Thread: 6" Fine Arkansas Bench Stone - Any Good?

If I am wanting to do nothing more than to maintain my blade, will this stone be sufficient? If not, are there any recommendations for a guy who just wants to keep his blade shave ready?

Originally Posted by Qohelet

If I am wanting to do nothing more than to maintain my blade, will this stone be sufficient? If not, are there any recommendations for a guy who just wants to keep his blade shave ready?

For me Arkansas has been tough to swallow. Some of them very fine. i am sure if you get good one will do the job for You.
they mostly were translucent Arkansas
IN your situation the best solution will be quality Barber hone.
A lot of them available pretty cheap to expensive ones.
look around you will find them in classified,bay .srp members etc.
gl

I bought my blade from a SRP member, and I have been pleased with it. It has been a few months now and I think a honing is in order. I would love not to spend a fortune, but I don't want to buy cheap and do damage to my blade or prolong the inevitable purchase of a quality stone. Right now, the cheapest classified's hone is $50.00. Can I do better tinkering around on the internet, or is the one being sold on SRP even what I should be looking for?

Look for barbers hones on ebay, they usually go for 20-30$

i use soft ark after i set the bevel with a fine indian stone to get out the deep scratchs if you want to use ark's for maintaining the black or translucent ark would be a good choice the soft ark will remove to much metal for touch up's

Originally Posted by Disburden

Look for barbers hones on ebay, they usually go for 20-30$

+1 on a barbers hone if you can find one for a good price.

If you can find a Norton 4/8K combo or a Naniwa Super Stone 3/8K Grit Combo Stone
you might like the edge it produces a little better but they cost more.

Another inexpensive hone is the Chinese 12k hone from woodcraft
and other places. It is slow but for some razors it does a good job
maintaining and finishing a shaving edge.

If there are tricks to using a barber hone the list is sort of short.

Use a LIGHT touch.
Use a small number of strokes (six).
Use a little bit of lather on the hone (rinse clean when done)

Barber hones tend to be more aggressive than other hones
so a light touch and a small number of strokes is often
a good thing.

If the short six stroke session is not enough
after stropping and a shave test... give it
another short visit to the hone the next day
and the next day....

Lots of short visits .... as needed.

The Chinese 12k hone was reviewed by some good folk
so give the site a search. As a natural hone they can vary
from a 7K to a 12K equivalent. Mine is not
a 12K stone but it does work well on some edges.
If you get one that has been lapped flat for you
it should be considered and priced.

{EDIT}
Woodcraft also has abrasive films that some folk
like. The 5micron and 0.3 micron film can finish
a razor... If you have some flat granite or glass
tiles this is a good thing to consider.

niftyshaving,

A hard white Arkansas stone can indeed be used to maintain a razor; that's what I use. Before using it for the razor, though, you'll want to smooth the surface finish by sharpening regular knives or by rubbing it with the smooth shank of a drill bit.

Jeff

Originally Posted by JeffR

niftyshaving,

A hard white Arkansas stone can indeed be used to maintain a razor; that's what I use. Before using it for the razor, though, you'll want to smooth the surface finish by sharpening regular knives or by rubbing it with the smooth shank of a drill bit.

Jeff

Jeff, what size stone do you have?

Would these stones fit the bill? How long could I expect a product like this to last? If some of you have links with your recommendations, that would be great. For example, I can't manage to locate a Chinese 12K stone using the information from the posts above, but I do appreciate the help!!!

not a good idea to finish with a diamond stone it will leave a toothy edge you can get a black ark for around 30 bucks or a spyderco ultra fine ceramic hone that will last a life time for under 50 bucks