Thread: Dad's Arks

So I got the wood block mounted ark of my Dad's burnished pretty fine for finishing a while back but then I started thinking about bevel setting and middle stage honing on one so I dug a couple more of his stones out.
I have always liked this little stone...

...if for no other reason than that it's a pretty little rock. I know it seems a funny reason to like an ark but... whatever.
I also got out this little tiny one.

I think it's a little coti isn't it?
Anyway so I didn't do anything to the baby one but the for sure ark was a little bellied so I lapped it and left it rough on the one side but burnished it pretty smooth but not head stone smooth like the mounted one.

I can see why you guys like NATs because the feel of the draw across the stone is so pleasing. It just feels... different from the synths. I guess the word for it would be gritty, for the synthetics that is. I don't know, I've been feeling like my Norton's are changing lately. It's like they are getting rougher, or grittier and much harder to smooth out. Is that just me? I can't decide if I've just been spending too much time standing next to the catch bucket on the still or if they really do feel different. Anyway I think they do.
The point is that these arks leave the smoothest stria and the edge is so crisp and straight. That's another thing that seems different. They (Nortons) seem to leave the edge kind of chippy. Now the King 1k, 6k doesn't seem to do that but as soon as I switch to the Nortons they chip back up. In fact, last night I went from the King 1k and skipped over the Norton 4k and went to the King 6k side instead. All seemed good. Went to the 8k...chippy again. Consarn it! I was edge killing like crazy.
Lot of information there to say that the arks are definitely slow (took forever to get the bevel set and my arms are almost bare from shave testing) but it sure is more satisfying.
I guess down the rabbit hole I go.

Paul-That top stone with the colored bands looks like a Washita I had recently, or like the Canadian novaculite stones sold on Ebay by the Royal Flint Abrasives company. Cool stone!

Thanks Aaron. Maybe this is a fools errand but I have been knocking around this idea of one stone honing or maybe using all natural stones or, alternatively, using a stone like that cinder block sized razor hone of my Dad's which is 2 sided instead of these multiple stone synthetic progression. That "Did our grandfathers use blunt razors" thread got me thinking a lot about it. I still haven't figured out that giant block yet but I want to figure out using just the 2 sides of it.
I sure like the feel of the arks though.

I got one similar to yours, Paul. Burnished one side, for the different effect. Slow...either way. But that's the joy of Arks, being able to sneak up on a perfect edge.



I like um more for knives, though.

Is the first stone soft ,hard,true hardark? Hard to tell unless holding it... ive been using a true hard ith diamond slurry for mid range. .... I’ve seen some vintage washita’s that look like bottom stone. Let us know if you figure it out.. super cool... Heirloom stones!! Curious what else you have .....

He's right, Paul. It does have the characteristics of a Washita.

Well I'm not sure If I have a good handle on that referentially. To me all arks seem pretty hard but I think this one seems fairly soft compared to most of them that I'm familiar with at least which doesn't say a whole lot. It seems on the course side though. I smoothed the one side, I wouldn't quite call it burnishing, with a diamond plate (also my dad's) and leveled the other side with my silicon carbide Norton flattening stone. It left it fairly rough so I have a course side, a medium side and polished side. Oh, and to further answer your question Lou, I also have this from my dad.


This great big old toe breaker is what Dad used for razors (he owned a sharpening business) albeit not much that I remeber. That's the "cinder block sized" double sided stone I was talking about earlier. I'd really like to figure this one out. It has some kind of mineral which is blue greenish on the one side. It's probably silicon carbide although it could be diamond, I have no idea, and the other side is soft and porous. If you spray WD-40 on it the soft side soaks it up like a sponge and the hard side lets it pool and it never will soak in.

Originally Posted by PaulFLUS

So I got the wood block mounted ark of my Dad's burnished pretty fine for finishing a while back but then I started thinking about bevel setting and middle stage honing on one so I dug a couple more of his stones out.
I have always liked this little stone...

...if for no other reason than that it's a pretty little rock. I know it seems a funny reason to like an ark but... whatever.
I also got out this little tiny one.

I think it's a little coti isn't it?
Anyway so I didn't do anything to the baby one but the for sure ark was a little bellied so I lapped it and left it rough on the one side but burnished it pretty smooth but not head stone smooth like the mounted one.

I can see why you guys like NATs because the feel of the draw across the stone is so pleasing. It just feels... different from the synths. I guess the word for it would be gritty, for the synthetics that is. I don't know, I've been feeling like my Norton's are changing lately. It's like they are getting rougher, or grittier and much harder to smooth out. Is that just me? I can't decide if I've just been spending too much time standing next to the catch bucket on the still or if they really do feel different. Anyway I think they do.
The point is that these arks leave the smoothest stria and the edge is so crisp and straight. That's another thing that seems different. They (Nortons) seem to leave the edge kind of chippy. Now the King 1k, 6k doesn't seem to do that but as soon as I switch to the Nortons they chip back up. In fact, last night I went from the King 1k and skipped over the Norton 4k and went to the King 6k side instead. All seemed good. Went to the 8k...chippy again. Consarn it! I was edge killing like crazy.
Lot of information there to say that the arks are definitely slow (took forever to get the bevel set and my arms are almost bare from shave testing) but it sure is more satisfying.
I guess down the rabbit hole I go.

Those two stones might have been part of a set. They look to be about the right size for the Smith's kit that was sold in a blister pack with a soft, smaller hard and a bottle of honing oil. The smaller hard stones were more white but they can turn color with oil over the years. Some of the small hard ones would pass light.

Thanks guys. Yes I think they were in a set but probably a clear lidded box if I remember correctly. Maybe I'm wrong about the box though. The one on the block of wood is still in the box. These stones he had probably 25-30 years ago. Both Washitas though huh? I guess the color was making me think the small one was a coti but it is somewhat translucent. Maybe I'll soak it in some simple green and see if it comes back to white.

Only the small one, looks like it may be a Washita. The multi colored one is a Ark. Soft/medium is how mine is labeled.