Thread: Anyone ever heard of a translucent black arky?

Thanks for the info! I have a set of Nortons and a couple of coticules, so I should be able to do something very similar to your progression.

I thought that my stone would be here today, but it's looking like it's going to be tomorrow. I'll post pics just as quick as I have it in my hands.

Myersn
Let me clarify a couple of points, when I say pressure I mean very light pressure compared to no pressure, enough to keep the spine flat on the hone.
Pressure is relative. Start with as little as possible watch the edge, add as needed… or do more laps. Less is more, hence the term micro.

The other is stone age, many people say old stones are better than new stones. I don’t know about that, because a new stone is not new. Who knows where it has been or how long it has been there before someone cut it into slabs. It’s just new to you. What I do know is they are all different because they are all naturals and inconsistent as opposed to man/recipe made. And you will need to experiment and learn how to squeeze the best performance out of it.

Lastly, while I do micro bevel on a Black Ark, I also use Tranlucents, Thurigens, a C 12K and Coticule. Some of these guys that hone daily could probably polish an edge on the sidewalk.

Experiment and enjoy.

Looking forward to seeing pictures and review of this black translucent~

Originally Posted by Martin103

Looking forward to seeing pictures and review of this black translucent~

According to the estimated delivery date, it should be here today...... however, tracking hasn't updated in a day or two, so who knows at this point......... maybe it will be waiting on me when I go home for lunch

***UPDATE***
It wasn't waiting on me when I went home for lunch, but the tracking info finally updated. It's definitely being delivered today.

The hone was waiting in the mailbox after work today, and I immediately set my attention to lapping it flat. It took two trips to the hardware store for progressively coarser packages of sandpaper. It took a long long long long long long time to get it flat, thankfully it wasn't too far out to begin with. I started with 100 and 150 grit sandpaper, then the DMT325, then 400 grit sandpaper. Then I used my Norton water stones and went all the way to 8000k. I haven't seen many Arkansas hones, but I've never seen one that looks like this one does. I was a bit skeptical about it being called a translucent black, but that's exactly how I'd have to describe it.

Below is a picture of it with a thin layer of water so that the colors of the stone can easily be seen. I worked for a while trying to find the right light in my kitchen to get this picture.



I refinished one of my razors on this stone with Smith's instead of water, and while I haven't had the chance to shave with it yet, all tests point to a very keen edge. I'll post up more after the shave test, but I'm impressed with the results thus far. If anyone has one like this, I'd love to hear about your experiences using it.

So is it translucent? I remember reading somewhere that the Black in the Black Ark comes from volcanic heat.

What does the finish on the bevel look like? Under magnification (100 power) my blacks produce a hazy stria. I would experiment with various finishing/slurry stones. I use a 25 micron/360K diamond plate. Blacks are so hard and there is no binder to refresh the cutting surface, what you use to prep/refracture the surface will affect the cutting performance. I use diamond plate and just water to hone because if you slurry/surface with a synthetic like a Norton 8k then you will have 8k slurry and you are polishing the cutting surface. The diamond resurfaces the face and you are just cutting with the stone, whatever that grit is when you hone.

Now some folks argue Tranlucents are harder or leave a sharper finish then Blacks others argue the opposite. I think the stone prep and user effect the result. My Tranlucents and Blacks are close in finish stria and shaving, so I could not say. I do like my Black for micro bevel mostly because of its size and ease of use for razors.

I have 3 old Translucents in the slow cooker now cleaning up. 2 are 8X2X1.5 and the other is a 3x5 slip that looks like quarts. They should be interesting.
Bottom line… experiment, with naturals there are no rules, no 2 may be alike. Clearly you have a hard stone that will finish, you just have to figure out how to eke out the best performance. Enjoy the journey.

It's definitely translucent, but its very dark in color and doesn't look like any other Arkansas I've ever seen (bear in mind I haven't seen many). The bevel on the razor that I re-finished looks very polished without magnification. Under a 16x loupe, the scratches are easily seen, but under more magnification (something between 60x and 100x, cheapo pocket scope) the bevel and edge look very very smooth. It's definitely not the most polished bevel I've ever seen (it's hard to beat the polish from a Norton 8k), but we all know that a polished bevel doesn't equal a good shaving edge. I still haven't done a full shave test, but I did do a little dry shave under my right sideburn and I'm looking forward to a full shave in the morning. Normally I get quite a bit of pulling from even my sharpest edges when using them dry, but this edge didn't pull at all. I'm confident that I could have done my whole cheek dry without any cream and not had much discomfort.

Here are my Arks, a lily white washita, a soft, hard trans and a black hard. Interesting that Norton/Pike didn't differentiate but labeled the box 'hard arkansas. I've had real good luck with the hard and the black with razors. Only a few as I've just started to use them for straights. I did use Smith's honing oil because I've got it for my pocket knives.

OP - that black/trans or whatever it is looks like you scored big-time...

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Here are my Arks, a lily white washita, a soft, hard trans and a black hard. Interesting that Norton/Pike didn't differentiate but labeled the box 'hard arkansas. I've had real good luck with the hard and the black with razors. Only a few as I've just started to use them for straights. I did use Smith's honing oil because I've got it for my pocket knives.

Stunning set of Arks... absolutely stunning.... nice stuff.

I shaved with the razor that I refinished on the ark this morning, and I'm quite impressed. By far the sharpest blade I've used yet.