Originally Posted by
Brontosaurus
Sorry, I haven't followed the most recent posts leading up to the current discussion. I'm not saying that a Washita to finishing Ark or a dedicated Ark progression doesn't lead to a decent shaving edge, it does; but from my experience, that edge is not as sharp or close as is could be, although it is smooth. In the current case, the finishing Ark was followed by crox leading to perceived sharpness during the shave, so it appears to be crox that is contributing to this sensation, not the Arkansas stone. Following the paste with a coticule or a return to the same Ark finishing stone for a few passes may impart smoothness to the perceived sharpness, resulting in a hybrid of the two.
In my recent case ("like 'Grandpa' used to shave" above), I followed a fine India to translucent Ark progression with a red-pasted strop to get that sharpness and closeness. If I would subsequently return to the trans Ark or a coticule used with oil, that again would create a hybrid between the pasted edge and the smoothness imparted by the natural stone. This, I think, is similar to an extended synth water-stone progression where the edge can be "calmed" by returning to a natural, trans Ark or coticule at the end, or what I was referring to in my last post.