Thread: Arkansas polish hone

I just bought the two hones from Wojtec and was wondering on peoples opinion about their grit size.
Is this a translucent arkansas?
This is my first venture into buying hones since my norton so any comments on these stones performance would be great.
Thanks
Nick

It certainly seems to be a translucent Arkansas; the ebay notice describes it as 6000-8000 grit. It seems fine to me, but I haven't done a test hone with mine yet (I bought it for my son, who is away at college).

It seems quite fine and is certainly finer than the other polish hone. I'm not sure how it equates in grit, and on the net I can't find good info on judging grit size of stones.
I know that the stones are ok for my needs at the moment, I left my norton in england to save weight on the plane when I flew over here. I brought 4 razors and managed to catch 3 of them on my thumbnail somehow(who is stupid enough to make the same mistake 3 times!?) and I needed a hone as my pasted strops are not coarse enough.
I am going to have a play with them tomorrow for a bit, to see how they behave in comparison to a norton. I think they feel very different on the first check I did of them.
I'm sure a good few members must have these hones by now, what are your experiences.
Nick

I think the Arkansas stones cut very slowly but some claim they produce a superior edge ---- is there some correlation between how fast a stone cuts and the quality of the edge?

Justin

Some of the woodworking guys may say that, but I don't know of anyone here that claims they produce a superior *shaving* edge. For that matter there are only a few here that will say that they produce an acceptable shaving edge. I think the translucent arkansas stones can produce a surprisingly good edge, but I'm not gonna give up my shaptons any time soon.

I think there's a rough correlation between speed of cut and size of grit and shaving edge. All other things being equal, for a given grit size the slower cutting hones would tend to produce a sharper edge. And all other things being equal, for a given cutting speed the finer grit hones would tend to produce a sharper edge. These are only approximate because all other things are rarely equal, and factors like pressure and the shape of the abrasive particles also play a major role.

So, would you say that the Arkansas is probably about the same general effect as the Norton 8000? Although I believe it would cut slower. Most posters on here seem to prefer a finer stone for finishing, like the coticules, Eschers, and your Shaptons (and even some mention various barber hones).

The effect isn't quite like the N8k, because you can't ignore the effect of grit size on the way the edge feels against your face, but I get similar levels of sharpness out of the two. I'm talking translucent arkansas here, the black, hard white, and soft white perform very differently.

I use my arkansas fairly often, but I rarely stop at it; rather I use it to smooth out the bevel preparatory to final polishing on the 15k Shapton and chrome oxide paddles. The arkansas is a very communicative stone so I can get a good idea of how the edge is coming along without having to test it on my armhair. I use the Tam O'Shanter the same way, even though it is a very different stone it also is a slow-working high-polish stone that provides great feedback while honing. For some reason I usually use the Arkansas with my stainless razors; the Tam O Shanter usually is reserved for the really hard carbon steel razors that show a tendency to microchip.

I also like barber hones, but like the tam o shanter I rarely mix them with the arkansas in the same progression; there's too much overlap in their performance.

It is certainly possible to use nothing but this hone to get wojtecs razors ready for shaving as I did it just to see when I received mine. I'm no master honer either.

I just purchased these hones, and have been trying to get a good HHT edge with them. I've been sort of pyramiding between the two hones, this and the slate one, with Palmolive Lather. To me, somehow, the slate feels like a finer grit than the Arkansas. Mine is two colors, black fading into white. I've been finishing on the slate, and have produced an edge that after stropping will sometimes split, cut hairs. Any thoughts?? Should I finish on the Arkansas regardless of how "Gritty" they feel? My Arkansas is quite translucent.

I too got the razor, slate and arkanzas hone. I have used the arkanzas followed by the slate and have got excellent edges on the razor which pass the HHT (Which I really thought was an old wives tale before I could do it) and I really am no expert.
I got these as a I wanted an introduction into the art of straight razor shaving and have been so pleased I just ordered a coupld more razors so that I can rotate.
I do not know much about the hones but am definitely happy with the edge I get from using the arkanzas followed by the slate and strop. Well until I get a chip in it and have to send it off but that's another story and nothing to do with the quality of the razor and strop.
The only thing i would say is mine did need lapping (and I hadn't realised) as the edges were slightly raised