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New arkansas stone VS "older" stone-rambling/thoughts

Hi all,

Picture--
Top stone-Dans 10x3x1--not lapped
Middle _-Preyda 8x3x1--2k on SIC powder and metal plate
Bottom--Preyda 10x3x1/2--not lapped--cuts a bit from factory, might lap.

Separate pic--my 8x3x1/2 "blue/ black translucent"

I have been exploring hones and recently my long wait (3 months) has ended. I asked Dan's to find me their blackest ark and cut it 10x3x1, it arrived yesterday. Now I decide if I like the edges its currently giving me before breaking my arm to lap the stone.

The smaller stone is 8x3x1". I bought this from preyada three years ago. Preyda only cuts stones that are 1/2 inch thick now so I decided to try Dans. The Dans stone is very dark grey and the Preydas are jet black. The Dans stone doesn't have a ring as high pitched as the Preyda stones, but it is very close--not sure what this means perhaps I am nuts and spending to many quiet hours touching my rocks!

I found Preyda to be a joy to work with and have many stones from them. The 8" black is my favorite stone, the feed back is very responsive to pressure and consistent.

I used the new Dans only twice and I am excited to see what it can do-early take is that it is a VERY NICE stone and worth the long wait. They were very nice to accommodate my search and the lead time was met early.

Blue translucent-- I saw this spoken of on a YouTube video and asked preyda if they had any since it wasn't listed on their site. They did and I am very glad for it. The stone is very hard and really just polished. I am still undecided if it goes before or after my dark black 8" preyda...….

Anyone else look for a high ring also?


Regards,
Whit
 

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You got the stone bug bad!

I understand dans stones come flat.and usually ready to go. And further lapping /polishing should go by quickly. And will change the razor feel a little.

They get easier and faster to lap. I have lapped out saw marks....

Blue trans? More pics and with flashlight please

I think you need to add some white/ grey translucent stones to collection. The feedback is different.
I’m personally keeping my eye out for a pink ark.

I haven’t tested the density of my stones but I’m leaning towards the translucent stones as my favorite by a hair.

it is Amazing working on the 10x3!!! Luxury real estate!!

I don’t listen to the ring so much, but more from feedback from the razor.
 
The blue translucent looks black as night in the photo. I will have to echo Biglo13, more pictures and grab the flashlight. These are nice stones, congrats!

Chris
 
The blue translucent looks black as night in the photo. I will have to echo Biglo13, more pictures and grab the flashlight. These are nice stones, congrats!

Chris
Hi,

I will get the maglite out and take a few photos tonight. I may go wild and take pics of all my rocks. The washita are my favorites.......I have gone a bit wild.
 
You got the stone bug bad!

I understand dans stones come flat.and usually ready to go. And further lapping /polishing should go by quickly. And will change the razor feel a little.

They get easier and faster to lap. I have lapped out saw marks....

Blue trans? More pics and with flashlight please

I think you need to add some white/ grey translucent stones to collection. The feedback is different.
I’m personally keeping my eye out for a pink ark.

I haven’t tested the density of my stones but I’m leaning towards the translucent stones as my favorite by a hair.

it is Amazing working on the 10x3!!! Luxury real estate!!

I don’t listen to the ring so much, but more from feedback from the razor.
Hi,

After one day with the 10x3 I have already requested a 10x3 soft ark. It is so much easier to do a knife on the larger stone.

PINK translucent?! I saw one on ebay recently for $1,000! LOL
I now want one of my own. This summer I plan on hitting some flea markets.....

I do have a problem, more stones than knives now.
 
Yes I use the ring test sometimes. Keep in mind that the stones need to be of the same dimensions to do an accurate comparison this way. The ring you're hearing is resonant vibration in the stone, like what a tuning fork does.

Changing dimensions can drastically alter resonant frequency, which changes the sound pitch that you hear. For a given stone, doubling the thickness will make it ring much less and lower in frequency...
 
Yes I use the ring test sometimes. Keep in mind that the stones need to be of the same dimensions to do an accurate comparison this way. The ring you're hearing is resonant vibration in the stone, like what a tuning fork does.

Changing dimensions can drastically alter resonant frequency, which changes the sound pitch that you hear. For a given stone, doubling the thickness will make it ring much less and lower in frequency...
HI,

I read someplace that a buyer from Europe would come to an Arkansas stone dealer with a little hammer to pick stones based on the ring. I am now going to buy a little ball ping hammer!

My thicker 8" rings more than the thinner 10" but it's not as long so I see what you mean about needing to be the same dimensions.

I want to find raw novaculite to cut my own. Any ideas!?


Whit
 
Do you live near any deposits? You can break off small chunks of a big boulder pretty easily with a rotary hammer and some wedges. Alternatively you could ask Dan's for some raw stone, I'm sure they would sell it to you. You're going to need a diamond rock saw though...and a means to flatten the stones from the saw cut onwards. It is tough stuff.
 
Do you live near any deposits? You can break off small chunks of a big boulder pretty easily with a rotary hammer and some wedges. Alternatively you could ask Dan's for some raw stone, I'm sure they would sell it to you. You're going to need a diamond rock saw though...and a means to flatten the stones from the saw cut onwards. It is tough stuff.
HI

I wonder how they flatten stones at Dans? Any idea?
 
Yes, I've seen photos from guys who visited. They have very large lapping tables with sand reservoirs and running water - both are trickled onto the table. The stones are placed on the table and the table is rotated. When the stones are flat they are removed. Weight can be placed on top of the stones to speed the process and so that it can be done unmanned.

You can do the same thing at home with a diamond plate or some loose grit and a flat piece of glass or granite to lap on. But you will be there a while.
 
15 years ago Dans was selling Pink Translucents as seconds for insane prices. I bought a stack of them and resold a bunch on eBay. International buyers were paying twice what Dan's was asking for them. They were insanely cheap as I recall, 6x2x0.5" for like 25-40$ if I recall.

I'd find it pretty funny if that's the stone that's in demand and selling for a crazy premium now.
 

Steve56

Ask me about shaving naked!
It’s insane what whetstones are selling for these days. Not just Arks, which are plentiful, there are literally mountains of it in the Ouachita area of Arkansas. Eschers for >$1,000? An uncommon UK isles stone recently sold for almost $300. Jnats for $5-7k fairly often at Japanese auction? Who’s buying these things? Collectors I assume. I can understand the prices for a large jnat suita, that’s a carpenter’s stone in Japan, and if your contract to restore a temple or tea room requires traditional methods, you pay what you pay and it’s a business expense, like a bandsaw or table saw would be here. But the others?
 
hi

I see Washita prices spiked...one is going for 275$ on etsy. I do love Washita, but my limit on price is now here....
 

David

B&B’s Champion Corn Shucker
Rosy Reds sell for 600-800 at auction, and barber delights are actually down 400-600 from what they have sold for in the past. They will only go higher as we approach tax time.
 

Steve56

Ask me about shaving naked!
I’ve always been leery of the Rosy Reds unless boxed. Do you remember when they used to market red honing oil that was automatic transmission fluid? Everything became rosy red. I’ll sell ya one for $250, lol.
 

David

B&B’s Champion Corn Shucker
I agree Steve, if it doesn’t have a label on it then there’s no way to prove it. They’re actually not even red at all, it’s more of a rusty color.
 
Ringtone from a stone can be affected by many many things. High quality super dense Arks can ring like a bell or very much not.

Speaking on Norton/Pike stones...
Old Super Hard/Dense Arks were much different than what is quarried now. Old translucents were a different breed, I don't think anyone could ever say, objectively/scientifically, which is better though. But the stones were/are different. It's visible to the eye with some magnificaiton, and under a scope it's worlds apart. But I feel it's more of a technical differnence than anything else; side by side those stones take steel to the exact same place. Differences in performance would be due to user skills, steel type, existing edge condition, the stone's surface condition, etc.

Soft Arks from long ago were, for the most part, much more consistent and much better stones overall.
Washita are all but gone now, but the most modern Washita were not at all like those from the early to mid 1900s.

Non Norton/Pike/Smiths/etc Washita from way back can be quite janky and sandy and inconsistent as heck.
Same for the softer Arks and this includes the stones that might be referred to as 'regular hard' now. A lot of the stone sent overseas falls into that category.
Older no-brand or lesser known brands of translucent-class types, regardless of labels, are almost always very good.

At the end of the day, age or vintage might matter, but it might not. As always, it depends on the stone/s in question.
 
Hi,

This weekend I am going to do some lapping. I ordered a sling for arm for the aftermath.

What are the cream translucent stones ?? Do they cut differently?
 

timwcic

"Look what I found"
Hi,

This weekend I am going to do some lapping. I ordered a sling for arm for the aftermath.

What are the cream translucent stones ?? Do they cut differently?

How is you arm after lapping? It can be a workout.
The cream colored stones, do you mean butterscotch, the other translucent. They are a joy to use and can give a incredibly keen edge on a conditioned surface.

A link below to some beautiful stones.

Butterscotch - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/butterscotch.517554/page-4
 
How is you arm after lapping? It can be a workout.
The cream colored stones, do you mean butterscotch, the other translucent. They are a joy to use and can give a incredibly keen edge on a conditioned surface.

A link below to some beautiful stones.

Butterscotch - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/butterscotch.517554/page-4
HI,

Its not that bad, I took a few breaks. And yes my next stone up for the hunt is a butterscotch. The hunt will have to get off ebay and onto the streets@!
 
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