Edge Comparisons
- Thread starter AgBQ00
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Subjective answer: it's sharper than a coti and smoother than a jnat. I know several jnat guys that finish with arks to smooth the edge out a bit. But, IMO, a well done coti edge can be plenty sharp enough, and a well done jnat edge can be plenty smooth enough.
Good answer D, I agree 100% and couldn't have said it better myself.
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- #4
What's your budget? Arakansas stones (especially translucent and black) arent cheap. Do you have any stones at the moment?
Dan's generally has sales on; that's where I picked mine up from. The Ultra-Fine are coded as BAB but listed under the Extra-Fine section on the special page. "Arks - so simple, rockviper can use them"
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- #7
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- #8
My only experience with an Arkie is as a finisher, but I am thinking you would want something at least 5x2, preferably longer.
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- #10
http://www.naturalwhetstone.com/productssharpening2.htm
About half way down the page there is a three stone set 6x2x.5. It says soft medium and hard. But the description says the hard is the black that does surgical edges. What are thoughts on this one?
About half way down the page there is a three stone set 6x2x.5. It says soft medium and hard. But the description says the hard is the black that does surgical edges. What are thoughts on this one?
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That's a decent kit, you'll need to lap them flat.
Not sure that the black stone there will deliver the goods, relative to the "black translucent" stone they also like to sell.
This med/soft-black hard Arkansas combination should get you there, used with oil, patience, and perseverence: http://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/SoftHard-Black-Arkansas-Combination-Stone-P284.aspx. To undercut this, a medium India is shockingly aggressive at first, but then mellows with continued use, patience, and perseverance, again with oil.
With oil-stones, you're dealing with another ball of wax. For example, I recently shaved off a Dan's med/soft Ark > Dan's "true hard" Ark (old school hard Ark or translucent), followed by a Sharpening Supplies black hard Arkansas (possibly rebranded Dan's). Some folks would say, "Why move from a translucent to the black stone when they are equivalent?" But there is a difference. Following this, it's probably best just to move from the soft/medium to the black hard, as the currently labelled "hard" stone is a soft stone all the same. The saw blade tells the tale: is it cut with water, or is it cut with oil? According to the folks at Dan's, their med/soft Arks and currently labelled "hard" Arks are sawn with water as a lubricant, whereas their "true hard," "hard translucent," and "hard black" Arks are sawn with oil. And that is what I go by as a standard or dividing line at present.
In any case, off the progression as stated above, the HHT sucked, but the shave was great. Almost as smooth as a coticule; but sharper, without being harsh. The soft/medium-black hard Ark combo that I linked above is what I would start out with in doing it all over again...
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I have this set,I bought mine from Natural Whetstones back when they where 6x2x1 , the black in this set comes in at the same range of Specific Gravity as a translucent by the way.translucents and True Hards all start at 2.5 SG . The only difference between a True Hard and a Translucent is the color scheme and or the translucency/beauty .
Arkansas stones are generally graded as follows.
Washita 2.1 SG or less.
Softs 2.3 or less.
Hards 2.5 or less.
True Hards 2.5 +
Surgical Blacks 2.5+
Translucents 2.5 ++
Obviously this varies a bit by
each unique Mine and companies grading tolerances .
Hards versus True Hards has been a point of confusion for many honers over the years.
starting at 3:00 is a soft,at 12:00 is a washita ,at 3:00 is a standard hard,at 6:00 is a Surgical Black.in the middle is a caramel translucent .cheers CAM
