Thread: Hone of the Day

I recognized Shaun's work.......But 6 more?

Well, we'll see if I can talk him into that.

If not, the carved one will be the centerpiece of the set.

Dan’s Translucent Arkansas.
Just two touch ups today.
The Nobiru was pulling a bit last night.
My latest approach for this is about 50 laps dry. Followed by 50 more with water and soap.
Nobiru test shave. DFS two pass shave.
The Korrat 14 just got 50 laps with the water and soap. It was not pulling but not “Right”.
Been preferring the edges I get from the Ark. The only other stone I have is a GOK 20k.
It’s quicker and results in a great edge also. Just different “more crisp”.

I'm using the 20k as well.

I definitely find it to be quick. Do you find the shaves off the other stone to be more comfortable?

Originally Posted by Steel

Given how that box looks, I would bet it’s a pike. I have one identical. I guess you never know for sure with no label but either way that’s a heck of a score. An 8X2X .75-1” translucent is hundreds of dollars nowadays

Thanks for the hint as to who may of sold it.

It comes out to .75”x1.75”x7.75”. There was no top and the guy who’s display it came out of had no idea where he got it or what it was. I offered up some info but he was uninterested. The lady who runs the place asked me why I didn’t try and haggle and I just told her the price was fair and she just winked. I can’t wait to run a razor across it. Just with my pocket knife it feels smoother than my sb but it doesn’t look as well burnished. I’ll report back tonight after the chillun’ go to bed and I have a minute to myself.

Hey Sonny,
Guess comfortable would be one way to describe the difference. It's (Ark) slower and the level of keenness is different. With laps and light pressure and WD 40 I have gotten edges that feel closer to the 20K. Soap/water results for me in a slightly mellower edge. I have enjoyed playing around with the Ark. Most of what I have tried is just copying what others have done here.
The level of burnish. Type of lubricant. And amount of pressure. All can change the results. But it's all to me common sense. The more smooth your stone. With a thicker lubricant. And very light pressure. Should and for me does result in the stone acting on the steel in the same way a very fine stone like the 20K
does. But the Ark gives you options for how far you want to take the edge.
The 20k is a great finisher. Quick easy no fuss repeatable edges. My stainless and very hard steel razors all get finished on the GOK still.
Ken

Well my initial thoughts are that the stone could benefit from a light lapping as different areas of the honing surface feel varied. I did rub it pretty well with a chefs knife which evened out the feeling a bit. As it’s already flat I think a little wet dry sandpaper and 20 minutes would be beneficial along with some burnishing. The edge doesn’t act as keen as my usual tests would suggest. The finish on the bevel is about on par with my sb. I’m anticipating a comfortable shave but lacking the keenness I like.



Took it back to an 8k to clean up the edge a little, then 12k then finished on the ark with wd40 and bunch of laps.

Well, decided to lap the stone which showed that two corners were low, straightened it out and went up to 1500 then a liberal amount of burnishing, then honed the razor again as I knew it wouldn’t be keen enough for me. Went 8k 12k ark again. The shave resulted in a smooth but meh sort of edge. I may need to send these stones and a couple of razors to one of the Arkansas gurus to make sure it’s the stones and not me. Both of them produce an smooth 8kish equivalent edge for me. So far I’ve honed 15+ edges with the black and just the one with the translucent but they’ve all turned out more or less the same with the chosen lubricant making the biggest differences between edges.

The edge you put on my Parker is phenomenal, so hard to believe it would be your honing technique. Maybe just a little more time getting to know the stones is needed.

-Laramie-

A refresh of my Merkur 7/8 with my coticule and a few laps on pasted strop.