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Lapping an Arkansas in excruciating detail

Does the SIC smell?
No, but with the finer powders, the friction makes the Ark smell a bit brim-stoney. I've heard another guy say his jasper smells similar when honing.
The 6x2’s are bad enough. The big 8x3’s are a bear to lap.
This is a big take-home for talking about speed being related to pressure being related to area. You lose a lot of pressure really quickly as the surface area increases. You've essentially doubled your lapping time, all other things being equal, and it's often harder to get full strokes with a large stone like that, so I think it slows you down even further.
 
No, but with the finer powders, the friction makes the Ark smell a bit brim-stoney. I've heard another guy say his jasper smells similar when honing.

This is a big take-home for talking about speed being related to pressure being related to area. You lose a lot of pressure really quickly as the surface area increases. You've essentially doubled your lapping time, all other things being equal, and it's often harder to get full strokes with a large stone like that, so I think it slows you down even further.
For sure. The lapping time goes up in orders of magnitude on the big rocks. I don’t know if I have it in me to do another 8x3 let alone a 10”.
 
Those really worn diamond plates work awesome for buffing and conditioning a real hard stone like an ark. They're really good for refreshing the surface of washitas to "wake them up" too. I use really cheap ones of ebay because I abuse them badly on many different things but I've yet to need to throw one out. Even after many novaculites, still mainly use the same plate. The back is 400# and not nearly as worn out so it flattens softer stones pretty quick.
Do you mean these cheap diamond plates? 400,600,1000,1200. Cheaper then wd paper.
There is a wood shop called penn state industries not too far from me the sells double sided 400 diamond plates, about 5x2.5x.25 in a nice wooden box. I have 3 of them and can't find i single one right now.... pretty sure they where less then $10 last time i bought one.
 

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The 6x2’s are bad enough. The big 8x3’s are a bear to lap.
That is the hell of buying a brand new stone: Can i hone on a 4x2? Sure but some more room would be nice. 6x2? Now we are getting better but 8x3 would be really nice. At that point why not get a 10x3? Then the reality of having to lap the stone sets in and the 6x2 starts looking better and better.
That insanity right there is the reason i have not pulled the trigger on getting a new surgical black for 6 months....
 
That is the hell of buying a brand new stone: Can i hone on a 4x2? Sure but some more room would be nice. 6x2? Now we are getting better but 8x3 would be really nice. At that point why not get a 10x3? Then the reality of having to lap the stone sets in and the 6x2 starts looking better and better.
That insanity right there is the reason i have not pulled the trigger on getting a new surgical black for 6 months....
A lifetime of beautiful edges is worth an afternoon’s work. It’s slow going but you get there eventually.

Arks can be slow cutters so you will always appreciate the extra runway. Personally I consider 6” to be the minimum for razors but I’ve been tempted by a few 5 inchers. 7” is better and 8” is better still. I’m not sure that I would get much benefit from anything longer than that.
 
A lifetime of beautiful edges is worth an afternoon’s work. It’s slow going but you get there eventually.

Arks can be slow cutters so you will always appreciate the extra runway. Personally I consider 6” to be the minimum for razors but I’ve been tempted by a few 5 inchers. 7” is better and 8” is better still. I’m not sure that I would get much benefit from anything longer than that.
That is a consideration. Again OCD...😁. Hoping to find a vintage stone so i do not have a choice in the size.
 
I haven't either, had to convince myself it was what I thought it was. But after 20 years of use, it's the only stone in the set that's dead flat. I don't think it can be anything else.
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I haven't either, had to convince myself it was what I thought it was. But after 20 years of use, it's the only stone in the set that's dead flat. I don't think it can be anything else.
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Yep. Looks like it's got a decent amount of translucency, at least for a black ark. I've never gotten anything that norton made, regardless of era, that wasn't great. The only synths I really use are old Norton india stones. A few cheap SiC stones here and there but...
 
The labelled Norton Black I have seems to turn razors in to lightsabers, I'm really happy with it. Lucky hardware store find. Made a nice little box for it out of Brazilian redwood (gave it a Brazilian) - that wood is hard, and scary to control on a router.
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My norton translucent it about equal to my black from dans. My black norton is special and very fine and shows a difference in 20 laps.
 
The labelled Norton Black I have seems to turn razors in to lightsabers, I'm really happy with it. Lucky hardware store find. Made a nice little box for it out of Brazilian redwood (gave it a Brazilian) - that wood is hard, and scary to control on a router.
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My only luck finds have been hindos on the bay. I am in the Philadelphia suburbs so you would think, between population density and age of the community, there would be a plethora of vintage stones knocking about. But no such luck. Most of our second have stores are clothing and furniture. The handful of "antique" are so overpriced it is ridiculous. Found a truly jacked up wade and butcher in one with a tag that said $400....
Probably should stop "looking" then maybe i will stumble upon something good.
Sorry about the rant, not getting much sleep 😁
 
My only luck finds have been hindos on the bay. I am in the Philadelphia suburbs so you would think, between population density and age of the community, there would be a plethora of vintage stones knocking about. But no such luck. Most of our second have stores are clothing and furniture. The handful of "antique" are so overpriced it is ridiculous. Found a truly jacked up wade and butcher in one with a tag that said $400....
Probably should stop "looking" then maybe i will stumble upon something good.
Sorry about the rant, not getting much sleep 😁

Just a bit ago there was a guy in Philly that ran across a hoard of Old Rock brand Coticules among a few others. They came from an old barbers supply co. He sold them on the bay
 
My norton translucent it about equal to my black from dans. My black norton is special and very fine and shows a difference in 20 laps.
Same here - the translucent is good, the Norton black is great. The Dan's black hasn't seen a ton of use, but it's also nothing to sneeze at.
 
My only luck finds have been hindos on the bay. I am in the Philadelphia suburbs so you would think, between population density and age of the community, there would be a plethora of vintage stones knocking about. But no such luck. Most of our second have stores are clothing and furniture. The handful of "antique" are so overpriced it is ridiculous. Found a truly jacked up wade and butcher in one with a tag that said $400....
Probably should stop "looking" then maybe i will stumble upon something good.
Sorry about the rant, not getting much sleep 😁
It seems like English and Australian tool auctions or resellers are the way to go. I'm trying very hard not to hoard, but it's a challenge. I'll probably let a couple go pretty soon.
 
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