Nice scoreThis came in the mail today, norton hard arkansas 5" x 1 ⁷/⁸"slip stone. Don't see black ones too often and I've never seen one that size. Anybody know the period for the label? The box and label look older than my other one. Finished a razor on it after a really old coticule > llyn idwal. I would've just finished with the LI normally because it gives amazing edges but I wanted to see if it would improve on that amazing edge. It did. My LI is more glassy than my Dan's blacks and feels more dense. It's extremely fine, maybe the finest finisher I've got and I've got a decent variety of finishers.i don't know if the ark made the edge finer but it was more aggressive. I have not shaved with it.
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Arkansas Love...Let's see those Arks!
- Thread starter David
- Start date
Nice score
It had swarf thick on the bottom once I cleaned/flushed it with oil but it looks like the stone has 0 wear on it so I'm guessing it was only used with razors or other delicate instruments.
It’s not everyday that someone gives you a free tranny but that’s exactly what happened today. There’s a mad man in Australia that’s giving away Dan’s pocket hones. I don’t need more stone and I wouldn’t normally go for 4x1” but some deals are too good to pass up.
The stones is a light grey and very translucent. SP measurements are iffy at this size but I make it 64g and 25ml so roughly 2.6 SP. There’s a fissure on the back that looks like it wants to flack off and second but is feels smooth and stable.
The factory edge has teeth and it did a number bringing my little pen knife back to life. Not sure what I’ll do with it yet but I’m sure it will come in handy.
The stones is a light grey and very translucent. SP measurements are iffy at this size but I make it 64g and 25ml so roughly 2.6 SP. There’s a fissure on the back that looks like it wants to flack off and second but is feels smooth and stable.
The factory edge has teeth and it did a number bringing my little pen knife back to life. Not sure what I’ll do with it yet but I’m sure it will come in handy.
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let me in on that action!
All the trans I've got from dans all have serious teeth
Bwahahaha wrong trans……..
That's not a knife!
New washita. I love these dang rocks. I hope one day I'll find something I like better. I'll be in the poor house but I'll be so happy! I'll build a washita igloo and defend my rock pile til the bitter end if I must.
At least you will have sharp axes, knives and razors to defend yourself!
My problem is finding something dull enough to sharpen. The blades I use around here are all pretty sharp. I got to incest in new blades or build a forge(both of which I intend to do). If I have to defend myself I think I'll use lead rather than steel if the choice is up to me! I'm getting a little older and a life sentence of hard l labor hasn't been kind to my body.
I've just steamed the label off this rather cute HB24 so I can keep one side burnished for razors, and the other rough.
Any tips for burnishing the surface? I do not have sic powder. I do have; a lot of SiC, AlOx, BH, and Japanese waterstones at varying grits, sandpaper ditto, worn 140 & 400 Atoma, chisels, and a load of natural stones of many different stripes...
Any tips for burnishing the surface? I do not have sic powder. I do have; a lot of SiC, AlOx, BH, and Japanese waterstones at varying grits, sandpaper ditto, worn 140 & 400 Atoma, chisels, and a load of natural stones of many different stripes...
Nice. Those old Norton’s are the best you can get.
For razors 600-1000 grit WD is a nice level for finishing. I generally go the happy medium at 800 grit. From there the key is to put plenty of steel over the surface before putting a razor to it. This burnishing process acts to smooth the surface and knock off any high points that might otherwise scratch the razor. A chisel is ideal for this but a big knife works too. I know you have plenty of those. A second ark also does a good job.
There is no need to overdue the burnishing. Some people go crazy until the surface is mirror reflective. At this stage the stone doesn’t do much cutting anymore and people complain about how slow the stone is. Arks really are a blank canvas. You can make them do what you want them too much more than any other stone.
Loose SIC is really only required for heavy flattening. For this it is very useful. Arks will eat sandpaper and diamond plates very quickly. The diamond plate will work really well (for a while) but I’d recommend against it. After some light flattening work on one stone my 400 Atoma ended up mellower than my 1200! Silicon Carbide sandpaper on a surface plate is the way to go. I normally burn through about 20 sheets to finish a stone both sides after getting it close on SIC powder. You’ll get a few minutes per sheet. I’ve been meaning to try Aluminum Oxide lapping film but haven’t done that yet.
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Try to use a fine India dry to buff it some and see if that helps.
Cheers hombre. Yeah I've I've noticed how novaculites laugh at a diamond plate, so thought I'd better ask!
And what an interesting experience... I took it to 1k WnD, then ran a chisel over it for a while. By the time I was done it basically wasn't abrading; I checked it with a knife at high pressure after and it simply doesn't cut. I may have overdone it.
In for a penny, in for a pound though. I did some work on the tip of this razor on a Shobu, and then went to work on the Ark:
And yes; it redefines 'slow', effectively just very high-end edge refinement. But that's kinda what I wanted by burnishing one side, and feck me is it good at it. Even thought the Shobu wouldn't be a razor finishing stone, this was remarkable levels of sharp, and a very good shave.
Though not quite as smooth as I've had off a finer jnat. It'll be interesting to see if the ark will improve an edge off my Asagi. I suspect it probably will.
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I was btw using water, whereas normally on arks I'd use oil as it tends to make them a lot quicker. What do people prefer for razors...?
220 SiC stone will bring it back with a flash. Don't burnish it if you want it fine take it to 600 and stop. That's what Dan's does and it's the perfect amount.
Oil is the traditional choice with arks. I tend to prefer shaving soap and water though. It seems smoother to me.
Ta! I shall experiment next time. Cheers for the advice - it went rather well, and basically exactly what I was going for - a two-sided translucent (perfect for travel too
)My first translucent black came today. I have no experience with this type of stone. They called it an combination hone, because each side is threated differently. It was dead flat. There is one smooth side and one a little rougher. I have only tested it on knifes. I really like the feedback. I will need to test it on a few razors.
I am not sure what they mean by original arkensas, what else is there?
I am not sure what they mean by original arkensas, what else is there?
