Arkansas sharping stones

[simon1]

This has probably been cussed and discussed here before, but I'm too lazy to search.

Looking for a good set of Arkansas stones for pocket knives and kitchen knives. I have a Japanese water stone for my Japanese chef's and paring knives but it is a combination #1,000 and #6,000 grit.

I'm not going to reset a bevel, but want some stones that will do some very rough edges and finish one up to being able to shave the hair on your arm. Maybe one combination stone and a finishing stone. I have a steel. Used to use one of those for straightening the edge after sharpening when I worked in packing houses.

Any suggestions and on where to buy?

 

[Biglo13]

Natural whetstone has some decent prices. They needed a bit of lapping, for non razor work they will be fine. Which stones are you looking for?

 

[simon1]

Not sure, that's why I asked. Maybe a soft Arkansas, a hard Arkansas, and a hard black Arkansas. Does that sound about right?

Lapping one is no problem, and I send my straights off to Lynn Abrams every several years for sharpening.

That Natural Whetstones site looks good. I may think about getting their Duel Stone Sharpener and see how that works, and then maybe their Black Arkansas, depending on how well the dual one works.

 

[Biglo13]

Personally, only my straight razors see the hard arks, hard black, trans, surgical black. I like some tooth, I don’t like a polished bevel on my working knives.

The soft medium, black set from them looks like great option. Almost full range minus trans/surgical level.

(I believe the medium is also the hard white stone.... it’s the finest but still porous stone.... I know more ark confusion)

 

[Joshua223]

Soft ark or Washita would work well for that. Both are softer and coarser so they will cut faster. You can still get an arm shaving edge of them though. My Dad usually gives his pockets knives a few licks on a soft ark to get it shaving again. Haven't used a medium, but it may do what you need as well.
Hard/Trans arks are great but they are very dense and will not cut as quickly. As they burnish from use they will cut even more slowly and leave a finer finish. I know one gentleman that uses hard arks for razor bevel setting, but he has to occasionally rough up the stone with a diamond plate when it starts to get too smooth.

DansWhetstones.com would have a good selection of Arks. I'm sure any bigger knife website would have Arks available though. Many/most of the arks you see for sale are from Dan's quarry. I know the ones sold by WR Case & Sons are.

 

[simon1]

Thanks guys. Now I know a little more about Arkansas stones. I usually just buy stones at the store and not sure what they are made of. I do know the purpose behind the soft, medium, hard, and fine grits.

I do have a Lansky type set, but they are small and a pain to use on larger knives. The only sized stones I've had, until the water stone, were pocket sized ones or the Lansky system type. The bench stones are much easier to use.

I was thinking about getting a good set of oil stones as when I'm done all I do is wipe off the oil with a paper towel and put them up. The water stone I leave out to dry overnight before I put it back in the cardboard box.

I got to looking up the difference between water stones and oil stones, and from what I see the water stones cut a bit quicker than the oil stones of the same grit, which is a plus.

 

[Joshua223]

You can use arks with oil, water, or dry. How fast the stones cut will depend on the specific stone and how it is used.

 

[simon1]

You can use arks with oil, water, or dry. How fast the stones cut will depend on the specific stone and how it is used.

Yeah, I'm sure a Washita stone will cut quicker than the 1,000 grit on my water stone, but I don't want to get a lot of stones.

This dual stone looks okay, kinda. It doesn't give me much info. except a soft and hard. I'm used to going by grit.

Ah ha! This gave me more of an idea of what I'm looking at.

Are there equivalent grit number rating for Arkansas Stones?
All grit number equivalencies with Arkansas Stones are approximate of course, but the numbers are usually given as: Soft Arkansas 600-800 grit, Hard Arkansas 800-1000 grit, and Hard Black or Hard Translucent Arkansas 1200+ grit.


Dual Stone Sharpener (2 Sizes)

Product ID Product ID
This NEW (one) 1" THICK Novaculite Bench Whetstone Sharpener is made up of (2) TWO 1/2" thick stones fused together. (1) One side is a soft novaculite stone for starting an edge on a dull blade. The other side is hard novaculite for finishing. This two sided sharpening whetstone is Genuine Arkansas Novaculite mined ONLY in the Ouachita Mountain region of Central Arkansas. True Arkansas Novaculite is the finest knife sharpening material in the WORLD! This Dual-Stone sharpener can put a quality edge on any blade. These whetstones come in a BEAUTIFUL Hand Crafted Cedar or Hardwood Box. If you are looking for a SUPER Best Quality Novaculite dual-stone sharpener that will last a LIFETIME, this is it! Makes for a GREAT GIFT!

NWDUAL NWDUAL8
Finished Stone Size
6 X 2 X 1"

Finished Stone Size

8 X 2 X 1"

Sale Price Sale Price
$47.95
$32.95
$62.95
$38.95

 

[Acmemfg]

For around $10.00-$12.00 this little spud does a fine job on knives

 

[Earcutter]

I used 6x2’s Arks for years. If you can afford 8x3’s though, you might find it easier on your bigger kitchen knives. No matter what size you get, 6 or 8, this really is your friend unless palm honing is your thing (fun to do in front of the t.v.).

Arks are awesome, but they have some limitations if you really have some blades that are in bad shape. A soft will get you there, but it’ll take a while. You might want to consider a Norton for $21.00 (8x2) as well. It’s much faster, and you can bring back just about anything back from butterknife status to a slicer ready for a soft Ark.

Norton Combination India Stone

Moving to the soft after the Norton makes for a really good day .

If you are going to use your Black on your straight(s), I recommend Dan’s. But you pay for his stuff. That said, you can get great deals on 6x2’s.

Good luck! Arks are fun.

 

[simon1]

I used 6x2’s Arks for years. If you can afford 8x3’s though, you might find it easier on your bigger kitchen knives. No matter what size you get, 6 or 8, this really is your friend unless palm honing is your thing (fun to do in front of the t.v.).

Arks are awesome, but they have some limitations if you really have some blades that are in bad shape. A soft will get you there, but it’ll take a while. You might want to consider a Norton for $21.00 (8x2) as well. It’s much faster, and you can bring back just about anything back from butterknife status to a slicer ready for a soft Ark.

Norton Combination India Stone

Moving to the soft after the Norton makes for a really good day .

If you are going to use your Black on your straight(s), I recommend Dan’s. But you pay for his stuff. That said, you can get great deals on 6x2’s.

Good luck! Arks are fun.

Thanks. I'm just going to use it on knives that just need regular maintenance, not anything in real bad shape or my straights. I think the soft/hard combo may be what I need. I do have the 6,000 grit water stone if I need that fine of one.

 

[Earcutter]

Thanks. I'm just going to use it on knives that just need regular maintenance, not anything in real bad shape or my straights. I think the soft/hard combo may be what I need. I do have the 6,000 grit water stone if I need that fine of one.

$40.00, plus $10.00 shipping and you’ve got two great stones!

Specials Archives - Dan's Whetstone

Hard: SPECIAL HARD Bench Stone 6 X 2 X 1/2 - Dan's Whetstone

Soft: SPECIAL SOFT Bench Stone 6 X 2 X 1/2 - Dan's Whetstone

Maybe?

 

[David]

Yep, I think those would definitely fit the bill for what the OP is looking for.

 

[simon1]

My combo Ark, soft/hard from Natural Whetstone came in today. It's not marked in any way and I really don't fell much difference in them when I scratch them with a thumbnail. I don't know much about Arks so I'm guessing the whitish one is the soft and the darker grey one is the hard.

 

[juno]

I like Dan's as well. Legit stones,