Thread: Will a soft natural Arkansas Work

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 ...only to then have to send it away!

(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.

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.

Originally Posted by captp

I may get a superfine waterstone to see if it really puts a finer edge on.

It will.

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.