Thread: Smiths tri stone

I was in Lowes today and I noticed this tri stone hone in the tool dept. obviously it's made for sharpening tools and such, but could it work for a straight? Any help is appreciated, this is the link:

Arkansas Sharpening Stones Set | Featuring fine, medium, & course Arkansas Stones | Smith's - The Edge Experts

I would think they would be too rough to work on razors, Ark stones usually aren't good for razors unless they are the clear translucent ones that are lightly colored and most of the members here still wouldn't use them for their razors, others have different opinions.

If it did I guarantee there would be threads and post saying it does. I've seen the question asked before. I've never had one so cannot speak from hands on experience but my intuition tells me it wouldn't be good for the fine edge of a razor.

Yes; I have one that I actually got from Lowes and it has worked well for me.

Take a look at the quoted grits:

Grit:

Medium Arkansas - 600 Grit
Fine Arkansas - 1,000 Grit
Coarse Synthetic

If you want to reset bevels, those stones will work (though they are smaller than the bench-size Nortons, and will take careful work to avoid creating frowning edges).

If you want to hone, they're useless -- too coarse. The "honing" stone many people use is a Norton "combination hone" with 4000 and 8000 grit surfaces.

I started out using sandpaper and microabrasive sheets. Cheap if you're only doing a few razors. But they're no "easier to use" than stones -- the same learning curve for both. There's a good article in the Wiki about them.

Charles

Originally Posted by JeffR

Yes; I have one that I actually got from Lowes and it has worked well for me.

So then is it reasonable to pick one up in order to maintain razors, not for restoring a damaged or ruined edge?

Originally Posted by joshb1000

So then is it reasonable to pick one up in order to maintain razors, not for restoring a damaged or ruined edge?

It is entirely reasonable to use one to both maintain and restore razors. I've used mine for both purposes for a couple of years now, and haven't felt the need for anything else.

I should note that practice is important. I learned to use Arkansas stones from my father over 40 years ago and have been using them ever since. As a young man he was a barber, so showed me how to hone knives and straight razors on a Ouachita stone. (I wish I had paid more attention at the time but Trac II razors were more appealing, so had to re-learn some things when I picked up the straight razor a few years ago.)

I have found that the grit rating of a sharpening medium is relatively unimportant. Please don't misunderstand - the finer the stone the easier it can be to get a fine edge, especially for a beginner. Arkansas stones however have the characteristic that they both grind and burnish metal. That allows one to get a very fine edge - much finer than might be expected based on just their nine-micron-ish particle size.

Thanks for the heads up, i may pick one up, simply for the fact that if i dont like it , i'm only out 30 dollars. Mine if i contact you for tips if i do get it?

Arkansas hones are very very very slow.

I have used a surgical black to get a nice edge but nowadays I prefer other hones (Gnats, Bnats and Jnats).

The various Arkansas stones have been a subject in many threads. As of yet there has been no definitive conclusion. It seems that those who have been shaving a long time ( 20 + years ) and started honing on them have accepted them as providing a reasonable shaving edge. So you can try it if you wish but don't be surprised if it is a very slow process and results in an edge that can be easily beaten by a number of other hones.

Good luck,