I was wondering if a soft natural Arkansas stone will work for honing a straight.
Will it?
Any opinions are good.
Thanks
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I was wondering if a soft natural Arkansas stone will work for honing a straight.
Will it?
Any opinions are good.
Thanks
You can use it to set the bevel, but a final shaving edge will require something much finer.
How's the razor holding up, btw?
Hey Russel!!! It is fantastic!!!!! I am in the market for my second. PM me if you have anything
Glad to hear that!
I had fun finding out what a gem it was:y ...only to then have to send it away! :cry:
(Just kidding, I'm glad it went to a good home!)
[quote=archer831;216929]I was wondering if a soft natural Arkansas stone will work for honing a straight.
In my opinion NONONO. Especially if you're talking about a true soft stone, i.e. a washita. Far too soft. You might want to look at a medium Arkansas for some work, but you will want a sugrical black hard and/or a translucent Arkansas (the two finest natural oilstones that I know of) for putting a shaving edge on your straight. I own one medium, one black hard, one translucent. I use only the translucent for honing, mainly because it's 3" wide; the surgical black is only 2"; not really a problem but I prefer a full width stone. Some claim there is no difference between the two, but my experience is the translucent if finer.
:nono:You might want to be careful about mentioning oilstones here; it seems that most folk here prefer waterstones and almost consider oilstones to be heresy. At some point I may get a superfine waterstone to see if it really puts a finer edge on, but I've been more than satified with results from the translucent; I don't use pastes or any of the other methods I've heard mentioned here; I get a truely fine edge from the stone.
It will.Quote:
Originally Posted by captp
I have all of the grades of Arkansas stone and used them exclusively for a short period of time. Nearly all of the stones that we consider "finishing" stones for razors (Coticule, Thuringian, Chinese 12k, Nakayama (my favorite!)) put a finer, more comfortable edge on a razor. Beside, waterstones are generally more versatile because you can form a slurry which cuts faster, then clean the stone off and polish the edge with just a little water as lubricant.
The translucent will put a nice edge on most razors, but I absolutely prefer water stones.