Thread: Arkansas oil stone

Have a problem. I bought an Arkansas oil stone, it angrily into the grinding went on.
But the razor will not be sharp. What's wrong? Keep the blade flat on the stone with a light pressure and make an X motion during grinding times about 20x. Someone an idea or tip that leads to a sharp razor.

What kind of Arkansas stone ? What state is the razor in ? New ? eBay purchase ?
Arkansas stones are fairly slow & 20x on a neglected razor will do nothing especially if using a final polisher like a Hard black or Translucent Ark stone.

Tips on honing here Category:Honing - Straight Razor Place Wiki

Edit shop: The Arkansas stone is a stone for the razor to give the last finishing touch. Grinding as the barbers also did it previously. Ensures razor sharp and quickly finished shaving.
Perfectly suited to the hard steel razors them to work.
Supplied in wooden box.
Korn :6000-8000.
Abrasive Material: Quarts Novaculite.
With fine oil to use.
Arkansas-U.S.A

The razor sharp which I try to get in pretty good condition.
Just not sharp. purchased on E-bay seems to be a world master, judging by the logo that is there.
So if I understand it is too little iron 20x Arkansas, maybe I'm too impatient

I'm sorry to tell you, but your razor is on the list of razors to avoid.

Brands of Straight Razors to avoid - Straight Razor Place Wiki

Even if you are lucky and get it sharp enough to shave,the edge will not last.
My best suggestion would be to purchase a truly shave ready razor off of the SRP Classifieds. You will have a quality razor,and be able to experience a shave ready blade.

Good luck.

Originally Posted by HarleyFXST

I'm sorry to tell you, but your razor is on the list of razors to avoid.

Maybe not. English is not his first language, so he may have translated the name of the brand. "World Master" is German is "Weltmeister", which was a fine old Solingen brand.

To the OP: There are a *lot* of variables that could be causing your problems. The arkansas stone must be flattened as flat and smooth as you can make it. You should use soap and water on it when honing a razor, not oil, because the oil is too thick and makes the razor stick to the stone as it gets sharp, and this will damage the edge. And finally you need to make sure that you have removed enough steel that the hone is actually sharpening the edge - many razors (both new and old) need some work to make this happen, because the razor wasn't honed with the spine on the stone (factories are bad about this) or because the edge has become curved because it has been sharpened on an abrasive strop. One way to see if the hone is sharpening all the way to the edge is to use a black waterproof marker on the edge, then hone a few strokes and see where the marker has come off - the edge should be completely shiny. You may need to use a magnifying glass or microscope to make sure there isn't a little bit of black left on the extreme edge.

Also, razors have very hard steel, much harder than knives, so they hone very slowly, and if your razor needs much work then you must be patient.

Originally Posted by mparker762

Also, razors have very hard steel, much harder than knives, so they hone very slowly, and if your razor needs much work then you must be patient.

Or maybe some intermediate stones if your razor is not sharp enough for the finishing stone.

is the stone red one side and black the other. with norton stamped on it? If so i no a old barber that uses that hone to set the edge then he finishes on coticule with lather. He calls the coti a milk stone. That's all he uses he only uses the black side. I have seen the hone and the box it comes in explains to use oil.

If its a hard Arkansas (especially a black one), then it's just a slow cutter, surely? I haven't used mine as a finishing stone, but it does produce a nice edge - eventually. Absent a faster hone, I'd persevere with it BUT you must do the black marker test as described by mparker762 - if the stone does not cut to the edge, then you need to read up on taping the spine of the razor.

Originally Posted by HarleyFXST

I'm sorry to tell you, but your razor is on the list of razors to avoid.

Brands of Straight Razors to avoid - Straight Razor Place Wiki

Even if you are lucky and get it sharp enough to shave,the edge will not last.
My best suggestion would be to purchase a truly shave ready razor off of the SRP Classifieds. You will have a quality razor,and be able to experience a shave ready blade.

Good luck.

No he is not on the avoid list. Mparker as saying in english not my main language. the knife is on one side Kayser Ellison & Co. and the other side, the world master logo. Mparker calls it Weltmeister

Today again some time working the stone. Now many times the razor (50 times) on the stone honed, and it seems that the razor is sharper. Not quite a smooth shave but it's a start. By the way it is a black Arkansas stone. thanks for the help so far, i let it knows how it goes.