Slippery slope, you'll want to feel it following a good hard Ark next.

Curious by this remark. The Ark. Translucent and Hard Black (aka: surgical black) are exactly the same "gravity" or hardness. Both are hardest of Arkansas stones.

Nice stone.

On a vintage, new to you stone, try it before lapping or scrubbing with abrasives. Chances are after decades of use, it will already have a nice smooth burnished surface.

Do not use the Scotch Brite, you do want to burnishing/smooth the surface. I use large kitchen knives or my favorite, a large cleaver. It is easier on the hands and you can lay into it with pressure.

The goal is to smooth the surface. I do a combination of knife sharpening strokes, half lap, back and forth short and long strokes. Short, 1.5 inch, over lapping strokes working the knife down the stone with controlled pressure. Up and down the stone a few times. Then long, smooth strokes from end to end. You will feel the stone and the knife get smoother. Don’t try to burnish all in one session, just do some burnishing before honing until you get a surface you like.

Once the stone is clean of oil, it is easy to keep oil free. I have used water, dish soap, Ballistol, Smiths, WD40 and Mineral oil and Kerosene.

My favorites are water and Ballistol or Smith’s, just 2-3 drops on a wet stone. If you use oil, just wash it when done, with a squirt of Dawn dish soap in a plastic shoe box that I keep in the sink for soaking stones. A 10-15-minute soak and a scrubbing with a stiff brush and sponge in hot water will get and keep it clean.

Smith’s and Ballistol wash right off.

It is hard to hurt an Ark, they are rock… after all.
Then it is just a matter of learning your stone, experimenting with pressure. Yes, they are more aggressive than most folks think. Ark and Jnat edges are unique edges, there is a different, learning curve.