Thread: Any general advice for using Arkansas stones?

I too agree with the Smith’s. I start with water and a couple of drops of smiths and only add smiths as more lube is needed. Another good lube to try is wd-40. The other problem with Arkansas stones is the burnishing. At the first stages of use the stone is rather “aggressive”, if your edge isn’t comfortable enough and you feel you’ve done a good job at honing try 10-15 minutes of burnishing with some hardened carbon steel. You are actually trying to knock the tops off the grit contained in the matrix of the stone. Then try finishing with the newly burnished face and see where that takes you edge wise. Another thing is forget what your edges look like coming off a synthetic as a natural hone and especially the Arkansas will leave a hazy finish. Just make sure the finish looks consistent.

Hopefully scouthikerdad chimes in, he has done some serious experimenting as of late with Arkansas’ and sounds like he has pretty well dialed in his technique.