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I haven't managed to get that look without a little water or oil on the hone. So there's that. I would imagine polished up to 8k is more than most folks do, add in a few thousand strokes from a hard...

Nope, it was actually one heck of a steal. It came in a lot that also had 2 translucents measuring 6 x 2 x 1, and 5 x 2 x 3/8, an EZE lap diamond plate, a pair of scythe stones and a no name hardware...

Got the dimensions off by a hair - 12 x 2.5

Here it is next to a ZY razor hone that's about 8 x 3 for comparison.

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The face I've been slowly working over has black marker and...

Translucent. Found it on Ebay in a lot actually, no idea who the original company that mined it up was. It's unmarked.

Yeah, polishing and burnishing a Black or Translucent is best taken in bites. There's a reason my 12 x 3 isn't fully flattened and ready to work. The 6 x 2 was much more friendly.

Since you already have the black on hand, I would say get it burnished and tested before buying another expensive stone. Unless you just want a translucent on hand to compare and contrast. Typically...

I figure it's like buffing anything else - just enough pressure to get the cloth touching the stone. Keep it moving, don't focus too much in any one area. Don't want the work piece getting hot, or...

This is probably the only thing that stops me from investing in more synthetics. Truth be told, I really don't even use the Norton 4K & 8K single grit hones I have. I just have too damned much fun...

several hours, one dremel polishing wheel, and a little chromox paste, and I have 7 natural stones that are lapped finer than I ever considered possible. It'll be interesting to see what comes of...

I literally just spent 3 hours lapping and burnishing stones. So the worst that could happen is wrecking the surfaces I just spent a good chunk of time fixing because I didn't quite learn my lesson...

With regard to the PHIG - might I suggest lapping the back and using that for slurry work? I leave the backside of mine a little rough - usually scored up with 400 or 600 grit - and use that for...

General rule of thumb for Arkansas stones: More burnished = finer finish & slower cut. IMO when it comes to a finishing stone, "Too burnished" doesn't exist. That's more like, "Just right." But a...

Whew, 10 x 3 x 1? That's one heck of a large hone. Looking at Natural Whetstone it looks like you did pretty good pricewise. I don't think those grit ratings are at all fair to the stones, as it...

I've got a small (2x5) stone. Looks pitch black, but it has a silvery streak in there kind of like the white swoop in the bottom right of your center picture. I thought it was a Black Arkie until...

True Hards seem to be the only one that few folks have experience with. My guess is because of all the hype surrounding Surgical/Black and Translucent stones. I was originally planning to get a True...

This is pretty much what I'm thinking. True Hard, Translucent, and Surgical Black are all about the same density, and when properly surfaced you won't see an appreciable difference from one to...