Thread: Tell me about your Arkansas stones

Yeah I started getting that feeling of wanting to try a different edge and the Arkies have been on my mind. My progression has been King 1k Norton 4k King 6k Norton 8k then finishing with my c-nat (it's a really good one). Have been getting awesome shaves, I think I may just get a Hard Arkie from Naturalwhetstones.com as they seem to have some of the best prices. Just been itching to start another romance with a stone and try a different edge.

Naturalwhetstones.com has some of the cheapest surgical black ark around !

They had a 10 x 3 x 1 Hard Ark on ebay for 39.00 recently.

How big is the difference between the hard ark and black? Because some have told me depending on your luck some of the hard arks are really fine.

Originally Posted by xMackx

How big is the difference between the hard ark and black? Because some have told me depending on your luck some of the hard arks are really fine.

The hard Ark I sold was capable of finishing a razor. But my Black was significantly better. Two other stones minght have a greater, or lesser, amount of disparity.

I'm the guy that thinks the new arkansas stones with the exception of some of the translucents, are terrible quality compared to the old stones. If you ever get a chance to experience an old Pike or Norton compared to the new generic stones, the difference becomes obvious right away.

Originally Posted by stonehenge

I'm the guy that thinks the new arkansas stones with the exception of some of the translucents, are terrible quality compared to the old stones. If you ever get a chance to experience an old Pike or Norton compared to the new generic stones, the difference becomes obvious right away.

I have 6 black Arkansas stones. The new ones you get from Natural whetstones are only lightly polished. I have the 10 x 3. I rubbed it with a small black Arkansas stone to "glaze" or polish the stone. After many hours the stone is now getting a "shine" to it. I have an old blue/black Arky that I bought back in 1971 that was highly polished when I bought it. I flattened it one time and have used it on knives and razors with good results. Again, the new stones are rough.