Arkansas Love...Let's see those Arks!

[cotedupy]

The steaming tip was great! Got the label off, no problem.

Then I put a straight edge on the stone, and it's warped. I'm partway through the flattening, on 80 grit sandpaper sprinkled with 60 grit SiC. It's some work, but the reward beckons.

Ah good to hear! Yeah - I do it on pretty much every labelled stone, and usually keep them in little baggies so I can use stuff with worrying. You can do it with even quite delicate labels, but yours there was in such good condition that I was pretty confident it'd steam off with no trouble at all.

Looks like it'll be an absolute gem once fully flat .

 

[David]

I’ve been wanting one of these Norton Hard ark contour stones for a long time but they rarely come up and usually go for stupid money when they do. The sellers flash wasn't working so I couldn't tell if it was a Hard or an India but I took a chance and it paid off. It's a nice little black hard ark and came with a sweet little green label trans.

 

[Empire straights]

Green label norton hard Arks are amazing.

 

[WenC]

I'm new. Is there a list of names like Norton we should look out for and some to avoid? I'm planning to go to the flea market later next week.

 

[Legion]

I'm new. Is there a list of names like Norton we should look out for and some to avoid? I'm planning to go to the flea market later next week.

Norton/pike were the big ones. But there have been many companies selling Arks over the years. Really it is a matter of evaluating the individual stone, more than the brand. Chances are, in a flea market most of the stones you find will be without their original box.

Also, many stones are caked in decades of old oil and swarf, which adds another degree of difficulty…

The first step is to learn to tell a natural stone from a man made one. Then take gambles on the natural ones. That’s how I’ve ended up with my best scores.

 

[cotedupy]

I’ve been wanting one of these Norton Hard ark contour stones for a long time but they rarely come up and usually go for stupid money when they do. The sellers flash wasn't working so I couldn't tell if it was a Hard or an India but I took a chance and it paid off. It's a nice little black hard ark and came with a sweet little green label trans. View attachment 1481857View attachment 1481858

Huh interesting!

A few months ago a guy on KKF found a couple of Norton military issue versions of these which he's had for a while. I'll tell him to keep good care of 'em...

 

[David]

Huh interesting!

A few months ago a guy on KKF found a couple of Norton military issue versions of these which he's had for a while. I'll tell him to keep good care of 'em...


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That's awesome. I live in a habitual state of stone envy.

 

[Singing in the brain]

Did some non-razor stuff on a thrashed thumbnail gouge and a sheepsfoot. I wasnt paying enough attention while working on the gouges inside so when i thaught everying was good i discovered that it had some pretty awful like, ridges from previous attempts at polishing(not me ) So The plan now is to make a decent midrange slip that fits the inside and so it all over again. Yay!

 

[timwcic]

Have not been hunting much this summer but did get lucky and snag a Ark. A vintage Smiths 8” Hard Ark with a Milky Way, Starscape appearance to the surface. SWMBO called it a calico stone. Came in original box with a paper insert explaining Arks

 

[cotedupy]

I can't remember winning or paying for this little 4x2 translucent slip (I assume Norton given it was in the UK), which probably means it cost about tuppence ha'penny:

Thought it's gone onto my list of favourite hones I've picked up, because of this:

I imagine you can buy this kind of thing on the internet, or make it yourself if you're a woodworking whizz, but I didn't have one until now. The inside of that box is constructed to hold the stone in place and flat, to use the surface as a normal whetstone. And given that 4x2 slips were made from all sorts of stones, and usually sell quite considerably cheaper than the same size benchstone, I now have a whole new world of things to consider buying. (In fact I already have a Norton Soft Ark slip that I don't really use, but will now be able to.)

 

[cotedupy]

Also - both sides of that slip stone above were concave along the length of the stone, i.e. like a hollow ground razor, or being dished but the other way. Which is slightly strange, and not something I've seen on a stone before. Does anyone know if this is intentional...?

 

[Eugen91]

Hello everybody. I have an offer to buy this new soft/black combo stone from Dan's Whetcompany. Please tell me if this black side of the stone is normal? it has some light colored diagonal stripes on it and I don't know if I should buy it

hope for your advice. I am buying an Arkansas stone for the first time

 

[H Brad Boonshaft]

“I have an offer to buy this new soft/black combo stone from Dan's Whetcompany. Please tell me if this black side of the stone is normal? it has some light colored diagonal stripes on it and I don't know if I should buy it”

Are you looking for a finisher? If so, probably not, unless you contact the vendor and tell them what you are looking to the stone to do and if this stone will do so, finish. I would be concerned that they call it a soft black, if it is soft, it will not finish like a hard black.

I have the stone below that is an old hard black ark, really more of a hard grey stone that was probably a layer between the Black and Trans lucent.

It has hard black splotches and white streaks that look like cracks. The stone is perfectly smooth with no surface detection between color changes.

This stone is a hard ark finisher.

Back in the day, there was not all these marketing terms to describe Arks and other stones. So, you really need to get modern vendors to tell you how they rate their stone performance.

 

[Eugen91]

this stone has two sides - one is soft and it's nice and the other is black and the only thing that bothers me is the white light streaks in the black side, the private seller says it's a new Dan's stone and that it's smooth on all sides and the white streaks are not can be felt with a fingernail

your stone is so black and beautiful

 

[Empire straights]

I can't remember winning or paying for this little 4x2 translucent slip (I assume Norton given it was in the UK), which probably means it cost about tuppence ha'penny:

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Thought it's gone onto my list of favourite hones I've picked up, because of this:

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I imagine you can buy this kind of thing on the internet, or make it yourself if you're a woodworking whizz, but I didn't have one until now. The inside of that box is constructed to hold the stone in place and flat, to use the surface as a normal whetstone. And given that 4x2 slips were made from all sorts of stones, and usually sell quite considerably cheaper than the same size benchstone, I now have a whole new world of things to consider buying. (In fact I already have a Norton Soft Ark slip that I don't really use, but will now be able to.)

View attachment 1496998


View attachment 1497001

I plan to make a couple of these, one in 4" and 5". My norton translucent slip stone is the finest example I've ever seen of translucency arks. I've got a 3" wedge pike stone that is relegated to rifle duty so I don't know about it for blades but it's also very nice, I'd imagine faster because it's slightly more porous.

 

[SliceOfLife]

Not sure when the changeover happened (anyone know?)... but I'd guess late 70's/80's. When hardware/sporting good stores started marketing arks. Prior to that when there was Norton and a few other players... Hard Ark meant it was Translucent or VERY rarely Surgical black or a really pure hard white.

Nowadays Hard ark = in between stone that didn't really get used in the past... and SB and Trans are sold as SB or Trans. (with Dan's labeling mixed colored Translucents as "true hard" as a call back to the fact that "Hard" arks aren't what they used to be.

 

[Bowmaker]

Hello everybody. I have an offer to buy this new soft/black combo stone from Dan's Whetcompany. Please tell me if this black side of the stone is normal? it has some light colored diagonal stripes on it and I don't know if I should buy it
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hope for your advice. I am buying an Arkansas stone for the first time

If it says "Black Arkansas" and it's a Dan's I wouldn't worry about the quality of the stone.

It looks the part and also unused. Is it a second?

 

[H Brad Boonshaft]

I have honed on slips for years, I have bought slips at flea markets for a couple bucks. They are a great value and more than enough to finish a razor.

I hone on a rubber steelex stone holder with a diamond plate to act as a base, a strip of rubber drawer liner between the diamond plate and stone and a thin strip yoga mat on the thin side to act as a shim and level the stone. Thin yoga matts cut in strips between stones are great for storage.

It is rock solid and holds the stone well and don’t need to worry about water on a wood box. I use water and Smith’s or Ballistol on finish Arks and Windex for Washita’s.

I do like the box for protecting the slips though,

 

[cotedupy]

I have honed on slips for years, I have bought slips at flea markets for a couple bucks. They are a great value and more than enough to finish a razor.

I hone on a rubber steelex stone holder with a diamond plate to act as a base, a strip of rubber drawer liner between the diamond plate and stone and a thin strip yoga mat on the thin side to act as a shim and level the stone. Thin yoga matts cut in strips between stones are great for storage.

It is rock solid and holds the stone well and don’t need to worry about water on a wood box. I use water and Smith’s or Ballistol on finish Arks and Windex for Washita’s.

I do like the box for protecting the slips though,

Ah I think I remember you mentioning the yoga mats before, I'll have to pick one up - sounds useful. That kind of arrangement (using some kind of rubber or foam strip underneath) is certainly how I've used slips before. Or a couple I've just epoxied onto a wood block with some chippings underneath, because for razors I tend to hone in hand, so I think this new box thing is going to be ideal .

 

[Eugen91]

It looks the part and also unused. Is it a second?

yes it is new and never been used