Thread: Arkansas polish hone

I certainly wouldn't rate the slate hone as a finer grit than the arkansas. It isn't about how smooth the stone feels, but how it affects the edge.
The slate certainly feels glassy to the touch, but it produces quite a dull edge. I built up a little slurry and honed for maybe 20 passes and then TPT. The razor was not sharp enough to shave. I few passes on the arkansas and the edge improved incredibly. I wouldn't use the HHT to compare these hones. For me it has absolutely no bearing on the sharpness compared to the difference in the feel of the edge on TPT or shaving.

Nick

My general impression (and understand that I too am a newbie, and have only taken a couple of quick test strokes over these stones) is that the slate, despite the very smooth feel, is quite coarse in action compared to the Arkansas.

Originally Posted by BBSWANNABE

Should I finish on the Arkansas regardless of how "Gritty" they feel? My Arkansas is quite translucent.

It may need to be lapped - the grittiness you feel may be the edge scraping against high points on the stone.

I prefer using emery paper for lapping arkansas stones because of their hardness, but you can use a good quality sandpaper as well. If you use sandpaper, start at ~150 grit till the pencil grid disappears, then move up to 600, then 1000. Make sure to use a figure 8 pattern. When you're done the razor should slide over the arkansas stone like it is a sheet of glass.

I used my trusty old Colonel Conk arkansas stone to lap another barber hone. Right now, it has a super duper reflective polish on it and it feels like marble. I can't wait to hone with this thing

If your barber hone feels sticky when you hone on it then it's overglazed and needs to be deglazed with a light buffing with 1000 grit sandpaper.