Thread: So I bought a stone...

Originally Posted by Eurofighter

Thanks!
I cleaned the stone with oven cleaner. It took about 30 seconds and it was clean. I scrubbed some more, but that was it. I then soaked it in degreaser and left it there for a while. Nothing happened. The degreaser was just clean.
This is the result:

Attachment 324608

After reading about arks I've decided to leave it as is and try it with a razor. I contacted the seller and he doesn't know what stone it is. He only knows that it is an old stone and that it has been used to hone razors.
My Thomas Turner razor needs a refresh and I think it is a good candidate to test the stone.
Anything else I should know before I start?

That looks just like my new Translucent Ark

That is a VERY nice trans ark! There are a lot of posts recently about prepping ark surfaces and using them that I'm sure you'll be reading. They can produce a very fine, precise shaving edge if you do your part on an already "finished" 8 to 12k shaving edge. I like diluted shaving lather on my butter-scotch trans, but it will likely work well with other lubes, oils, etc. Let us know how it goes.

Normally, a translucent Arkansas is used with honing oil and that is how I use them. They are considered to be fairly slow and a stray stroke on their very hard surface can result in deflection. For this reason, I like to use half-laps (back-and-forth strokes) leading to edge-leading X-passes at the end. Looks like a nice one. Is it flat?

I've tried it today. The stone "seems" flat. I ușed wd40 as lubricant as that is the only thing I have around.
I've done about 200 back and forth passes and black swarf started showing up. I belive that to be a good sign. I switched to edge leadind passes and then stropped it. The razor does not pass hht. Should I continue?

Originally Posted by Eurofighter

I've tried it today. The stone "seems" flat. I ușed wd40 as lubricant as that is the only thing I have around.
I've done about 200 back and forth passes and black swarf started showing up. I belive that to be a good sign. I switched to edge leadind passes and then stropped it. The razor does not pass hht. Should I continue?

I did about 200 laps on mine too and it was very disppointing.

I was told to do a lot more, 500 made a world of difference for me.

Of course the razor was already sharp so I was finishing, I don't think anyone told me that i could set a bevel on a trans.

I might be wrong but I think that if you are concerned that your razor isn't sharp enough, a trans probably won't help.

Yeah, make sure you've got a shave-ready edge before you start on it. Maybe take one from your 8-12k range that could use some refining and smoothing out. WD-40 is a fine lube, and is what I use on my other Arks most of the time. Instead of more laps, a fine trans or true hard/surgical black Ark should let you experiment with more torque on the edge if you have a thicker grind that can take the extra pressure.

Or try this:
1. 50 or so laps back and forth Japanese-style with some pressure on plain water until it starts to stick all along the edge.
2. Do the same, but with a drop of dish soap for a little extra glide. Again, stop when you feel start to feel stiction all along the edge. Start lightening the torque gradually.
3. Wash and dry the stone, and do 50 or so more with your WD-40, again with some torque, and finish with full, smooth light x-strokes.

Strop and try the shave. I have gotten excellent results with this "thin to thick" experiment. I've heard here of equally excellent results doing the opposite order. As with all naturals, just time on the hone experimenting with variables and "listening" with your fingers to your blade on the stone will teach you what the stone is capable of. I am convinced that despite years of playing around with Arks as finishers, I still haven't wrung the final microscopic little bit of improvement out of my Arks yet, but I enjoy the hunt for the ultimate edge. I find Arks endlessly fascinating!

I need to give a bit of background information:
I spend my life between home and work, two weeks at a time. All my stones are at home. I wanted to have one finishing stone at the place I live when I am at work so I can maintain my razors. That is why I bought the "coticule". I shaved with this razor until it wasn't smooth anymore and needed a refresh. And that is what I have tried today.
I did continue with the honing and the edge improved. I still need to shave with it.
The razor is not ideal - it is warped and the edge is V shaped. I should fix that.

never brought back a dead edge with an ark before but I have never tried. I don't count my laps but on my 8"x2" trans ark I usually spend 3 or 4 minutes before I am done. However, that edge is already a shave ready coticule/jnat edge. Could stick with arks and get a hard ark to refresh before going to the trans but might be faster to use a coticule/synthetic before the trans

Do you have magnification?

Was this razor shaving, prior to putting it on the stone?

Wipe the stone, clean with a degreaser. With the stone dry, ink the bevels on the razor. Now do one lap on each side and see what contact you are making on the stone. If you do not clean the stone, the oil will wipe the ink.

If you are not making full contact on the bevel to the edge, you will need to fully set the bevel, and put an 8k edge.

First find out if you are honing to the edge with that razor and stone. The stone does not need to be flat, it must be smooth. Now a freshly cut new Ark stone, must be lapped flat and smooth.

I maintained a razor for 10 years with just a small Translucent Ark and a strop.

Originally Posted by Brontosaurus

Normally, a translucent Arkansas is used with honing oil and that is how I use them. They are considered to be fairly slow and a stray stroke on their very hard surface can result in deflection. For this reason, I like to use half-laps (back-and-forth strokes) leading to edge-leading X-passes at the end. Looks like a nice one. Is it flat?

That's just about exactly how I do it. As Steve said 200 is probably not enough. I also do not count laps really. The only time I count laps is if I'm bevel setting with a coarser stone but you won't be doing that with this stone anyway unless you want to quit your job and spend your entire life honing. Going from bevel set to finish It's not unusual at all to do a thousand strokes or more. If you count the down and back half lap as two strokes then maybe even more. That thing will produce a beautiful shaving edge at finish used correctly. Also, for that stone I usually either use WD-40 or oil thinned with WD-40 at first and then WD-40 toward the end. Although I do sometimes go to soapy water at the very end.