Thread: Arkansas stones grit?

You probably don't hear about them because they work best on oil (which you don't generally have in your bathroom). Actually, they work fabulously on WD-40. Because to condition and level them, you need abrasive of some sort. And because the stones that are good for a razor are expensive.

A good dense or vintage fine hard black arkansas will do a good job, and a translucent (regardless of the color) will do a great job. The totally smooth stones that have a yellowish tint and don't pass light are also great.

The underlying particle size in the fine stones (according to norton) is about 6 microns. But your objective with an arkansas stone is to get the surface to break in, and then they will cut flat wide grooves and make a very keen edge.

I think they work great. On steel that's friendly to natural stones, I get as good of an edge on my oilstones as I get on any stone I have, maybe even a bit more keen.

And for some reason, the edge of an arkansas stone in my experience really responds well to the strop, better maybe than something that cuts deeper but narrower grooves.