Quote Originally Posted by ScottGoodman View Post
Scientifically, yes. Maybe I have never had a good Arky in my hands...but I do have a fabulous old long CF. It's slow, takes about 100 strokes each side, but it leaves a sinister edge. The scratch marks are slightly finer than Shapton GS 16K when using Smith's honing oil, even finer yet when using mineral oil.
The nicest Arks are just like CF stones. You need to find older ones. The oldest surgical blacks are exactly that BLACK... deep, shimmering dark pools of inky smoothness. Most of the SB stones I see these days are more grayish. and I'm betting they are not as dense or smooth.
And you never find one as long as a CF (which always makes me wonder why that is)