Thread: Translucent Arkansas stone?

At the last gun and knife show there was a guy set up with a bunch of sharpening stones and gear and also sharpening knives. I looked around and he had a couple of translucent Arkansas stones. He couldn't tell me the grit, but said straight razor people loved them.

Any idea of what grit, and how well they'd work for straight razors? Right now I'm using Sharpton ceramic glass water stones, final grit is 8000 then leather stropping. I'd like to add a 16000 grit water stone and was wondering about the translucent Arkansas stone as they were kind of pricey.

Thanks

As most will tell you, you cant put a grit on a natural stone. They are not consistant. Some folks have made lists of what they think a natural stone grit is. You wont find it here but on the web. An Arkie is a very smooth stone. And a trans ark will be almost as sooth as glass after burnishing. They make great finishers for razors but they take a lot of work to make a razor have a great edge. Its because there is really not much for grit. Its a fine polishing stone for after your done putting an edge on the razor.

You could use it just fine after an 8k stone. You will find that after a few hundred perfect laps on a trans ark your edge will be very defined. Some folks like them and others dont because they are so hard and take a long time to get much from them.

Lots of info on trans arks here on the forum. Do a slight search and you will find more reading than your going to want to read. I have one. Its a good stone. But i find a synthetic stone (20k) more friendly and to my liking better.

If you’re looking for a quick path to a great edge you won’t find it with an Arkansas. I have one of Dan’s blacks. Arkansas stones for razors is a labor of love. The size of the grit particles is around the equivalent of a 1200 if you want to put a size to it. They are mostly silica, as I recall. The thing with an Arkansas, is unless you get one already flattened and polished to at least 120 you are looking at hours of work.

Look up some threads on flattening an arky.

My suggestion would be to buy a Dan’s Arkansas, they’re flat. It will be up to you to polish it. Most guys go to at least 600 grit. Loose sic is what you want to use not sandpaper or a diamond stone. Though a Chinese phig or 12k or 30 other names the stone has works good for initial polishing, assuming you have one laying around. When it feels pretty smooth then get your chisels or carbon knives or any hardened steel with an edge and start burnishing the stone with you favorite lube. You want to get that stone reflecting light when you look at it from a lower angle before you even attempt to finish a razor on it. The more you rub steel on it the better your edges will become over time.

Arkys are not forgiving, one wrong move and you need to go back to your last stone and correct the problem. An Arkansas that is burnished well won’t really cut steel at any appreciable rate, it more burnishes the bevels as opposed to cutting it. The reason to go back to the last stone is to not spend an hour, assuming you don’t make another mistake, trying to fix the apex.

You’ll also need to experiment with different lubricants, pressure (torque), and techniques. They’ll all change the feel of the edge on you face.

I come off my Naniwa 12k to an Arkansas, if I decide to finish on it. It gives the edge more sharpness and makes it a little more comfortable to my face. I’ve finished 7-8 razors on it so far. Each edge is better than the last, although only incrementally. I am a long way from learning everything this stone has to offer. I also burnish it with a chisel after every new razor finished on it so as not to get burnt out.

The stones are absolutely beautiful but a labor of love, mine was expensive but it was already flattened from Dan’s and polished a bit from the previous owner. After I read all the info I could find I came to the conclusion, if I want this rock I want to use it, not have another project I may not finish. So I spent a bit more than I could have but I also saved my self the time of having to completely flatten a stone had it come from somewhere else.

If you aren’t already maxing out your 8k edge, I would work more on my honing before really sitting down with an arky for finishing. It really does take a good consistent and persistent honer to get a good edge off of one.

Thanks for the info, as much as I'd like to play with one, I think I'll stick with the Sharpton ceramics for now, and likely get a higher grit one in the future. I will keep an eye out for one however.

Not much to add to the previous posts.
I can second the observation that Dans Hones come flat. And also that patience with burnishing the one side. And patience when using it is crucial to success with Arkansas stones.
Synthetics are the way to go if you want quicker results.
Many like me use them (Arkansas) in a type of progression. 1. Unburnished side. 2. Burnished side dry. 3. Burnished side with WD40.
When I do that my edge looks hazy like the pics I have seen with a Belgian hone. And the face feel is "smoother" than when I finish on my GOK 20K.
Touched up my Korratt 14 2.0 yesterday. It had a little tugging on the last shave.
I start each step with circles and finish with x strokes. This speeds things up. Approx. 20-30 mins.
If I touched it up with my GOK 20K it can be accomplished in 10 minutes.
If you use DE's. I would compare a Arkansas edge to my Voskhod blades. Sharp and smooth. And GOK 20K edge to Feathers.
My $.02 Ken

Thanks. I was lucky to have the sharpton set, mainly used for sharpening wood chisels and carving tools. Normally for most of the knives I make I use a Norton fine India, about 320 grit, followed by a fine Arkansas stone to put a little polish on the edge while still keeping the teeth.

With a straight razor, it's been an education in sharpening, and thankfully a 30x microscope I had comes in handy too.

For about $15 you can get an assortment of SIC grits, (60-500, enough to do many stones) from Got Grit.com, that will flatten any natural stone in 15-20 minutes, on a dollar store cookie sheet. Once flat, polishing running up the grits goes quickly. Polish up to 1 or 2k wet and dry will get you a nice finish ready for burnishing, as said with a wide chisel or kitchen knife with pressure. You only have to prep the stone once in its lifetime.

Prep one side to 500 or 1k and burnish the other for an ark progression and/ or touch up. From an 8k, finishing an edge it goes quickly. An Ark edge is a unique edge unlike any synthetic edge, it is smooth and crisp.

When I started with Straight Razors, I maintained a single razor for 10 years with just a 6 inch Translucent and a strop.

Large stones are nice but not necessary, occasionally you can find them at flea markets or on the bay for a few dollars. Pick up a small stone, polish and burnish and give it a try, I think you will like it. A Voskhod blades is a good comparison.