What's new

Black Ark $66 vs $289?

Mods please delete my previous thread titles whetstone and Dan's prices, i couldn't figure out how to delete it and this is a better form. So Natural whetstone company and Dan's prices are in the title, I have read numerous times how well Dan's stuff is great (service, finishing etc)while someare happy with Natural Whetstone, but has anyone noticed the recent price gap? These are for 8"x3"x1" Dan's and 8"x3"x3/4"-1" on the other. Just trying to spend my money wisely to make up for all the other stuff lol. I appreciate any input.
 
If they are running a sale on their hard blacks or translucents, you might as well go for it but be prepared to have to lap that.
 
If I were dropping $289 on an ark, unless I had to have that extra inch of width for some reason I would throw it at an old norton or pike 8x2 hard black or trans, but I may just be a snob that way... No disrespect to Dan's, they deliver excellent quality stones in a really clean, well-finished state that is more labor intensive.
 
Hard Arkansas stone that need to be lapped are a pain and very time consuming to get done. A lot of sanding and prep work. A nice piece of flat sidewalk or drive way works good to get you started. The price maybe worth it if it is flat and ready for use.
 
I have seen the vintage 6"x2" Norton's going for 120 ish for the hard arks, my real point was if you might have to lap either company's is there a real differene? I can get 2 or 3 stones in progression from Natural Whetstone for less than even a vintage norton , just trying to decide is all, also have seen using sic powder with glass to flatten the arks being used.
 
I can't speak for the Natural Whetstone black or translucent arkansas. But I have one of their Black Translucents and there's nothing wrong with it. I personally wouldn't pay the premium for a Dan's (If I bought Dan's I'd get a Primitive).
 
I’m in the same boat looking for a 8x3. But I’ve gotten blacks from Dan before and they are awesome... sigh. Makes it hard to go to an unknown, even if it’s cheaper.
 
Well I decided to pull the trigger and get the less expensive 8x3 stone ($102.99) via SharpeningSupplies.com - being I already have a fantastic 6x2 from Dan’s.

I waited too long.

“Ships in 8 to 9 weeks” now. The 8x2 is in stock and selling for 72.99, and I guess that would be a pretty good deal if I wanted a 2” wide stone. But the fact is that extra inch makes a world of difference for me. Especially on those bigger knives.

So I zipped over to Dan’s who’s got a sale going on on wide stones. His 8x3 cost 140 + 10 shipping. $150.00. Is the extra $50 going to be worth it? Like I said, I’ve liked every stone I’ve ever gotten from there, but $50 is 1/2 the cost of the stone over at sharpeningsupplies (free shipping). I’ll never know. I better love this rock lol!
 
It's going to be a lot flatter at least. If you value your time and shoulder you'll appreciate that. An 8x3 hard well out of true sounds horrible to lap to me.
 
An advantage of buying one from The Superior Shave is that Jarrod has already lapped it for you.

Yeah, you pay him for that, but from what I hear you don't want to lap a black ark yourself.
 
An advantage of buying one from The Superior Shave is that Jarrod has already lapped it for you.

Yeah, you pay him for that, but from what I hear you don't want to lap a black ark yourself.
Dont they have only convex stones? Or do they lapp one side flat and convex the other?
 
Yes, it would be convex. But you can ignore the whole convex thing if you wish.

The only thing different with owning a convex ark is you are obliged to do x strokes but most folk feel you want to do that anyway.
 
Idk why you would pay extra for a prep you may not want. That only makes sense if you want the convexity and don't want to do that yourself.
 
At that price I would go with the cheaper one and order some 120 and 220 sic powder, with a piece of float glass. Would not take to long.
 
Not all Black Arks are created equal. One on the market isn't even Novaculite. Natural Whetstones sells a hard black that is just hard, not in the Trans/SB category, and it is inexpensive compared to the same size Black 'Ultra Fine' sold by Dans. Dan's also sells a 'Black Ark' that is hard, but it is less dense than the Ultra Fine.

Lapping a super hard Ark is work, yeah - but it's not the end of the world if you use SIC powders. Just did one the other night, wasn't all that bad. I have another 8x3 coming soon, and possibly another 10x3 in the not too distant future, lapping them won't be all that much of a bother.
 
Last edited:
Not all Black Arks are created equal. One on the market isn't even Novaculite. Natural Whetstones sells a hard black that is just hard, not in the Trans/SB category, and it is inexpensive compared to the same size Black 'Ultra Fine' sold by Dans. Dan's also sells a 'Black Ark' that is hard, but it is less dense than the Ultra Fine.

Lapping a super hard Ark is work, yeah - but it's not the end of the world if you use SIC powders. Just did one the other night, wasn't all that bad. I have another 8x3 coming soon, and possibly another 10x3 in the not too distant future.
Where did you order your new 8x3 from?
 
I'm keeping that a secret for now, first I want to decide if I like it or not.
Well if it was from SharpeningSupplies, you beat me to it. I’ll be interested to hear your report, I have a sneaking suspicion that they source theirs from Dan’s. Well I did. The 9 week backorder for one now is confusing if that is the case. But what do I know?

My 8x3 Black is coming in on Monday from Dan’s. I’m pretty excited!
 
I got a ~9.2”x~3.2” primitive Dans for $50 shipped because I wanted to know if it was worth the higher cost.

The primitive is so good I never went back for the real thing and quit shopping the other options! If only I could cure my Washita addiction with one stone...
 
Top Bottom