With an Escher or Translucent Arkansas and pasted paddle or strop (CrOx is roughly 30k+) they would be getting a very superior edge. It might take longer and not be as consistent as synthetic hones but it will get there. I've done a few total Arkansas stone progressions to test it out and I got VERY good results, it does take a long time.

Quote Originally Posted by SRNewb View Post
I'm not saying they shaved with bad edges, But I no matter how skilled a person is, one or two arkies aren't going to get them the hyper keen edges we get today from 20k and 30k synthetic stones. And edges considered really sharp on things like a hand plane or hand tools aren't even close to what we expect today from a razor.
Not saying they had bad edges, but they probably did not fuss about it as much as we did. They made it work.