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.