A black ark can be a lot softer and a lot less dense than a true translucent. The term - Black Ark - in and of itself, does not equal surgical black, which was allegedly given to the denser blacks that were on par, performance wise, with real translucents. Some say they surpassed the performance of Translucent Arks but we have to remember that those opinions were often coming from woodworkers, not barbers.
Also, there are semi-translucent stones, they straddle the hard and true-hard zone. Will I put a Surgical Black Ark, or a Translucent, after a hard black ark in a progression? Sure - but I'm talking about me using my stones. Someone else will have different stones, different expectations, and a different skill set too. So, I can't say what will or will not be a worthwhile move for someone else. I look online and I see so called 'Surgical Black Arks' that I wouldn't even bother lapping. And when I look for Translucents I see a bunch that are quasi/semi trans and not in 'that' league. Then, to flip the apple cart, there's this black/white quasi trans Ark that I have that's wickedly amazing.. so there's that.
Halls is now RH Preyda, the stones are not the same as they used to be. Their Surgical Black is not what they used to sell - I have to suppose that they are no longer sourcing from that one vein in the old Fancy Hill quarry. Dan's Surgical black is a very nice stone and my jury is still out on where it sits with other stones I have been working with. I do not put it on par with my old SB Ark, or my Halls SB Ark. It just doesn't have the look or luster that I expect from 'that' class of rock. It's a good stone but my Dan's Trans is, for me, a better finisher and seemingly 'finer'. Jury is still out though, testing takes time and there's other stuff to do.
The term "Surgical Black" isn't finite, it means different things to different people/vendors/sellers/users/owners. And, I think it's been seriously diluted at this point. Dan's used to only call them ultrafine, I think retailers tag them a 'Surgical'. I am not sure who is using what term now though.
Actual Ark slurry kills razor edges, studying the crystalline structure shows why... yet there are old timers that claim the ability to get some juice out of old Surgical Black Arks, and they favored those stones and that sharpening style for certain tools. I would like to see that happen actually. Those same guys seem to dislike Translucents..so go figure. Horses for courses.
Also, there are semi-translucent stones, they straddle the hard and true-hard zone. Will I put a Surgical Black Ark, or a Translucent, after a hard black ark in a progression? Sure - but I'm talking about me using my stones. Someone else will have different stones, different expectations, and a different skill set too. So, I can't say what will or will not be a worthwhile move for someone else. I look online and I see so called 'Surgical Black Arks' that I wouldn't even bother lapping. And when I look for Translucents I see a bunch that are quasi/semi trans and not in 'that' league. Then, to flip the apple cart, there's this black/white quasi trans Ark that I have that's wickedly amazing.. so there's that.
Halls is now RH Preyda, the stones are not the same as they used to be. Their Surgical Black is not what they used to sell - I have to suppose that they are no longer sourcing from that one vein in the old Fancy Hill quarry. Dan's Surgical black is a very nice stone and my jury is still out on where it sits with other stones I have been working with. I do not put it on par with my old SB Ark, or my Halls SB Ark. It just doesn't have the look or luster that I expect from 'that' class of rock. It's a good stone but my Dan's Trans is, for me, a better finisher and seemingly 'finer'. Jury is still out though, testing takes time and there's other stuff to do.
The term "Surgical Black" isn't finite, it means different things to different people/vendors/sellers/users/owners. And, I think it's been seriously diluted at this point. Dan's used to only call them ultrafine, I think retailers tag them a 'Surgical'. I am not sure who is using what term now though.
Actual Ark slurry kills razor edges, studying the crystalline structure shows why... yet there are old timers that claim the ability to get some juice out of old Surgical Black Arks, and they favored those stones and that sharpening style for certain tools. I would like to see that happen actually. Those same guys seem to dislike Translucents..so go figure. Horses for courses.