Thread: Black arkansas vs Translucent

You're not the first to note the lack of flatness vs. Dan's.

Still good stones I would guess.

Originally Posted by kelbro

You're not the first to note the lack of flatness vs. Dan's.

Still good stones I would guess.

Yes if you want to save money you've got to put in some time lapping.

Originally Posted by Marshal

Since you already have the black on hand, I would say get it burnished and tested before buying another expensive stone. Unless you just want a translucent on hand to compare and contrast. Typically folks go soft > hard > finisher, or with a sharp blade that just needs a quick refresh - hard > finisher. So if it's not making a good shaving edge it might be worth replacing. But I wouldn't burn time doing a few hundred laps on a translucent then shift to a black or vice versa.

At any rate, density is key not coloring with novaculite. That grey rock just might surprise you when it's burnished. Those are some pretty stones, especially the one on the right. Is that the hard Arkie?

I'll get it burnished when my arms feel a bit better. The one on the right is the soft. The hard is the middle. The colour really pops with oil on it.

Yeah, polishing and burnishing a Black or Translucent is best taken in bites. There's a reason my 12 x 3 isn't fully flattened and ready to work. The 6 x 2 was much more friendly.

You can lap an ark flat in about 15-20 minutes with loose Silicone Carbide. $15 will buy you a progression from 60-500 grit and enough to do several stones, from Gotgrit.com.

60 grit and a dollar store steel cookie sheet will get it flat, then run through the grits, a few minutes on each. Finish on Wet and Dry. Use a sharpie to mark a grid, pencil will wash off with the grit.

Trying to lap an ark on Wet & Dry is a waste of time and paper.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

Trying to lap an ark on Wet & Dry is a waste of time and paper.

Believe it or not I wasted time and 30 sheets of paper with that stone. I am way too impatient to wait for grit to come in. If I ever have to do it again... I'm getting loose grit

The soft and hard Arkansas I have still need to be lapped maybe I'll order some grit...

Originally Posted by Marshal

Yeah, polishing and burnishing a Black or Translucent is best taken in bites. There's a reason my 12 x 3 isn't fully flattened and ready to work. The 6 x 2 was much more friendly.

12x3 black or translucent? From where?

Translucent. Found it on Ebay in a lot actually, no idea who the original company that mined it up was. It's unmarked.

Originally Posted by Marshal

Translucent. Found it on Ebay in a lot actually, no idea who the original company that mined it up was. It's unmarked.

Pictures please

Got the dimensions off by a hair - 12 x 2.5

Here it is next to a ZY razor hone that's about 8 x 3 for comparison.





The face I've been slowly working over has black marker and you can kinda see the oval where I've been slowly working it flat here and there. This one's been a bit of a bear, rather than being concave the hone is somewhat convexed. Now that I've seen the thread regarding rounded hones part of me is wondering if going out of my way to flatten it isn't something of a mistake. Maybe it was meant to be high & rounded, kind of like the ones in use at Dovo...?

Well, the other side still has that profile. And I'll be d*&%^ed if that's getting lapped. It can stay as-is. Might get a little burnishing, but I'll be content with one flat side.

That's a nice looking stone congrats. Did you pay an arm and a leg for it?


Side note: Today I spent another 2 hours lapping and prepping the black. An hour and a half of lapping and another 30 minutes of polishing.

Used wet dry 150 grit to finish up the lapping. I then used my king stones to lap to 8k. Started with the 1k and then the 4K and finally 8. Sharpened two knives on it.

I then scrubbed it with a toothbrush and dish soap to remove any grit as I read on b&b from slice of life that Arkansas hones hold on to loose grit so clean it. I took his advice and cleaned it well.

Took a razor that was shaving but not well off a coticule. Wasn't comfortable believe it or not on the last shave so I thought I'd give it a go on the black ark.

Did about 50 laps on oil. 10x3 is a lot of real estate so I didn't feel the need to do hundreds of laps. It didn't need it. Stropped and shaved and it was equal or above a good coticule edge for me. Close and comfortable. It definitely improved my rough shaving edge to the point where I enjoyed it immensely. I was kind of worried when I sold my last fine coticule to Harrywally that I would be finisher-less. Thankfully this is not the case.

I am very pleased with the stone and after putting all the effort into it I never plan on selling this stone, or any of my Arkansas stones for that matter. It can only get better from here.

So I would also recommend the black stone from natural whetstone. Just know that out of the box it will be rough and not flat. Once you flatten and polish it you'll be surprised at how it changes. It really opened my eyes and my initial disappointment/low expectations were shattered. Buy from natural whetstone with confidence. There stones are good, after all they are novaculite.

I would buy there black translucent but my arms would not appreciate me lapping an even harder ark!!! I'll see how this stone breaks in.

Apologies for the ramblings.