Thread: Any general advice for using Arkansas stones?

Smith's is what I've been using. I've been starting with plain water, then adding drops of Smith's until it's mostly Smith's. I haven't been liking pure Smith's, it drys out fairly quickly and gets sort of gummy.

Originally Posted by outback

JJ, have u tried finishing with soap n water, on the black.?!
( dish soap, liquid hand soap )

I've been finishing out a few on my black, coming off a Coti, to the black w/ soap n water, has been producing some incredible, results.

I took razor #1 (German steel) back to the burnished side with dish soap. A tiny drop with water and slowly increased the concentration as the lap count got higher. It was nice on the stone. It felt like there was a little less cushion than the Smith's and I could sort of feel the stone a little more.

Shaved with it this morning and it was quite nice. Subtle difference, maybe a little smoother. I'm not sure I could tell the difference blind, but really nice. I'll definitely use it again. One of the closest single pass shaves I've gotten.

I bought my first Arkansas hone this past summer, but didn't really do anything with it. It's a small (4x2), vintage Norton stone, hard black. This thread has made me dig it out and flatten it, and hopefully I'll start to experiment with it soon. Thanks to JellyJar and everyone who contributed, there's tons of great information here!

Originally Posted by joelkerr

I bought my first Arkansas hone this past summer, but didn't really do anything with it. It's a small (4x2), vintage Norton stone, hard black. This thread has made me dig it out and flatten it, and hopefully I'll start to experiment with it soon. Thanks to JellyJar and everyone who contributed, there's tons of great information here!

Glad to have started a thread that got you exited about arks.

When I started learning to hone knives arks were pretty much the end all beat all of hones; found them in all the hardware stores, and not much else was available (internet was pretty rudimentary in the early 80's). Because of that I've had a bit of an irrational connection with them. When I learned that they were a viable razor finishing stone I was pretty much all in.

When I started this thread I was hoping for much of the information that was posted. I really got more than I was hoping for.

I shouldn't have been surprised, there are a lot of people on this forum that are really ready and willing to give and help. There's a lot of pay it forward thinking by the members of this forum and I hope to keep that spirit going.

Originally Posted by JellyJar

Glad to have started a thread that got you exited about arks.
I shouldn't have been surprised, there are a lot of people on this forum that are really ready and willing to give and help. There's a lot of pay it forward thinking by the members of this forum and I hope to keep that spirit going.

You’ve nailed why I hang around SRP. Every time I visit I learn something. Sometimes it costs me money, , but most times now I just learn and store information for the future.

It’s fun being in my 70s and still learning! Thanks for the thread!

This kind of thing is why I am afraid of honing. One day, I will give it a try, but this seems so complicate.

Originally Posted by MrZ

This kind of thing is why I am afraid of honing. One day, I will give it a try, but this seems so complicate.

Moving off-topic, and while it's not rocket science, there is a bit of an art to it. Like everything there is a learning curve... there are also different techniques and approaches which all lead the same general destination. 90% of our discussions are focused on squeezing out the last 3% of benefit, which is well beyond what the base user needs for a good shave.

There can be a tendency to put some voodoo in and make it sound overly complicated, but at the end of the day it's fairly simple... start with a flat hone, keep the plane of the razor aligned to the hone, spine is always first to touchdown and last to lift-off, and don't move up a progression until you're done with the current one.

I will say once I started honing my own razors my enjoyment went up immensely. You figure out what gives you this sort of laser edge and what will lead you towards that sort of "cushy" but slightly less sharp edge, how to tame the heel and toe with a rolling stroke to your liking, ways to work a warped spine etc. You can zone in on your specific preferences...

For what it's worth, while I truly am grateful for all the experienced grey-beards who apprentice us, I think it's healthy that the forum has moved away from the old days of "honemeisters" keeping hidden wisdom...

Originally Posted by MrZ

This kind of thing is why I am afraid of honing. One day, I will give it a try, but this seems so complicate.

Its only as difficult as you make it, Z. Honing is fairly easy, till its not. That's where we can help guide you through it. At least try, then try again

None of us are good at anything, till we put our minds to the task. We fail, to learn.! .

Originally Posted by MrZ

This kind of thing is why I am afraid of honing. One day, I will give it a try, but this seems so complicate.

Yeah, as the others said, it doesn't have to be. Some of use like to experiment with more advanced techniques, finishers and slurries to tweak that last little bit of smooth, but none of us really started out that way.

You can get a Naniwa 12k or similar, and be refreshing tuggy edges almost immediately. That or a similar finisher is probably the easiest way to dip a toe in. Having a couple of pro-honed edges for comparison purposes is pretty much a requirement while you're learning. Or, as some of us still use, you can find a used Norton 4/8k combo hone (or go with Naniwas, as many have switched to), and do 90% of any honing you would need to do aside from edge restores. And yes, shaving becomes much more enjoyable once you're getting decent edges. Then you'll come back in a year, and with better skills, refine those previously acceptable edges even further. Some of my blades that I got 8-10 years ago when I started, I've probably re-honed 3-4 times as my skills advanced and I got pickier about my edges.

You could probably find somebody in Upstate New York to mentor you while you learn, or better yet get to a meet if you can find one-that's the best way of all. YouTube videos can also be very helpful if the other two don't work out.

edit: Or you end up like JellyJar, with a serious (honing) monkey on your back. Sometimes that doesn't start until you go down the rabbit hole with naturals-Arkies were/are my gateway drug.

Originally Posted by ScoutHikerDad

Or you end up like JellyJar, with a serious (honing) monkey on your back. Sometimes that doesn't start until you go down the rabbit hole with naturals-Arkies were/are my gateway drug.

I'll eventually find my way out of the hole. Until then, I'm having fun playing with my monkey