Dan's true hard or black Arkansas

[Wid]

While not a Novaculite the Jon Coe Dota Creek is perfect as a pre-fisher to a fine slate hone. This stone are native to Arkansas too. I’ve used it in this exact manner and it works quite well

 

[APBinNCA]

I'm not sure I understand your first question, are you intending to use it as a pre-finisher? If so I'll let someone else answer because I've only ever used my trans ark as a final finisher.

As far as size, the thicker stone is nice if you're honing in hand, although it's heavier, or on a bench with no holder. Doesn't matter so much if you use a holder. You're not going to burn through a harder Ark in your lifetime regardless. As far as width vs. length it's really personal preference. I do fairly short x strokes to finish so I don't mind using a stone that's both shorter and narrower. Mine is 8x2x1.

Thanks for taking a crack at my madness, I screaming from inside a rabbit hole. Yeah, I had the crazy idea to use an Ark as a pre-finisher because I know they are hard to learn and because it, slowly, will pick up from a 4k to finish from what I have read. I thought it might be a fun way to learn, versus a more predictable synth. What fun is that!

 

[APBinNCA]

While not a Novaculite the Jon Coe Dota Creek is perfect as a pre-fisher to a fine slate hone. This stone are native to Arkansas too. I’ve used it in this exact manner and it works quite well

OOOh, that's the answer! I am not completely crazy, thank you. Let's see how much that is going to be...

 

[Wid]

OOOh, that's the answer! I am not completely crazy, thank you. Let's see how much that is going to be...

He also has a Bethesda Black that is rated about 3k. So going from 4K to the Dota Creek will work great

 

[APBinNCA]

He also has a Bethesda Black that is rated about 3k. So going from 4K to the Dota Creek will work great

You are really be helpful, but this brings up more questions. If I get Bethesda Black and Dota Creek, what else do I need? Should I get a soft Ark to set bevels, which I am not planning to learn yet? Could I use the Bethesda Black for mild edge repair maybe? I know from microscope images that from 4k up you aren't really changing the bevel, just refining it if I understand correctly.?

Darn, a quick search shows his business is only using TraceBook. I guess I have to get the yellow pages out and actually call him?

 

[Wid]

You are really be helpful, but this brings up more questions. If I get Bethesda Black and Dota Creek, what else do I need? Should I get a soft Ark to set bevels, which I am not planning to learn yet? Could I use the Bethesda Black for mild edge repair maybe? I know from microscope images that from 4k up you aren't really changing the bevel, just refining it if I understand correctly.?

You could do minor edge work. I have re-set a dulled edge with the Bethesda black. At 3 to 4K you are still removing steel albeit fairly slow.