Thread: surgical black arkansas pointers please

I have a surgical black Ark. and I can't seem to get a great edge off it. I tried slurry, no slurry, dry, wet, lather, soap&water....

I guess if it was the only hone you had it would be OK, but it sure cuts slow and rough for a razor hone.

Or boil in bicarbonate of soda if you want to remove a greasy residue.

I have a translucent Arkansas - gives a great polish. I don't think it is much different to a hard black arkansas (the "True hard" rather than the hard black) maybe just a bit finer. Lapping it though - oh my aching arm! That is one dense stone! It hasn't needed lapping since that time, and probably never will. Very slow in action. Light oil is preferred by carpenters, etc, as it keeps the metal filings suspended better than water. It has been recommended that they can be cleaned by putting them in a dishwater - never tried it, though!

i'd really like to get a translucent arkansas but they aren't cheap. i paid $26 for my black arkansas and it looks like the translucents aretwice that. we'll see. i am still pondering a norton starter set so i may just save up and skip the translucent.

Telling someone water will not clog a black ark, and oil will is just so completely upside down.
Oil cleans stuff, think about a rusty shotgun, you use oil and a rag to clean it up. Oil is a cleaner, its just something it does. Oil keeps the pours of the hone from filing up. In fact if you use the hone dry, or with water, you can then take oil and rag to clean the hone off!

The real reason oil is used is not for floating metal, its to prevent abrasion. These stones in this density range don't really wear, but abrasive particles slowly round out, however if you go with water or dry, you will wear it. Oil stops/slows down wear while allowing cutting, that is why oil is used. On a natural Japanese stone, they are rather soft, so the water carries the stone particles away, its just not like that with an Arky.
So stop using water, and just some Norton oil. I know it sucks but that is how they work best.

I've been saying that for ages, heh. For the final finishing of a straight razor on a highly polished Ark, water isn't as awful for the stone as when they are not so polished up. If the Ark is only lapped with a 400ish grit diamond plate though, using water will kill any cutting speed it still has pretty quick-like. For soft Arks and Washita stones, only oil should be used IMO.