I always thought Arks would be too coarse for razors. They’re not?
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What hones are trending in 2018?
- Thread starter David
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- #42
Washita or vintage soft arkansas stones would be too coarse to finish a razor with, but a translucent or black hard arkansas are capable of producing insanely sharp edges.
The blacks or translucents produce edges that are not only incredibly sharp, but - I dunno quite how to express it - they don't just feel smooth, they "feel safe".
They're very sharp, but I don't feel like I'll cut myself or exfoliate too deep and end up with raw skin.
They don’t equate to grit. They classify by density. How would a black compare to a 12000 grit Naniwa?
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IMO they are very different in the way they work. At the finishing level compare burnishing to polishing.
Disclaimer; I'm not a fan of Arkansas type stones for razors.
The results are fine, but IMO the time it takes to get those results are just not worth it. I'm also not a fan of stones that depend so much on preparation of the honing surface to get the results that you want. It's as if the stone is just a medium for the surface prep that the user puts on it.
These are just my opinions and I'm sure that there are many people that like the stones for the very same reasons that I dislike them. On the other hand I always use Washita stones in my knife sharpening sometimes as a prefinisher and sometimes as the final stone depending on how I use the knife.
I always used Lansky sharpeners on knives, because I didn’t want to worry about the bevel. That’s why I’m a little uneducated as to Arks.
Since razor spines set the bevel, I find stones easier. I don’t want to belabor the process. Next up is lapping film and paper on an acrylic block.
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Be sure to check out Tomonagura. com for Gamma's comments on Arkies. As a fairly new straight honer and shaver, I've been using Arks to finish and have been very lucky as far as cuts or irritation. Yes, a real bear to lap flat but they stay flat after lapping pretty much indefinitely. The only maintenance required after that is a periodic freshening of the surface.
I don't subscribe to the common wisdom of "burnishing" the stone to a high polish. Instead I lap to a high polish and then work the surface with 7 micron diamond paste on a flat surface to give it some teeth. At that level the Ark will finish nicely and faster than say "burnishing" it with steel. I have experimented with taking the Ark to a higher grits also with mixed results. I do have some stones lapped to 3 microns and I really can't say they push an edge enough to justify the time involved. I have had success at 3 microns with chip carving knives and feel the 3 micron stone may have pushed that edge by 5 to 10 percent over the 7 micron lapped stone. Yes, I have shelf queens lapped to .5 microns just to show off to my friends but mostly useless for sharpening. I use WD 40 on my stones and have found I can barely keep a film of lube on the stone at 3 microns which seems to affect feel if not results. And yes, I do lap one side to 7 microns and the other to 3 microns.
Being a tool maker by trade I'm fairly spoiled by being able to lay my hands on flat plates of hardened tool steel and surface plates to lap on and the ability to refinish them as needed. I have a white cast iron surface plate that I flattened 9 stones on and only put a .002" dip in the middle before I resurfaced it. This is while using diamond paste, pressure and a fair amount of profanity.
Arkansas stones are like cats, you don't own them...they own you!
I don't subscribe to the common wisdom of "burnishing" the stone to a high polish. Instead I lap to a high polish and then work the surface with 7 micron diamond paste on a flat surface to give it some teeth. At that level the Ark will finish nicely and faster than say "burnishing" it with steel. I have experimented with taking the Ark to a higher grits also with mixed results. I do have some stones lapped to 3 microns and I really can't say they push an edge enough to justify the time involved. I have had success at 3 microns with chip carving knives and feel the 3 micron stone may have pushed that edge by 5 to 10 percent over the 7 micron lapped stone. Yes, I have shelf queens lapped to .5 microns just to show off to my friends but mostly useless for sharpening. I use WD 40 on my stones and have found I can barely keep a film of lube on the stone at 3 microns which seems to affect feel if not results. And yes, I do lap one side to 7 microns and the other to 3 microns.
Being a tool maker by trade I'm fairly spoiled by being able to lay my hands on flat plates of hardened tool steel and surface plates to lap on and the ability to refinish them as needed. I have a white cast iron surface plate that I flattened 9 stones on and only put a .002" dip in the middle before I resurfaced it. This is while using diamond paste, pressure and a fair amount of profanity.
Arkansas stones are like cats, you don't own them...they own you!
I surface my blacks to 600 grit wet n dry max, more often 400 grit, and my trans to maybe 800.
They work best for me like that.
They work best for me like that.
Up to 1200, then a Turkish honne until is polished like glass, and finished with lots of steel.
Not even slow at that level of refinement. Hard to believe, but It was slower before the polishing. I could see that the non polished areas where lower and scratched the steel. Once fully to max grit, the usefull contact area is more important, and the end result smoother.
Technic seems to play a great role too.
Not even slow at that level of refinement. Hard to believe, but It was slower before the polishing. I could see that the non polished areas where lower and scratched the steel. Once fully to max grit, the usefull contact area is more important, and the end result smoother.
Technic seems to play a great role too.
I gotta vote Coticule.
