Expanding the Arkansas Arsenal

[Acmemfg]

Seems I’m finding that the edges I have been getting from my Arkansas collection
(Dan’s Medium, Hard, Surgical Black, Translucent, Preyda Soft) have been quite good and I’m preferring them to those I’m accustomed to from my coticules, Naniwa SS rocks and the assortment of other hones I have. That being said, is there any real advantage to expanding the quiver with a Washita and/or True Hard Arkansas?
I enjoy different stones just because I like collecting things like that. I’m fully cognizant that I have an ample inventory of sharpening media with which to put decent edges on most all sharp things I own. Perhaps I’ll fall down the J-nat hole one day but not any time soon.
But my question is….will the aforementioned Arks serve a meaningful purpose in my sharpening routine?
Or would they be pretty much redundant to a fault?

 

[Gamma]

Try stuff, see what you like the most. Keep what works best, get rid of what doesn't.

 

[Legion]

A Dans surgical black and translucent is a true hard.

A Washita (a real vintage one) is a great stone for knives, as they tend to have a bigger range than a regular Ark, depending on the pressure used. For razors, not too much advantage over what you have already.

 

[Kyle89]

I don't like my Dans Washita with razors, but it's great with my knives and I'm very happy to have it. My True Hard is a great razor finisher in its own right, and some of those stones can be absolutely stunning. WAY cooler than my Transluscent IMO.

I've personally found use for my full Dans set and very happy to have them all.

 

[duke762]

I find it interesting to compare ebay prices of Vintage Norton Arks and other quality brands, of the Black/Trans family compared to the price of a new Dan's. Due to hoarding tendencies and advanced Arkaholism, this usually leads to PayPal charges and uncomfortable questions from the wife and, and , and...well you know.

But I learned something incredible this year!! From this year on my Ark edges will not be complete without an Escher before the Ark. If I could afford to hoard Escher's I would. My god what a revelation!

 

[H Brad Boonshaft]

“But my question is….will the aforementioned Arks serve a meaningful purpose in my sharpening routine?
Or would they be pretty much redundant to a fault?”

Yea, for razor probably not.

I finish on an Ark or Jnat from a Snow White 8k or Suehiro 10k, both near mirror finished bevels and laser straight edges.

So, for me there is nothing to be gained from a Washita for a razor edge. But I probably own a couple dozen vintage Washita.

“But I learned something incredible this year!! From this year on my Ark edges will not be complete without an Escher before the Ark. If I could afford to hoard Escher's I would. My god what a revelation!”

A hard Ark finisher is just a polisher, it removes very little steel, so not surprising to see an improvement in pre-finishing with Thuringian. Thuringian’s have been “the” no BS finishers for a hundred years for a reason.

The summer I graduated from High School I worked with a professional house painter. I learned quickly that 95% of a quality paint finish is preparation.

As said, they are excellent knife and tool stones, where you want a keen aggressive edge and smoothness is not an issue.

 

[SliceOfLife]

If you have SB and Translucents already; I don't think a true hard would get much use. My understanding is it's kind of the less visually consistent brother to those two stones at the top of the Dans lineup.

Modern Washita; I've heard conflicting reports on how much they differ from soft Arks. Maybe? Vintage Washita; yeah it'd give you something what you have currently doesn't cover.

 

[swellcat]

Seems I’m finding that the edges I have been getting from my Arkansas collection
(Dan’s Medium, Hard, Surgical Black, Translucent, Preyda Soft) have been quite good, and I’m preferring them to those I’m accustomed to from my coticules . . .

Where do you feel the coticules are lacking? Level of keenness?

Ever mix the media, e.g., use a coticule just before finishing on an Arkansas?

 

[Acmemfg]

I’ve found that the character of the edge for the most part is developed by the finishing hone. A coticule edge is fine; I have no quarrel with such.
The Arkansas edge is keener indeed and more efficient when tackling a heavy-ish beard. But then, that’s just me. A LaVeinette edge on a T-I singing hollow can be a wonderful thing.

 

[captaincaed]

My True Hard is a visually interesting stone, but overlaps my Trans and black Arks in function. If you have bad HAD, you'll want to find one.

I'm equally happy with any of my three options. I've only been honing a couple years, so I'm not sure if there are higher degrees of refinement that separate these particular three stones, but they're nearly equivalent for me.

 

[Empire straights]

My True Hard is a visually interesting stone, but overlaps my Trans and black Arks in function. If you have bad HAD, you'll want to find one.

I'm equally happy with any of my three options. I've only been honing a couple years, so I'm not sure if there are higher degrees of refinement that separate these particular three stones, but they're nearly equivalent for me.

Not much difference, it comes down to lubricant, surface finish, laps, and touch at that point. The conundrum is, though, with natural stone.... there will always be some better.

 

[captaincaed]

it comes down to lubricant, surface finish, laps, and touch at that point

Words to live by.

The hunt for a favorite stone is such a real thing. I really think if I threw out all my finishers except one, I’d be a much better sharpener. I’d really learn the ins and outs of how the stone operate and then I could extrapolate that to other stones of the same type. With my moderate level of experience, I bet you I’m only 75% sure which of my Arks is the finest finisher. I have an idea, but I wouldn’t bet money on it. But new stone are just a lot of fun…

 

[Bowmaker]

Seems I’m finding that the edges I have been getting from my Arkansas collection
(Dan’s Medium, Hard, Surgical Black, Translucent, Preyda Soft) have been quite good and I’m preferring them to those I’m accustomed to from my coticules, Naniwa SS rocks and the assortment of other hones I have. That being said, is there any real advantage to expanding the quiver with a Washita and/or True Hard Arkansas?
I enjoy different stones just because I like collecting things like that. I’m fully cognizant that I have an ample inventory of sharpening media with which to put decent edges on most all sharp things I own. Perhaps I’ll fall down the J-nat hole one day but not any time soon.
But my question is….will the aforementioned Arks serve a meaningful purpose in my sharpening routine?
Or would they be pretty much redundant to a fault?

Life isn't complete without a vintage Washita (or two), they are superior stones to soft arks in both speed and range.

 

[Mr Kooby Shemayrew]

Words to live by.

The hunt for a favorite stone is such a real thing. I really think if I threw out all my finishers except one, I’d be a much better sharpener. I’d really learn the ins and outs of how the stone operate and then I could extrapolate that to other stones of the same type. With my moderate level of experience, I bet you I’m only 75% sure which of my Arks is the finest finisher. I have an idea, but I wouldn’t bet money on it. But new stone are just a lot of fun…

I have a Dan’s ultra fine black and blue black. Both are awesome finishers. So much so that I cannot achieve any perceivable difference between the two in finishing a razor.

Dans says the blue black is ever so slightly finer than their black ultra fine, and in lapping them I can see that the blue black is a little more resistant towards being abraded so there is a difference there. However, for the purpose of honing a razor, no difference. The blue black is roughly twice the price of the black so this is not a small amount of money for no increase in performance.

Still, I hold onto and use both of them interchangeably. There is something absolutely “magnetic” about these gorgeous pieces of nature.

 

[duke762]

I bet you I’m only 75% sure which of my Arks is the finest finisher. I have an idea, but I wouldn’t bet money on it. But new stone are just a lot of fun…

I was at a point where one Ark appeared superior to the others I was using at the time. After much head scratching and pondering and lots of honing......I found out it was the flattest of the bunch. Continuous pursuit of extreme flatness pays off IMHO. Flat enough will still get you a great edge on an Ark but there's more to be had out of them than flat enough will give you.