Thread: Best brand arkansas stones

Well, that answers that. I'd say my ark is good to go.

I guess it's true what they say about size not mattering...

Some say about 6x2" is just about the perfect size for honing razors. Keith Johnson sells a lot of jnats that size. I had one of his 6x2" shubodanis a few years ago-never should have sold it! I have smaller hones than that that work great-you just end up doing more laps, and/or your x-strokes are more angled.

Originally Posted by ScoutHikerDad

Some say about 6x2" is just about the perfect size for honing razors. Keith Johnson sells a lot of jnats that size. I had one of his 6x2" shubodanis a few years ago-never should have sold it! I have smaller hones than that that work great-you just end up doing more laps, and/or your x-strokes are more angled.

+ the smaller stones are much easier to keep flat.

With a sweeping X stroke how much of the hone do you use?

Originally Posted by 32t

With a sweeping X stroke how much of the hone do you use?

True, I've got a 4x2 soft ark I use with knives. Many are larger than a straight. I see a lot of 8x3 hones discussed and just hadn't thought about smaller stones with a straight.

6" x 2" is fine for me with razors. Sharpening Supplies sells rebranded Dan's for a slight discount.

For Dan's Whetstones...

knifecenter.com has them for a pretty decent discount (search Dan's in their title bar)... As does Taylor's Toolworks storefront on Amazon (a little trickier to navigate)... I'm pretty sure Santa has a 12x3 Dan's black ark for me purchased via Taylor's... I just have to be a good boy for another 10 days. Do I need that stone that big? Absolutely not. But it was the same price from Taylor's than other vendors in the smaller size I was looking for.

Lastly Dan's periodically places stones in their 'specials' section. There currently is a large selection there. They do sell 8x3 (and larger) black arks; you have to select "wide bench stones." The site is a little confusing in that respect.

After a bit of searching (thanks for the suggestions) and some waffling. I wound up going with a Dan's 8X2 soft/hard combo. The combo wasn't much more than a single stone, got me a bigger soft, and made the total thickness 1". I figure the 8" will be a little nicer with the long kitchen knives.

Nice..!!

I was lucky to have been gifted a set, from a gent at work.
Great for knives.




They might be from cabela's, but their still Arks.

An interesting series of stria bevel comparison, Ark bevels and synthetic bevels, on the Best Stone site.

So, as with all Naturals, it only holds for that particular stone, but interesting none the less. The difference with Arks, is the ability to “finish” a stone face to produce faces that can produce, different and finer finishes with the same stone.

Burnishing the stone face, allows the same grit to cut or polish with the same grit width, but not cut as deep and polish to a much higher grit equivalent.

I finish one side to 600 grit wet and dry and the other to a fine burnished finish that with use will finish even finer. The benefit of dual grit finishing is a very fine Ark finishing progression that can speed up an Ark finish, somewhat.

Yes, Arks cut slowly, but a well-honed edge, to at least 8k and polished with Chrome Oxide, CBN or Diamond make a great base bevel for an Ark finish. Just make sure you are honing to the edge with the Arks, sharpie ink will quickly tell you. A Translucent or Surgical Black edge is a unique shaving edge once you dial it in.

For knives I like a Hard Ark, Lilly White, over a Black or Translucent, especially for carbon steel.