Thread: Dans Primitive Cut Arkansas 14"x4"

Well, the primitive cut I had been harassing Steve Kirschman at Dan's Whetstones about finally got here yesterday, and it far exceeds my original expectations. My steel ruler says that it is indeed dead flat across all dimensions (or certainly flatter than I could ever make it!). And frankly, except of course for the bottom and the varying thickness, it is far more finished than I expected it to be! So I spent about an hour chamfering and radiusing edges and corners, then drawing grids and going up through the grits from 600, to 1k to 1500 grit with a vibrating sander on a wet surface. I know that sounds crazy, but I zipped it around very quickly and tried to cover all areas equally, and hey, it worked like a charm! Reading more threads from the "anti-burnishing" school of thought, I decided to stop there for now and see how I like the edges-we'll see. If I don't, I may take it up to 2k and burnish a bit. Anyway, here it is next to my 8x3x1/2" Best surgical black for comparison:

End shot from the square end:

My original thought was to attach it to a fine piece of walnut or other fine wood supported by silicon or rubber for some shock absorption, and then just use it with oil-maybe even on the coffee table for easy access. But it sits along my sink bridge like it was made for it, so I took one of my last rescales, that Joseph Allen in birdseye cherry burl that didn't shave as well as I would have liked, and ran it through my progression from plain water, to water with dish soap, and finishing on WD-40. I tell ya fellas, it is a dream to hone on, just totally long, luxurious laps, and no rough edges on either side.

Anyway, once I've got a repeatable progression on it, I may post in the HOTD (and Jerry, I promised you a couple of your edges finished on it-just let me figure it out 1st). Anyway, if you think you might want one of these, give Steve at Dan's a call and tell him what you're looking for (He's the son who's in charge of operations if I'm correct). And his wife Kim who runs the office is also a joy to deal with for payment and shipping. Not to mention, the prices are ridiculous compared to finished stones that are far smaller. So you can save money, buy American and support a great small family business to boot!