Which Natural Finisher is Hardest to Master?
- Thread starter duke762
- Start date
I don't finish razors on them all that often. They do take a little more time than some other options, and honestly, the oil aspect is a drawback (and unlike others I find they work MASSIVELY better on oil vs water, soap, or glycerin), that the advantages with razors don't outweigh on a daily-use basis (I use oilstones a ton, but mostly with knives because whetstones flat out can't do what oilstones can with my knives)... I hone in a carpeted office though, if I was honing on a tool bench in a shed, I'd be using them a lot more frequently.
When I do however, A good drop of oil at a decent consistency, rub it lightly to spread, and work the razor with a decent amount of pressure, reducing whenever feedback tells me that I'm retracing my steps, so to speak. I would liken it to a dilucot process but with pressure instead of slurry. It's important to have good control, and not to slap the razor down wildly on the stone when you flip it. These stones don't absorb shock the way a soft thuri with some autoslurry would. This is the process going to it off 1k or 8k. The difference is the time and pressure involved (though the pressure difference is not AS great as you would expect). The fact is once you've got a GOOD bevel established the vast majority of hones can finish a razor with a little skill and effort. We throw intermediate hones in there to speed things up a bit. Arks have a good amount of range, but you can't expect to use the weight of the blade on them the way a super-aggressive synth whetstone lets you, or to let them clog up with swarf, or to hone by counting or timing yourself. With how an Ark cuts, the geometry of the blade is even more important than with a whetstone... and because one razor takes 2 minutes on it doesn't mean another one might not take 20.
When I do however, A good drop of oil at a decent consistency, rub it lightly to spread, and work the razor with a decent amount of pressure, reducing whenever feedback tells me that I'm retracing my steps, so to speak. I would liken it to a dilucot process but with pressure instead of slurry. It's important to have good control, and not to slap the razor down wildly on the stone when you flip it. These stones don't absorb shock the way a soft thuri with some autoslurry would. This is the process going to it off 1k or 8k. The difference is the time and pressure involved (though the pressure difference is not AS great as you would expect). The fact is once you've got a GOOD bevel established the vast majority of hones can finish a razor with a little skill and effort. We throw intermediate hones in there to speed things up a bit. Arks have a good amount of range, but you can't expect to use the weight of the blade on them the way a super-aggressive synth whetstone lets you, or to let them clog up with swarf, or to hone by counting or timing yourself. With how an Ark cuts, the geometry of the blade is even more important than with a whetstone... and because one razor takes 2 minutes on it doesn't mean another one might not take 20.
Coticule, but boy was it worth the effort.
- Thread starter
- #24
I've always struggled with pressure control.
Don't hone after fighting with your boss.
Don't hone after conflicts with your Wife.
Don't hone after the cat throws up.
Don't hone after the car breaks down.
Don't hone after the derelict brother in-law asks for money....etc.
Needless to say when I learned to control pressure things came together better than expected. I just had to lighten up.
Pressure control comes with experience and the demands of each particular finisher. My piano teacher said once, "Only the strongest finger can play the softest note".
It's amazing what can affect your outcome.
Get the best edge you can before going to the Ark. It's the road to success.
Don't hone after fighting with your boss.
Don't hone after conflicts with your Wife.
Don't hone after the cat throws up.
Don't hone after the car breaks down.
Don't hone after the derelict brother in-law asks for money....etc.
Needless to say when I learned to control pressure things came together better than expected. I just had to lighten up.
Pressure control comes with experience and the demands of each particular finisher. My piano teacher said once, "Only the strongest finger can play the softest note".
It's amazing what can affect your outcome.
Get the best edge you can before going to the Ark. It's the road to success.
Last edited:
Eschers are a 1 trick pony, Coticules are a bit more involved. Hard to compare the two given their diversity.
Same for a lot of other stones...
I don't recall having fits. I do remember learning a slow Coticule and it was different... not hard, not fit-inducing.
Had a SSOFGR that was elusive, not fit inducing, just specific to a narrow window of opportunity.
Hard Arks are not finishers to me, too many of them are closer to soft than a Tranlucent.
Jnats are also a broad spectrum - with a lot of capability. I don't have any that are 'just finishers'. Some take longer to completely figure out than others. None have induced fits.
I think bad direction and misinformation when I was new to all of this was frustrating, but the stones were/are just what they are.
I think a lot of people make a lot more out of learning that need be... it's just honing; coarse to fine, dull to sharp. It's a craft or an art that needs to be learned and practiced. Skills must be develops yes. But we're not formulating rocket fuel here, there is no voodoo or mystical anything.
Same for a lot of other stones...
I don't recall having fits. I do remember learning a slow Coticule and it was different... not hard, not fit-inducing.
Had a SSOFGR that was elusive, not fit inducing, just specific to a narrow window of opportunity.
Hard Arks are not finishers to me, too many of them are closer to soft than a Tranlucent.
Jnats are also a broad spectrum - with a lot of capability. I don't have any that are 'just finishers'. Some take longer to completely figure out than others. None have induced fits.
I think bad direction and misinformation when I was new to all of this was frustrating, but the stones were/are just what they are.
I think a lot of people make a lot more out of learning that need be... it's just honing; coarse to fine, dull to sharp. It's a craft or an art that needs to be learned and practiced. Skills must be develops yes. But we're not formulating rocket fuel here, there is no voodoo or mystical anything.
I love an edge which has been finished on a coticule (I have a La Veinette).
I truly adore the edge which comes off the coticule and gets finished on the Zulu Grey.
I truly adore the edge which comes off the coticule and gets finished on the Zulu Grey.
