Thread: Do Arks annoy anyone else

Maybe it's just me and I am doing it wrong but it doesn't matter what lube I use with my Arks it takes all the polish off my blade.

I have used glycerin, dilute washing up liquid, Smiths and mineral oil but whatever I use the blade ends up dull.

I spent 30 minutes with the metal polish this morning trying to bring the polish back without losing a finger in the process.

I wanted to compare my Ark edge to my Coti edge. Probably more trouble than it was worth actually.
I felt the Ark edge was very very sharp but the Coti edge although not quite as sharp as the Ark is still very sharp but also a lot more comfortable.

Honing on an Ark also takes a lot longer than honing on a Coti.

I used the Unicot Method with my Coti this morning because it is the easiest until I get more time with it.

Arkies are more about the Stone prep than the stone

I stopped using Oil Stones for quite some time until I found the Smith's honing solution, I just didn't want oil near my water stones at all

I use them on occasion now but oil stones especially the Noviculites need a ton of prep to get the best out of them.. IE: Burnish the surface more

Can't say I ever noticed that particular issue. Of course maybe I'm just thick.

I mostly use Arkansas stones, I like using oil, I think it is less messy than water, especially compared to using synthetic waterstones. I think most people hate the feeling of oil on their fingers so it seems messier than water but it's really just the feeling. I use a dropper to dispense my oil. I use pure neatsfoot oil. You don't have to worry about water evaporating off of the stone in the summer (get's very hot here in MT). You don't have to worry whether a stray bit of water got into the pivot. Oil on Arkansas stones feels right. I've tried water, glycerin, soap and water, simple green, ballistol water emulsion, but oil just feels right and works well. The only stones I use with water are a small, narrow Thuringian and my coti if I'm needing slurry, but I do also use oil on the same coti if I use it to finish. I never bothered burnishing my stones although some people like to do that. The Hard stones I lapped up to 600 grit. The soft Arkansas and my Washita I lapped to 320 grit. You could lap them then just run a chisel back over them for 30 seconds with plenty of oil just to knock down any high points, doesn't take much. They stay flat a long time and give better results the more you use them.

Yeah, I have that problem when I use oil.

Just wash your hands with soap n water, and do your blades at the same time.

I use a variety of things for lube depending on where I am in the progression. Usually I start out with Smith's or Norton with varying amounts of WD-40 added. I find the mixture to work better than either by itself for the heavy lifting. For finishing I often switch to dawn and water and end under running water.
I guess you would call what I do burnishing. I lap them on SIC then run one side (on those I want different sides effect on) on W/D wet up to whatever effect I want it to have. The problem I have more than others is keeping them rough enough, on the ones I use for bevel set and mid range at least. After a certain amount of honing they are too smooth and I will go back to the SIC to roughen them up some. On the trans and black I leave those as burnished as possible.

What's the texture like on the Smiths honing solution, is it oily or more like water?

Originally Posted by thp001

What's the texture like on the Smiths honing solution, is it oily or more like water?

I am pretty sure it is a Glycerin/Soap mixture, what is really nice is that it can be adjusted with a few drops of water to thin it down

It is damn cheap too

Thinner than 3-in-1 but not like WD-40. BTW I find WD-40 to be too thin in its own but Smith's thinned with WD is money.

When used with oil the pores of the hone get filled with a mixture of swarf and oil that produces a glass like surface slowing down the performance of the Arkie. I used to put them in the diswasher to accelerate performance. Eventually I started using them with water exclusively. Sold them some years ago as I no longer used them.