My inner cheapskate keeps me buying little 4” vintage translucents. I don’t even know why I keep buying them, the norton quality control was good enough that once you own 3 or so you own them all.
Arkansas Love...Let's see those Arks!
- Thread starter David
- Start date
5 minutes to go, I threw my max at it, about $375. Figured there was a 10-20% chance I win. Checked about ten minutes after it ended and wasn't too surprised by what it went for. Vintage arks over 2" wide are crazy rare. 4" wide? I've seen ONE before.
I think that big translucent started out with a min bid of sixty something or a buy it now that I think was $275. It didn't take long for the bidding to start.
kelbro
Alfred Spatchcock
Someone needed to post a Washita that isn't a Washita.
It wears uneven and some of the color changes do indeed coincide with hard and soft spots in the stone and it translates in the feed back. It is a fast stone though.
Why do you think that's not a Washita? They sold them in many different colors patterns for years.
Smiths sold soft Arks that looked remarkably like their Washita's and all of Smiths Washitas are in a similar color pattern. It's a very hard stone to judge because of the different textures and colors that are going on.
Like I said though, I could be wrong about them. Do you have them?
kelbro
Alfred Spatchcock
Yes, I've had a few. Woodcraft also sold those with their brand on them. They are fast cutters.
I was wondering who supplied Woodcraft. I have one of their hard soft combination stones. The soft one is grey and black consistent across its surface, a good stone. The hard one though is the worst ark I have ever known. The top end of it will wreck an edge, possible what they call sand pockets, it's rough.
I think Pinnacle , but not sure.
A quick google search showed references to Preyda and Pinnacle. I am not familiar with either company.
Here is the hard side of of my Woodcraft stone that is bad. The seam on the left lower is not an issue, the light spot in the center is a texture change(hate that in a fine stone) and the right upped 1/4 pure trash. The stone should have been crushed and used under someones drive way.
I think Pinnacle is out of business, the rh preyda took over halls. Seen a few complaints on the woodcraft stones in my recent research.A quick google search showed references to Preyda and Pinnacle. I am not familiar with either company.
Here is the hard side of of my Woodcraft stone that is bad. The seam on the left lower is not an issue, the light spot in the center is a texture change(hate that in a fine stone) and the right upped 1/4 pure trash. The stone should have been crushed and used under someones drive way.
kelbro
Alfred Spatchcock
Woodcraft may have sourced them from someone other than Smith's and just used a similar box. Never heard a complaint on Smith's and all of mine were choice stones.
Chan Eil Whiskers
Fumbling about.
Interesting stuff. My Norton Pike Washita isn't a visual match for this one. They're not really terribly close looking, but in a way mine looks very similar.
All of these photos are before mine was soaked in Simple Green and otherwise "restored." I don't have a post restoration photo. Still, I think the stone posted looks enough like mine that I'd think from looking at them they'd both perform very much in a similar fashion.
My Washita works very well for me.
Happy shaves,
Jim
It's nothing like a washita Chan. Well it is novaculite but that is about it.
That is a good looking stone you have there. You have a maker, is the hard on the other side nice?
That is a good looking stone you have there. You have a maker, is the hard on the other side nice?
It's a washita + Soft I think, not hard.
- Thread starter
- #275
It’s just a Washita. The line you guys are seeing is where it’s been in a box.
Chan Eil Whiskers
Fumbling about.
Thanks.
I don't know what a maker is?
The stone I have was, I think, used in a way where the bottom of the stone was always in the box, so only the top surface was a honing surface. I'm not 100% on that but I'm pretty sure.
Anyway, I determined to use both sides. I lapped coarsely with SIC on marble. One side was lapped with only one grit (maybe 300 but I've forgotten). The other side, maybe 300 and 600 grits. I've forgotten which side is which but both seem to work just fine.
Exactly so.
When I first inquired about this stone and the line and was told the line was from the box and the oil I was very skeptical. I thought it was a two layered stone. Simple Green proved the line was an artifact. There's no line now. Plus, I've used both sides.
Happy shaves,
Jim
I am still waiting for a translucent to come my way, might never happen.
That soft ark does look like the stones that came with a Smith's tri hone I picked one up at a yard sale earlier this year. I wouldn't be at all surprised if yours wasn't tagged as the hard stone. The hard on the set a got seems to be right in line with a Dan's soft. The small white stone above it is a vintage Smith's hard that is much harder.
I am going to run some specific gravity's on some of these but I am pretty limited in sample size.
That's the hard in the middle? Yeah, looks like the same stone.
What was sold as a soft a few decades ago is called a hard these days.
The smaller stone you've got on top looks like a semi-translucent #1 Washita to me.
What was sold as a soft a few decades ago is called a hard these days.
The smaller stone you've got on top looks like a semi-translucent #1 Washita to me.
