Ordered a Black Arkansas Translucent today

As the title says, after a couple of weeks of pondering and talking to a couple of fellows whose opinion on rocks I really trust I ended up ordering a 8x3x1 Black Arkansas Translucent today.

I'm not looking forward to lapping it as I hear they are a pita to do. But from what is said the produce a great edge.

Anyone else use on, if so don't be afraid to share.

(06-16-2012, 12:26 PM)Wid Wrote: As the title says, after a couple of weeks of pondering and talking to a couple of fellows whose opinion on rocks I really trust I ended up ordering a 8x3x1 Black Arkansas Translucent today.

I'm not looking forward to lapping it as I hear they are a pita to do. But from what is said the produce a great edge.

Anyone else use on, if so don't be afraid to share.

I've never heard of that stone, but have Naniwa and King stones, and lap those stones everytime i hone a few razors, using my granite slab and a 400 grit wet & dry paper slapped on top of the granite, excuse my ignorance, but in what way are they hard to lap?

Jamie.

They are a very hard dense stone.

The Arkie should be a great finisher.

I find that it's best to use a progression of lubricants on the hone to get the best edge. I start with water, then a thin oil and then a thicker oil (like Norton' honing oil). Gives a really sharp edge that's very comfortable to shave with.

If I ignore my progression I run the risk of getting a sharp, but harsh, edge. Either that or it takes forever to finish the edge.

Just remember, this is a pure finisher.

Keep us updated when you get the new hone.

Will do, it should be here in a day or two.

Rick, has the ark arrived yet? I'm dying for details

Not yet Nick. I emailed them as it should have been here by now. I was told while being packed up the stone was dropped and an edge had broke off. They mailed it out another yesterday.

(06-22-2012, 02:48 AM)Wid Wrote: Not yet Nick. I emailed them as it should have been here by now. I was told while being packed up the stone was dropped and an edge had broke off. They mailed it out another yesterday.

I'm anxious for you. Did you tell them where they should send the damaged stone? My place, obviously

I'm really curious to hear your thoughts on it. Most of the opinions I've heard over the years tend to be biased in one way or the other

I'll post my opinion when I get it. Of course it takes a bit to get used to a new stone.

(06-22-2012, 02:48 AM)Wid Wrote: Not yet Nick. I emailed them as it should have been here by now. I was told while being packed up the stone was dropped and an edge had broke off. They mailed it out another yesterday.

That's a bummer

Got the Arkansas stone in today, it was a lot lighter in color than I had expected. At first I thought it felt a bit course for a finishing stone. I went and lapped, and lapped and lapped it some more with 320 grit w/d sand paper till the grid lines were gone.. Now even at this lower grit she's about as smooth as any stone I've held in my hands. Tomorrow I'll do some more lapping with 400 and 600 grit.

BTW, this is a Black Translucent 8x3x1.

Here's what she looks like so far.

nice! I'm glad your stone finally arrived

Nice looking rock, I bet your relieved the hone finely arrived. Give us a review after you tried it.

Wow Rick, that is one nice looking piece of rock. I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this one once you have a chance to play with it.

A stone that big should make honing a breezer

Today I took one razor that was just touched up on a coti and another that I did a lapping film progression (after the bevel was set) and finished both on the black stone. Each razor got 150 passes. Used one on the right side and one on the left. The results were great on both sides. The shave itself was very smooth but you could tell the edge was extremely keen. I'm betting it's going to be a very consistent stone.

It's a very nice stone, no doubt.

Wid -

As I mentioned above. Try playing around with different lubricants on the stone. Try water, a light oil and a heavier oil. They give really keen edges, but the oils seem to make it more mellow.

I found that with my Charnleys (same stone really) - a water edge was harsh, so keeping the keenness while toning down the harshness was a great option for me. The oil really helped with that.

It isn't as messy as people think to switch between water and oil. You can try glycerine or detergent in water, if you don't want to mess with oil.

Anyway, that's a nice looking hone. Could you PM me your source for it?

Oh! And, like you, I also found that I needed to lap my Charnleys at high grit to get the best edges from them. I usually finish off with a session using my C12K to lap the hones.

I forgot to mention, I did add a drop of dish soap to the water for finishing. I just might pick up some oil to try. I don't mind trying, it might just work well.

Rick,
Glad the stone seems to be working well for you....
I'll see if I can find another type stone for "try"...lol