Sometimes it's good to respect the prior owner's use, apparent method, and smoothing. I suppose it boils down to how flat it is and how flat you need it to be.
Finally bought an Ark
- Thread starter David
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Sometimes it's good to respect the prior owner's use, apparent method, and smoothing. I suppose it boils down to how flat it is and how flat you need it to be.
Very Very nice looking stone, if it is giving you good edges I say leave it be and get some actual honing oil as that is what that stone craves for a snack to keep it's honing energy up and running
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- #303
I had to flatten it. It had a 1/4" dish in the center. That's why you see the dark spot in the center..I guess the oil pooled there and soaked in deeper.
I did try a plane iron on it before I lapped it. It left a neat little secondary bevel, which was probably a good thing but I like single bevels on my irons. I thought about leaving the dish and lapping the bottom but I didn't want to lose those chamfers. You'd have to see them in person to appreciate them.
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- #304
Thanks Nate!Very Very nice looking stone, if it is giving you good edges I say leave it be and get some actual honing oil as that is what that stone craves for a snack to keep it's honing energy up and running
Anyone ever soak in Kero instead of simple green?
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- #306
I haven't. The simple green does such a great job I've never really considered using anything else.
I've never soaked in kerosene, but I have used it on the surface of oil-stones to loosen and remove standing swarf there (I wear nitrile gloves and do this outdoors). Don't think I would want to soak a porous oil-stone in kerosene, because then the stone would risk to become filled with it, or at least a few mm down. That would be sort of like leaving a sponge saturated with kerosene lying around. A hard, impervious stone, maybe, but then it should suffice to just wipe off the surface anyway. For the softer stones, you can try a washing the surface generously with kero, then hitting it with a stiff plastic or brass wire brush, steel wool or scouring pad.
I was just thinking that if your going to use oil on the stone after the Simple Green that there might be some oil and water type issues going on, but I guess simple green is a grease cutter.
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- #309
I've never had trouble after simple green before, but that's not to say that it couldn't happen.
BTW, if anyone has ever wondered how deep oil penetrates washitas, I broke one today that was about 5/8 thick and the oil had seeped in all the way to the center. That kind of surprised me...
BTW, if anyone has ever wondered how deep oil penetrates washitas, I broke one today that was about 5/8 thick and the oil had seeped in all the way to the center. That kind of surprised me...
I hope it wasn't the big one. Yikes!
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- #311
Nooo not the big one. It was one I picked up over the weekend. Hadn't used it or even cleaned it up yet. They are very brittle stones. It broke into 3 big pieces and countless little shards.
Yeah, it really can get down in there on washita's. I've had some break and be saturated. Others it stops a few mm in. I suspect the full saturated ones MAY have been boiled in oil TO saturate them, but that's just a suspicion. How porous Washita's can be varies a LOT, see the occasional translucent washita's that you find from time to time, as well as "Washita's" with more in common with soft arkansas than traditional washita's. Then there are the old woodworker stones that cut as fast as anything you'll find but which you could wear away in a few months on consistent use, they're so friable and porous. Washita's are a hell of a stone. Right up there with coticules for variety, and beating them in usefulness in my book.
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- #313
Yeah, washitas are great stones. That big one I just posted is semi translucent...light penetrates about 1/2 deep. With pressure it cuts pretty fast then you can back off and get a hell of a finish on tools or knives.
I'd love to try a rosey red someday and see what all the hype is about. Back last summer when 6x2 boxed barbers delights were selling for 150 rosey Reds were selling for 400+.
I'd love to try a rosey red someday and see what all the hype is about. Back last summer when 6x2 boxed barbers delights were selling for 150 rosey Reds were selling for 400+.
Sometimes I don't get eBay price changes. A 6" Extra Extra Choice just sold for like $400 this month. I was like... uh wut? Still, finding a RR in the wild would be cool, and not as impossible as finding an escher in my area. I come across Washita's here and there. Never seen a Thuri in the wild. Also, RR's make me think Ruby Red, then I want grapefruit juice.
You should post pix. My remark of a few mm was based on Ian's documentation of a broken Washita or soft Ark, where oil hadn't made it to the center.
Coincidentally, I have a slim Washita that was glazed with swarf. I soaked the stone in SG a couple of days ago, and the swarf came off after a couple of hours. After rinsing it, I don't think future oil use is going to be a problem. Probably going to be good for it as I always have a feeling that the SG acts a little on the surface of the stone chemically. Maybe this is just because the stone is no longer clogged.
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- #316
Thanks, that's most helpful. The top two show it from what I can tell. The bottom piece seems drier for some reason. Normally, with Washitas/soft Arks, I've been in the habit of soaking them in oil for 2-3 days to saturate them, following an old recommendation.
Edit: I assume that the "Hard Arkansas" label applied to another stone.
Edit: I assume that the "Hard Arkansas" label applied to another stone.
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- #318
Yes the hard ark box and label was just to prop them up. I sprayed the one on the bottom with simple green. Thought it might make a good pocket stone but as brittle as it is I'm thinking maybe not.
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- #319
Love that.
