Thread: can anyone advise me

Well I would say keep shaving with the good one and work on getting some good hones and some one on one time or go to a meet. The meets always have people at all levels of honing knowledge and honing is a big topic at them and a lot of honing and learning goes on. You might want to check membership in your general area and look for meets within a reasonable travel radius.

Look here Get Togethers and Meetings

Originally Posted by Phoenix51

No.. Some guys and even some most reputable vendors will do it for free
However, I can empathize with your desire to try it yourself

I would love to know where the guys are who do honing for free lol

It comes up in threads often. Guys will be looking for a helping hand and someone will say send it to me and pay the return postage and I will fix you up. There are a lot of people that help out the new members.

So first, your Ark stone may or may not be a finishing stone for razors… possibly for knives, not necessarily for straight razors. If not, you will at least need a finishing stone.

If you want to hone yourself, read the Library section/ Maintaining Straight Razors, Stropping, Hones & Honing a Razor.

Then watch the Videos in the Library/ Additional Resources/ Videos.

Collect the gear and finding a mentor will greatly reduce your learning curve.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

So first, your Ark stone may or may not be a finishing stone for razors… possibly for knives, not necessarily for straight razors. If not, you will at least need a finishing stone.

Hi,
May I ask something about this?
I have been tempted to buy this one: Piedra De Arkansas / Buril / Joyeria / Grabado / Engarse - $ 3.000,00 en MercadoLibre
But I am not sure what kind of Ark this one is. Any way to ID it by color or looks?

Originally Posted by Euclid440

If you want to hone yourself, read the Library section/ Maintaining Straight Razors, Stropping, Hones & Honing a Razor.
Then watch the Videos in the Library/ Additional Resources/ Videos.
Collect the gear and finding a mentor will greatly reduce your learning curve.

Great advice, BTW!

It is impossible to say, by looking at a single photo, if that is a good stone or not or what grade of finish it will produce, each natural stone is different and will perform as such.

I have purchased black stones that look like that, only to find they were white, once cleaned.

There are black and grey Ark stones that are not hard Ark stones use for finishing and there are some that are a combination of Surgical Black and Translucent that are great stones.

Is “ctm”, centimeter? If it is, then it is about an 8 inch stone and if the price is right, worst case you will have a nice stone for knives.
Buying oily, natural stones for razors is a roll of the dice, I have bought many and only a few are great performers.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

It is impossible to say, by looking at a single photo, if that is a good stone or not or what grade of finish it will produce, each natural stone is different and will perform as such.
I have purchased black stones that look like that, only to find they were white, once cleaned.
There are black and grey Ark stones that are not hard Ark stones use for finishing and there are some that are a combination of Surgical Black and Translucent that are great stones.

Thanks for your advice. I was expecting this to be easier, though, but just don't know about. I own only one Ark, and it is pretty small (used it for fountain pen smoothing). I wouldn't call myself an expert, by any means.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

Is “ctm”, centimeter? If it is, then it is about an 8 inch stone and if the price is right, worst case you will have a nice stone for knives.
Buying oily, natural stones for razors is a roll of the dice, I have bought many and only a few are great performers.

Right way to abbreviate is "cm", but yes; it is a pretty big stone. ARP 3000 (roughly USD 300) is not something I spend on a daily basis, and I already own a Norton 4k/8k so, if not certain about this one, I'll let it go. It is not expensive, but it is not a gift either.

Thanks again.

Martin

Yea, $300 is a bit pricy, I just saw a nice 8 x 2.5 Surgical Black Ark sell for $65 USD, on EBay.

Your small Ark may work if it is a Hard Ark, a Translucent or Surgical Black and if prepared properly, lapped flat and burnished slick with hard, flat carbon steel.

I have finished razors on a 4x2 and they finish, just fine after a good 8K edge, you will just have to double your laps to get enough mileage on your stone face. You could also do a micro bevel, by adding an extra layer of tape after a good 8K edge and do 10-20 lite laps.

I usually add a micro bevel after a 12K, but a Norton 8K will produce a fine shaving edge. I also maintained a single razor for many years with a 6 in translucent ark, just touching up on it every couple of months or so.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

Yea, $300 is a bit pricy, I just saw a nice 8 x 2.5 Surgical Black Ark sell for $65 USD, on EBay.

Your small Ark may work if it is a Hard Ark, a Translucent or Surgical Black and if prepared properly, lapped flat and burnished slick with hard, flat carbon steel.

I have finished razors on a 4x2 and they finish, just fine after a good 8K edge, you will just have to double your laps to get enough mileage on your stone face. You could also do a micro bevel, by adding an extra layer of tape after a good 8K edge and do 10-20 lite laps.

I usually add a micro bevel after a 12K, but a Norton 8K will produce a fine shaving edge. I also maintained a single razor for many years with a 6 in translucent ark, just touching up on it every couple of months or so.

for $300 you could buy a new Gokumyo 20K