New Black Ark, now what

[duke762]

Don’t do it. It’s a waste of time at best.

The only time I think slurry of any kind would be useful Arks is during bevel setting. I have a soft that I hate and abuse, but a little slurry from a fine India makes it usable enough for heavy grinding on lawn tools. Tried Coticule slurry on a run in Washita that was slowing down. It was almost 1+1=2.2 . Faster than a Washita alone, or a slurried Coticule, with fast, Coticule appearing bevels. I then do the best I can on a clean Coticule and finish on Black or Trans. Happiness in the mid range of the Ark family has been elusive for me so far. I believe it's more a matter of me learning the softer stones ways than the stones themselves. Best luck so far in mid range has been a Dan's regular hard. YMMV I'm a total Arkaholic and my judgement my be wonky.

 

[SliceOfLife]

I think a coticule slurry would be a nice way to clean off a washita that was abused.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

The only time I think slurry of any kind would be useful Arks is during bevel setting. I have a soft that I hate and abuse, but a little slurry from a fine India makes it usable enough for heavy grinding on lawn tools. Tried Coticule slurry on a run in Washita that was slowing down. It was almost 1+1=2.2 . Faster than a Washita alone, or a slurried Coticule, with fast, Coticule appearing bevels. I then do the best I can on a clean Coticule and finish on Black or Trans. Happiness in the mid range of the Ark family has been elusive for me so far. I believe it's more a matter of me learning the softer stones ways than the stones themselves. Best luck so far in mid range has been a Dan's regular hard. YMMV I'm a total Arkaholic and my judgement my be wonky.

I've not tried any mid range Arks yet (don't have any). I've just been setting the bevel on the Chosera 1K (when the bevel needs setting because of chips or any thing of that sort) and then going to the soft side of my Double Convex Ark. I finish on the hard side of the DCA.

That stone set seems to work fine for me.

For some razors, where I see nothing wrong with the bevel, I just begin on the soft side of the DCA. I know others just begin on the hard side of the DCA.

I've recently acquired by not yet finished cleaning up a Washita. I may try it as a bevel setter.

As a "total Arkaholic" do you think I'd be better off were I to add to my "progression" a mid range Ark between the soft convex and the hard black translucent convex? Obviously it would have to be a convex Ark and I do not think there are any of those available in that range, so mostly I'm talking theory here.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[SliceOfLife]

Here are four pictures from a lily white I just cleaned up. Coticule Slurry, DMT/self slurry, Stone scrubbed it with soap and water and then used with oil, stone re-surfaced on a DMT and then used with oil.

 

[SliceOfLife]

Coticule slurry fast, but bangs the tar out of the edge. Too damaged to consider a honed edge in my opinion.
Washita slurry similarly fast, less damage to edge. Ballpark 200-300grit edge.
Stone is damaged by doing this. Felt clogged even after scrubbing with soap and water and switching back to oil. Refinement lacking on this.
Stone back to normal after lapping the clogged surface off.


Basically, you can probably find a more suitable surface for coarse slurry, whether coticule or anything else. Particularly since using slurry on the Washita is damaging to the stone and seems to require resurfacing to undo.

 

[Biglo13]

I've not tried any mid range Arks yet (don't have any). I've just been setting the bevel on the Chosera 1K (when the bevel needs setting because of chips or any thing of that sort) and then going to the soft side of my Double Convex Ark. I finish on the hard side of the DCA.

That stone set seems to work fine for me.

For some razors, where I see nothing wrong with the bevel, I just begin on the soft side of the DCA. I know others just begin on the hard side of the DCA.

I've recently acquired by not yet finished cleaning up a Washita. I may try it as a bevel setter.

As a "total Arkaholic" do you think I'd be better off were I to add to my "progression" a mid range Ark between the soft convex and the hard black translucent convex? Obviously it would have to be a convex Ark and I do not think there are any of those available in that range, so mostly I'm talking theory here.

Happy shaves,

Jim

i got a "Hard Novaculite Whetstone" from natural whetstone. its a white stone less dense than vintage washita. they listed it at approximately 800 grit. they listed their soft @400, hard@800, black @1200, trans @1400. i am still running tests but is potentially a mid range ark. they are affordable they are also lapped fast (softer) which indicates it would be a quick job to turn into a convex.

 

[SliceOfLife]

That's just their white hard ark. Should be denser than a washita.

 

[Biglo13]

That's just their white hard ark. Should be denser than a washita.

its no where near as dense as my vintage washita...

 

[SliceOfLife]

Got a picture of them side by side and their respective weights?
I mean I've got a few DENSE washitas, but I'd still be surprised that modern Hard Arks are less dense than them.

edit: Actually my translucent Washita is denser than a modern translucent arkansas... that's kinda... insane. Edit: nevermind... Math was off... It's just a hair less dense... still... scarily close.

 

[SliceOfLife]

Ran a razor up my trans washita... forgot how scarily fast that thing was. It's like a 100 grit stone with some pressure.

 

[Biglo13]

vintage washita 427gm 2x6x1

white hard ark 491gm 2x8x1

the vintage washita feels much denser

white hard ark is porous and friable compared vintage washita

 

[SliceOfLife]

Low quality ark vs high quality washita. A lot of gaps and air pockets in the ark.

 

[bluesman 7]

I have what I think is a translucent Washita. Is this a thing.

 

[Biglo13]

i'm guessing the the translucent stones are much denser, and finer. Most likely a translucent white not a washita. pics may help, is yours glass like?

 

[David]

I have what I think is a translucent Washita. Is this a thing.

I have several that light will penetrate 1/4-1/2”.

 

[David]

I have several that light will penetrate 1/4-1/2”.

The first three I could get my hands on were translucent on the sides about 1\2”, but they were all oil soaked so that may have something to do with it.

 

[bluesman 7]

I have several that light will penetrate 1/4-1/2”.

Thanks

 

[HazMat Shaver]

I have a Lily White Washita. Light goes about 1/4" in. Never tested this. Thanks for the idea.

 

[Namkcakram]

I have what I think is a translucent Washita. Is this a thing.

I’ve got one that’s fully brownish transparent to ~3/16” in a few patches. Totally unlabeled very vintage woodworker stone, but definite Washita behavior.

 

[duke762]

As a "total Arkaholic" do you think I'd be better off were I to add to my "progression" a mid range Ark between the soft convex and the hard black translucent convex?

So far I'm striking out with using Ark's for mid range or prefinish. I've always read that softs were the mid range. I think the struggle for mid range performance on softer Arks I've been using may lie in surface preparation. Anyone have any views on what grit to lap a soft Ark to? I've been using a Coticule to take me from post bevel set to finish, then Black/Trans. Just what I've been looking for.....

Coticule slurry fast, but bangs the tar out of the edge. Too damaged to consider a honed edge in my opinion.
Washita slurry similarly fast, less damage to edge. Ballpark 200-300grit edge.
Stone is damaged by doing this. Felt clogged even after scrubbing with soap and water and switching back to oil. Refinement lacking on this.
Stone back to normal after lapping the clogged surface off.

I wasn't completely accurate in my post. I call this stone a Washita for my own convenience.The stone I use is not an identified Washita and is most likely a soft .....on the harder side?? Stone was slurried using WD 40 and was previously saturated with mineral oil and wiped. Slurry was very, thin. Watched the edge develop at 60x. Showed no problems that I could detect. Developed fast and cleaned up nice during finishing on oiled Coticule then Arks. I'm trying to wrap my head around how Coticule slurry damaged an Ark. I guess the rolling action of the garnets on the surface..... I wouldn't call it clogged or damaged. Accelerated wear maybe. Lapping Arks is part of the toil of Arks. Most folks don't do it enough in my opinion. A freshly prepped Ark is a beauty, a glazed one is a bother. Your mileage varied from mine. Lube, stone, steel, technique, planetary alignment. I will continue experimenting with this and watch carefully for the problems you described. Glad to see some one else has tried it and good to see feedback, sorry it didn't work out.