Thread: Dipping my toes into naturals. Thanks to JP5

There are many very informative posts on our site about Arkie's. But thought I would add my experience so far with my new stone. In the hopes that it adds to the site in a positive way.
I have been very happy with my results thus far with my Gokumyo 20K and Norton 4/8K setup. They allow me go from bevel set to a very nice edge. And it is very repeatable/reliable for me. An accomplishment which would not be possible without this site and all of the many people that fill it with priceless tips, tricks and knowledge.
But like many of us. We get to reading and thinking about that "perfect for us" edge. Sharp and smooth. That just melts the whiskers off our faces. And leaves us with the feeling that we have achieved shaving nirvana.
With the purchase of my Korrat 14 2.0 . My RAD has been for the time being, been satisfied. My Razorock Rubberset replica. Has become my go to brush. And from the first stroke my SRD Red Latigo strop has been a joy to use.
Soaps and aftershaves are also at a point that I have a good variety that check off all my boxes.
Then browsing our forum. I see JP5's post for a Arkansas Translucent for a very fair price. So as a Fathers Day present to myself. I fire off a message to Joshua. And a couple of days later it's on my front porch.
His pics and post were 100% accurate. The stone was new and unused. Dead flat and both sides had a "frosted glass" type finish to them. So I set about burnishing one side, with a 1 inch chisel. Using moderate/heavy pressure. It took about an hour of elbow grease to get to where I thought it was ready to try using on a razor.
My Koraat after a couple of weeks of daily use was starting to pull slightly. And after about a 1/2 hour of steady strokes with water and little lather. Felt it begin to stick to the hone. Shave test was improved over previous shave. Smooth and comfortable. But not as sharp as the 20k but still very good.
I am going to burnish it some more and have another go with the Koraat. Don't think I have found the full potential with this stone. And my quick success is a testament to the post on here that I read and used to good effect. Thanks JP5 and the forum.
Ken