Thread: Blue/Black Arkansas

My black Ark has been demoted to a prefinisher for my Blue/Black. I get a closer shave with no reduction in comfort. I will be comparing it to my J nat next week.
Stones Dry

Stones Wet

Nice arks! Is the blue-black the one on top? If so, do I detect a bit of translucence? I've heard some serious honers say that a fine trans is a finer edge than a true black, and that a white translucent is the ultimate fine hone. But then again, I've heard that it's the opposite, and that the densest ones are all about equal. No way to quantify it, I guess; one just goes by feel-they are my favorite hones to "play" (experiment) on.

Density, burnishing, color, to oil or not

The Ark rabbit hole.....

Originally Posted by 32t

Density, burnishing, color, to oil or not

The Ark rabbit hole.....

Exactly right-I find them endlessly fascinating.

Yup, SHD, there is almost an inexhaustible amount of combinations of pressure, lubricants, stone finishes to get the edge you like.

Between my two Ark stones one does better with smith’s and varying amounts of water and the other seems to do best with wd40. You really need to experiment with them. There have been a few interesting threads in the recent past a quick search should turn up quite a few results.

Yep-I have probably read every Ark thread on all the shaving fora multiple times. God help me if I ever get deep into JNATS.

The top stone is the Blue/Black and it had no translucence.
All my Arkansas stones are maintained by lapping one side with 320 grit Silicon carbide and using 1K wet/dry sandpaper on the other. The Blue/Black still has one side factory finished the other 1K sandpaper.
I am currently using Norton honing oil then WD-40. Ballistoil seems to have a viscosity between the honing oil and WD-40 so I don't use it.
When I shave with a blade that used just honing oil and a blade that used WD-40. The WD-40 blade is better. Shaving with blades honed on True Hard, Translucent and Black all seem to be the same. The Blue/ Black seems to be the best. However the sample size of one is not significant.

Originally Posted by boz

The top stone is the Blue/Black and it had no translucence.
All my Arkansas stones are maintained by lapping one side with 320 grit Silicon carbide and using 1K wet/dry sandpaper on the other. The Blue/Black still has one side factory finished the other 1K sandpaper.
I am currently using Norton honing oil then WD-40. Ballistoil seems to have a viscosity between the honing oil and WD-40 so I don't use it.
When I shave with a blade that used just honing oil and a blade that used WD-40. The WD-40 blade is better. Shaving with blades honed on True Hard, Translucent and Black all seem to be the same. The Blue/ Black seems to be the best. However the sample size of one is not significant.

All data points are useful. Interesting that you find WD-40 finishes finer than Norton Honing Oil (which I've never used). I've also tried Ballistol and water, but it always feels kinda "gummy" to me if that makes sense. So I too get fine finishes and better feedback from WD-40, plus it's handy to have around the house. If I feel a blade needs a bit more, I might start on water, then water with dish soap. I think about any technique that involves good, clean strokes will work to varying degrees on a fine Ark. As jfk742 said, the possible adjustments to pressure, lube, and surface finishes provide endless possibilities to play around with.

The Ark rabbit hole.....

Or the Black Ark Hole...

Sounds like the so-called black translucent to me. A slight notch above the rest from my experience as to visible bevel polish; yet there is nothing like the stalagmite-molten sensation of a highly-polished grey translucent when honing in the hand in my opinion.

I use oil with my Arkansas stones.