Thread: Black arkansas vs Translucent

Well, now you guys have gone and done it. I took my trans ark out to the shop for some buffing with Fabuluster, which polishes anything you use it on to a mirror shine:
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And while I was at it, just for giggles I did the same to my long-neglected but ultra-hard, glassy PHIG, which lately has been giving up the finest edges I have ever gotten, due largely I think to my recent learning sessions with that ark and the "Pocket Rocket" JNat I've been experimenting with:


We'll see what effect it has on the C12k too-no doubt it will slow down an already slow cutter with just water, but that's okay. If I wanted fast and easy I could just go back to my Nani 12. And I'm sure I'll negate some of the polish the first time I raise a slurry on it from its rubbing stone, which I usually start with.

Sorry to stray from the Ark convo, but I've become a convert to the PHIG edge after shaving with one of the finest edges I'd ever put to my face off a WB I got from RodB on our BST, and found out that he gets his best edges off of his. He said it was the best finisher he's ever had including his Eschers. After getting similar results to his edge on a couple of other blades upon returning to this old hone with new skills, I'm convinced.

I will report shave results from the buffed "mirror" hones if anybody is interested once I get a couple done on them.

Now back to the black vs. trans ark thing.

With regard to the PHIG - might I suggest lapping the back and using that for slurry work? I leave the backside of mine a little rough - usually scored up with 400 or 600 grit - and use that for (most) of my slurry work, then flip it over to the front for actual finish work, used only with water or shave lather.

The buffing wheel idea never crossed my mind. Now I'm tempted to take a few of my hones over to my buddy's shop and hit them with his 6" wheel.

What’s the worst that could happen?

If you don’t like the way it performs, just lap it on a sheet of 1k wet and dry and burnish to your liking.

Originally Posted by Marshal

With regard to the PHIG - might I suggest lapping the back and using that for slurry work? I leave the backside of mine a little rough - usually scored up with 400 or 600 grit - and use that for (most) of my slurry work, then flip it over to the front for actual finish work, used only with water or shave lather.

The buffing wheel idea never crossed my mind. Now I'm tempted to take a few of my hones over to my buddy's shop and hit them with his 6" wheel.

Another great idea, Marshall-sort of like having a 2-in-1 combo hone! Problem is, the backside looks like it just came off the saw. I'd hate to ruin my nice DMT on it-maybe I'll have to get some of that SIC powder, or stick some wet-dry on the granite in my shop. I've never really lapped a natural before. From what I hear, it's a PITA with the harder stones.

I literally just spent 3 hours lapping and burnishing stones. So the worst that could happen is wrecking the surfaces I just spent a good chunk of time fixing because I didn't quite learn my lesson about using the burnished face for slurry the first time and have to repeat that process. I love the finish my Welsh slates give, but I don't love the fact that if any little thing gets between them and their respective slurry stones they can get gouged to hell with a quickness...

Edit: Be glad yours looks like it just came off the saw. When I got mine, the good face looked like it was fresh off the wet-saw, the other face was au naturale. Like the face of the rock it was cut from. I spent a few sessions on 80 grit getting that sorted out.

Please let us know how those polished stones work. Even as slick as they look, when I get one working the way that I like, I'm afraid to monkey with it.

Well it deffinetly gave a finer edge this way . I refresh the same razor that i hone on this ark the morning and shave . Edge improoves , to a scary sharp ha haha .
I have also , a lot of experience , in buffing things - i have 8 buffing motors ,with weels .
I use a white german paste ,Menzerna SF for the final finish . I use mainly white or blue Aluminium Oxide based buffing compounds for wood and plastic . I beliee that other will work also , well .
The trans ark is waaay easyer , to lapp dry , than whet on a sandpaper .Ive noticed that all novaculite get more resilient with water and they are best lapped dry .
Now you have to make it slowly , not to heat the stone ,as the internal cracks are developing from the temperature variations
I use a lot of paste and a bit or low presure o the weel to avoid heating .
Still , the defects , grow a bit .
It is so polish as the sucking on the stone beggan to apear , when honning on it .
I hve to lapp the stone again , as i think is a well brek in , but when i beggan to polish it a tiny and a lot of scratches came out .I use that technique on wood - you polish with a sandpaper and between the passes buff the wood or whatever you are polishing and the scratches that you have miss appear , and you see them very easyly .
So i relapp it with 1000 grit sandpaper and buff it twice

several hours, one dremel polishing wheel, and a little chromox paste, and I have 7 natural stones that are lapped finer than I ever considered possible. It'll be interesting to see what comes of reassessing them all. I can say this much, there's a world of difference in the feel from the one I checked first.

Oh, mineral spirits works wonders for getting that green schmootz off a hone.

Well, I took advantage of a rainy Saturday to finish two already shave-ready blades on the polished stones:
1. A John Paul 72 Best Silver Steel French Quarter Hollow I actually won on one of our monthly Giveaways. It got circles+200ish x-strokes on burnished TransArk w/glycerin and water; then circles+50 x-strokes on Dawn and water; stropped 60 on English Bridle.
2. A Frederick Reynolds Rattler Grind smiling Sheffield. It got several sets of circles, back and forths, and ultra-light x-strokes w/water and Dawn on buffed PHIG/C12k. (More and more I find myself sort of "zenning-out" or daydreaming on these fine naturals, and really more feeling for smoothness than counting strokes).+50 on English Bridle.

I'll share results after tomorrow's shave.

I also took your advice to lap the back of those hones, Marshal. Using a flat platen on a 72" belt grinder and a spray-moistened , well-worn 320 belt (to cut down the PHIG dust!), the saw marks left quickly and I was left with mostly smooth surfaces. A few minutes for each on wet-dry 320 and 400 wet-stuck to a granite plate left both dead flat and smooth. It was actually much easier and faster than I expected; that PHIG was actually much softer/easier to work than the Ark. I finished both with some gentle figure-8's under running water with a worn DMT 325, and will leave them at that to have the combo hones as you suggested. I can't wait to try them!

My NAni 12 sits dry at the corner of my honing station giving me the stink-eye. More later. Aaron

Originally Posted by ScoutHikerDad

My NAni 12 sits dry at the corner of my honing station giving me the stink-eye. More later. Aaron

This is probably the only thing that stops me from investing in more synthetics. Truth be told, I really don't even use the Norton 4K & 8K single grit hones I have. I just have too damned much fun with naturals. I'll use the Norton 1K to set the bevel, and maybe the 4K to work out the 1K stria. But more often than not it's straight to the backside of my Dragon's Tongue with a milky DT slurry, the PHIG or soft Arkie with a coticule rubbing stone slurry to polish away the synthetic scratches and all naturals from there. My synthetics are collecting dust, with exception to the barber hones that live in the bathroom cabinet.

After polishing 7 hones, and working on flattening the separated/back half of my ZY hone I only had time to really test 1 blade. But I will say this, that is the best edge bar none that I have gotten off my coticule. In the time it took to buff up with the dremel, slide my test razor 30x over my Norton 8K to reset the edge, and do a good 100 swipes (give or take) on the coticule it went from a stone I kinda hated to one I that leaves a damn fine shaving edge (with oil). I'm not exactly in love with the yellow rock, but I don't want to return it anymore.

I can only imagine what difference the buffing wheel has made for the other stones, considering my coticule just barely made an edge that squeaked by the shave test before and now it passes with flying colors. My PHIG, Welsh slates, and Arkies already made for a really, really good edge. If they're better too, all I can say is my mind is blown and I'll probably never even want another synthetic. With exception to barber hones. I dunno why but I love those things.