Thread: Arkansas stone help

Originally Posted by EMC45

I have been sharpening knives for as long as I have been carrying them around (30 years now). I have used everything from India stones to Diamond grit to Ark stones. The natural progression to hone my own razors was imminent. I have several Ark stones I use for bevel setting and final finish. They WORK! Will there be people out there who say they don't? Yup, there sure will be. Facts a fact though. They work well. I actually have experimented with raising a slurry with a Diamond block on one of my Ark stones and then honing. Cuts very even and nicely. I then go to a Fine Ark (not sure what grit, but it reflects light with little porosity) with water and hone till the stone dries out. I then re-wet and run dry a couple times and then observe all the work under a 100X Mini Microscope. When all looks good, I go to pasted strop for about 60-70 laps and then off to plain leather for about 130 laps. Hair will then "ping" off the edge with little effort for the HHT. The shaves are quite nice as well. The hair "rolls" off my face and leaves a wonderful, smooth, irritation-free shave. They work.

This is encouraging. I'm trying desperately to remove man-made stones from my arsenal because...well I can't really put it into words. Some of you get it.

I finally flattened out a very white Arkansas the other day which I hoped would work for bevel setting. I didn't have any honing oil on hand (probably hiding in the basement somewhere) so I used water. The razor seemed to just glide across the stone and I didn't feel that anything was being abraded. I used 600 grit paper, fyi. That same stone worked great with a knife, so I'm left thinking that my catch-22 is pressure. Maybe oil will help? If not, what qualities should I be looking for in an ebay Arkansas that will be as "low-grit" as possible?

I "dressed" my Ark stones down with a diamond pocket "stone" I just wet them and rubbed the length of the stone until I saw that the stone was nice and uniform across the entire length. Mine are brownish grey and dark grey black. I use the diamond stone to raise a "slurry" with water on my course stone and hone lightly. It works great to set the bevel and get out any micro chipping. I use that stone and go with water only, then I progress to the fine stone and use water and run them until they are shiny and dry. Re-wet and repeat. I usually listen to talk radio or NPR and do this all at my reloading bench. I find it relaxing. I am not tempted to get a manmade so it will cut quicker. I don't mind taking my time. This is going to be raked across my face ya know. I will take a great deal of care to get them to where they need to be.

I would look for tight "grain" and little porosity.

Hmmmmm..... this is a very good thread. Thanks guys. For me, it is also timely. I am having another go at using the Arkansas stones after talking with a friend who has used them for 45 years on his straight razors. He has tried the Coticules and the Thuringans but prefers the edge from a Arkansas Surgical black.
He does say that the black is a finishing stone and that it is very slow ( he uses oil). Perhaps 200-300 laps depending upon the steel/grind and how well the honing was performed on the prior stones. Maybe more.

I do have difficulty recommending a slow set of stones for new guys because it will frustrate them more than they already experience with the faster synthetic hones. The difficulty of learning to hone is one of the major reasons new guys give up the use of straight razors.

Natural stones...... yes, I like them a lot but it is only because I have a bit of experience that I can live with the variations we encounter. I know how to determine where a specific stone fits in a honing progression. The new guys have not a clue.

Oil, water, dry, dressed, slurry, pressure.......and on which stones? A whole lot of work needs to be done to answer the questions. I do not doubt that the Arkansas stones can do the job given enough time and used in the proper order and with the proper approach.

Lets start this by answering the following question.........

1. If you have an Ebay vintage razor with some minor nicks etc.
Which Arkansas stone should be used?
Should the stone be dressed first?
Leave the slurry on?
Slurry and dilute down to just water/oil or til dry?
Dress, then rinse off and use water oil...til dry or keep wet?
No dressing, just water/oil?
Dry only?

Your experience/answers please.............

Originally Posted by randydance062449

Hmmmmm..... this is a very good thread. Thanks guys. For me, it is also timely. I am having another go at using the Arkansas stones after talking with a friend who has used them for 45 years on his straight razors. He has tried the Coticules and the Thuringans but prefers the edge from a Arkansas Surgical black.
He does say that the black is a finishing stone and that it is very slow ( he uses oil). Perhaps 200-300 laps depending upon the steel/grind and how well the honing was performed on the prior stones. Maybe more.

I do have difficulty recommending a slow set of stones for new guys because it will frustrate them more than they already experience with the faster synthetic hones. The difficulty of learning to hone is one of the major reasons new guys give up the use of straight razors.

Natural stones...... yes, I like them a lot but it is only because I have a bit of experience that I can live with the variations we encounter. I know how to determine where a specific stone fits in a honing progression. The new guys have not a clue.

Oil, water, dry, dressed, slurry, pressure.......and on which stones? A whole lot of work needs to be done to answer the questions. I do not doubt that the Arkansas stones can do the job given enough time and used in the proper order and with the proper approach.

Lets start this by answering the following question.........

1. If you have an Ebay vintage razor with some minor nicks etc.
Which Arkansas stone should be used?
Should the stone be dressed first?
Leave the slurry on?
Slurry and dilute down to just water/oil or til dry?
Dress, then rinse off and use water oil...til dry or keep wet?
No dressing, just water/oil?
Dry only?

Your experience/answers please.............

I would dress with diamond block. I would then go with the coarser of the bunch and raise a slurry. I would hone until the edge looks good under magnification. I would then wash stone with water and wipe of all slurry/grit off the blade. Re-wet the coarse stone and continue to hone. I check periodically to see the progression of honing under manification. When I see that the edge is more or less free of "teeth" or a wire edge I then move onto the finer stone I use. I wet it down and hone until I have a nice even bevel all the way down the blade's edge. When I hone with the fine stone I hone until it is run dry and shiny. I then re-wet a few times until I feel it is good to go. then progress to my home made pasted strop and then on to my plain leather for final stropping. This is only the way I do it. I am by far no expert, I have only been straight shaving since 08 and honing and stropping Straights since then as well. Evan

I've been experimenting a lot with Arkansas lately and have gotten a few very nice edges. My progression is, Diamond plate (850) to set the bevel, fine white Arkansas with Smith's honing liquid (non-oil), Belgian Blue with slurry and without, Arkansas translucent with honing fluid, 35 laps on CrOx paddle, 40 linen/70 leather. I got a "top 5 best ever" edge from this last night. I use lots of 1/2 x strokes in my progression and always finish on a stone with 20 regular very light x strokes.