Thread: Black arkansas vs Translucent

My surgical pitch-black (10"x3"). I like it very much, a bit thin but this is an advantage for me.
I like hand held honing with this large one and it only weighs 1.5lb. Abrasive wear? No chance! It is ultrahard and ultrafine. Perfect to use after an average Jnat finish if the edge could be better.
I use a good amount of soap in the water to prevent the stone to clog, seems to work very good. I have no translucent and so I can not compare but this one is superb. It was bought in late 2014 from Dans.
In the direct light there are some brighter lines visible but it is not a little translucent. The stone is deep black and the most homogeneous stone I have ever seen. After lapping with 1.2k w/d I used a very hard Coticule slurrystone and honed a bit with this slurry. Some scratches from lapping are still there but the surface is very smooth now and I get great edges.