Thread: Arkansas Hones???

Chris,

Yes, I can…

It is doubtful …you can.

At least, not without a lot of frustration…lots of time on the stones and a lots of help.

Today, there are much better, easier alternatives. Your grandpa probably also drove a model A. Driving one on LA’s freeways, will get you killed.

The only Arkansas stone that I have would fall into the finisher category, so I can't speak as to whether you can truly take a razor from completely dull to shave ready using only Arkansas stones. My guess would be yes, but I can't help but think that you'll become frustrated long before the razor shaves well. Go with synthetics (either Norton or Naniwa) to begin with. You can always add some natural finishing stones to your arsenal later. FWIW, I've been shaving off my Norton 8k as of late, and I'm not sure that I don't actually prefer that edge over some of the other finishers that I've tried.

The bottom line is like so many other things. It’s not the tool, it’s the craftsman. I learned on arks so I could still do it, but I no longer do. Occasionally I finish with high grit Arks, but not bevel set. It might be an interesting exercise / competition.

I’m sure people like Lynn, Six-gun and other mega honers here could get a razor shaving off of a rock from the beach. But that is a result of their skill level and the ability to pick the right rock.

There are guys on the net that sharpen/hone on bricks and other crazy stuff. It can be done, though I doubt it is the smoothest, repeatable, most comfortable shave.

There are better, easier alternatives.

As said above, it can be done. I spent years honing my razors with nothing but a Smith's Tri-hone and a sugical black Arkie. Did I get close, comfortable shaves? Yes. Once I discovered synthetics, however, all but my finishing Arkie's have been replaced. Synthetics have the benefit of repeatability and speed, which can take a lot of the headache out of honing, especially for a novice honer.

Speed! You want it, you don't want an Ark. I, however, could care less about how long it takes to hone a razor. I have a lot of Shave Ready razors, and a Swaty that works great in refreshing when needed. It's rare I have to go all the way back to a bevel set.

I actually went to synthetics for a while, getting the king series 1k, 4k, 6k, and 8k, but I actually am one of those really weird crazy people who actually enjoy my shaves better off my Ark. Now, like my earlier caveat, it may take 30 minutes to get a straight razor from Butterknifed to shave ready on my kings, and more like an hour and a half on the Arks, with a lot of pressure on the Washita to start. But I do feel a much higher sense of accomplishment knowing that I am using good old quarried in the USA stones for my shaving pleasure, plus, the shave just feels better from my arks. I have never used a Chosera 1k, but I do hear they are awesome and much better for a beginner hone set, but I know also that the king 1k is also very beginner friendly and cuts pretty quickly!

Whatever you do, good luck, and happy shaving.

P.S. Once when trying to hone a SS razor, it took me somewhere in the vicinity of 600 laps... Actual number may vary as I stopped counting at around 400... to set a bevel on my SOFT Ark!!! So, lesson learned, don't try to set a bevel on a stainless razor with a natural Arkansas stone!