My first Arkansas just arrived

[Jakebullet]

I’ve just held a straight edge over it and it’s not quite flat.
I was tempted to try it anyway but I might as well give myself the best possible start.
I’ve seen some silicone carbide sandpaper on eBay and I’ve got a flat piece of glass, will the sandpaper do the job? Or am I better with the powder?

 

[JohnnyWayne203]

Sandpaper will work, but you'll end up using alot of it. That's where SIC powder shines.
I've recently switched to using baby oil on my Ark and am very pleased with the results.

 

[Darth Scandalous]

I’ve just held a straight edge over it and it’s not quite flat.

It really depends on what "not quite" means, but you'll probably want the sandpaper anyway to finish lap it even if you do use SiC powder. You could try w/d first and see where it gets you.

 

[Jakebullet]

Well I just ordered some SIC powder in 100g amounts of grits 80, 180, 400, 600 does this sound about right?
It was about £20 for the lot
It means I have to wait a few more days before trying it but I want to give the stone, razor and myself every chance of working well.

 

[SilverGeezer]

I would have to give it a go straight from the box, and see what all the fuss is about.

 

[Empire straights]

I would have to give it a go straight from the box, and see what all the fuss is about.

I've found that the random SiC stone that I've gotten by accident playing rock roulette are great for exactly this. They usually have a dip(on one side) but they can be flattened on concrete if it's not too bad.

 

[Alum of Potash]

It's probably flat enough out of the box, even if it failed your test. You can always lap one side and use the other "out of the box." I agree with the comment to use oil. In the US, Norton and Sharpening Supplies sell a light mineral oil for honing kitchen knives that is marked "food safe." Something like that would work well, if sold in the UK, or what is similar to you locally. Clean up the stone with dish-washing soap and a sponge after use.

 

[Timeclo]

Man, I just bit the bullet... after working with soft/hard Arkansas stone and getting some poor shaves, I ordered Black and Translucent. I think soft/hard stones are more for general purpose honing and towards the lower progressions. I did a Soft/Hard and 8K, 12K Shapton progression and the edge was cutting really well.

I might do a full Soft/Hard/Black/Translucent progression or just do synthetic progression and finish with Black or Translucent.

 

[Jakebullet]

I would have to give it a go straight from the box, and see what all the fuss is about.

Well I took your advice and just gave it a try today, just as it came from the box.
I ran a knife over it a few times and it felt nice and smooth.
Then I put a few drops of baby oil on there.
I have a 7/8ths ELSINE razor with a new jnat edge which I’d shaved with this morning, so I thought I’d try this to compare.

I gave it light laps for about 20 minutes taking my time and being careful not to damage the edge.
The razor felt very smooth on the oil.
I eventually stopped and stropped on linen and leather then finally in my palm.
I did an HHT and it cut pretty silently all along the edge.
I’m looking forward to testing it in the morning.

 

[Jakebullet]

I shave tested the new ark edge I did yesterday.
This was my first effort on it so I wasn’t too expectant of anything great, and yet the shave was brilliant.
I’d used this razor yesterday from a jnat so as soon as I started I could feel a new smoothness and keenness to the edge.
In every direction I felt it, I knew I loved it long before finishing the shave.
This is what I’ve been looking for, and after just one try this is already my favourite stone.
I’ve just recently made big inroads into making good edges.
They’ve always shaved well but lately they’ve all jumped up by quite a few notches.
So it was only now that I was really ready for a stone like an Arkansas, a pure finisher that would improve an already good edge but wouldn’t do much with an average one.
I did the ELSINE on oil but today a bottle of water soluble fluid came in the post so I’ve honed my Robeson Shuredge on the Ark using that.

I’m looking forward to using this one tomorrow.
I have to say that the oil felt a lot nicer to hone on and the water soluble fluid was prone to drying on the stone whereas the oil stayed slick throughout.
But after using the oil I had to thoroughly wipe the blade and scales so as not to get oil on my strop then clean the stone with fairy liquid.
After using the water soluble fluid I just ran the razor under the tap, wiped on a tissue and went right to the strop.
It remains to be seen if the shaves differ.
I’ve been using the stone as it came from Dan’s shop so haven’t tried lapping it yet, and I’m just starting out learning about it, but on first impressions it’s exactly what I hoped it would be and big thanks to you all for the advice and support.

 

[H Brad Boonshaft]

60 grit loose Silicone Carbide will get you to flat quickly. 80 should work but, may take a bit longer. Wet and Dry is much slower and an Ark eats paper to flatten.

But you have nothing to lose by testing the stone as is. Worst thing that can happen is you have to reset the edge with an 8k.
Try finishing one side to 600 and take the other side to 2k wet and dry. See if you feel a difference in the shave. You can then burnish the 2k side and try that.

Once an Ark is flat you can easily change the face with wet and dry, from 600 to 2k and burnish for super finisher, and back to 600 or 2k if needed..

If you do not lap a new stone flat, you may get rough pockets that will surface once the stone face wears, but you might luck out and it is fine.

On new to you, vintage Arks, I always advise to first test the stone on a razor, if the stone has had much use, it is probably burnished well, though it may not be flat. As long as it performs, it does not matter.

Arks are face finish dependent, lubricant also makes a difference, as does the level of finish of the bevel when the razor goes to the stone and pressure.

Try light finish laps, if that does not give you results, try adding pressure. You can finish on an ark with more pressure than most other finishers. It depends on all the factors above and the stone itself.

Once you get it dialed in, it’s a workhorse. I like Smith's honing fluid or Windex depending on the stone and finish.

 

[Jakebullet]

My order of silicone carbide arrived today which I need to flatten my new ark.
No one is home so I think ‘game on’.
I grab a glass chopping board from the cupboard and get started.

I’m midway through my last grit when my girl walks in.
Her expression darkens.
I start to speak ‘er.. Hya love, nice day?’
‘What’s that s### all over my chopping board?’
‘It’s silicone carbide babe.’
Her expression tells me she is sorry she asked.
‘And it’s in my living room why?’
‘I’m making my new stone flat babe.’
‘You’re sludging up my living room to make a stone flat?
‘Yes babe’.
‘Hold on, what new stone?What did that cost?
‘£100 sweetie pie, it’s an Arkansas mined from the Ouachit…’
‘Is that my new towel under the chopping board?’
‘Yes babe’.
‘It’s covered in that…(struggles to find the words)…’
‘Silicone carbide babe.’
She turns and walks to the bathroom to run a bath.
‘What’s all this S### in the bath?’
‘Silicone carbide babe.’

 

[Empire straights]

My order of silicone carbide arrived today which I need to flatten my new ark.
No one is home so I think ‘game on’.
I grab a glass chopping board from the cupboard and get started.
View attachment 1484317
I’m midway through my last grit when my girl walks in.
Her expression darkens.
I start to speak ‘er.. Hya love, nice day?’
‘What’s that s### all over my chopping board?’
‘It’s silicone carbide babe.’
Her expression tells me she is sorry she asked.
‘And it’s in my living room why?’
‘I’m making my new stone flat babe.’
‘You’re sludging up my living room to make a stone flat?
‘Yes babe’.
‘Hold on, what new stone?What did that cost?
‘£100 sweetie pie, it’s an Arkansas mined from the Ouachit…’
‘Is that my new towel under the chopping board?’
‘Yes babe’.
‘It’s covered in that…(struggles to find the words)…’
‘Silicone carbide babe.’
She turns and walks to the bathroom to run a bath.
‘What’s all this S### in the bath?’
‘Silicone carbide babe.’

I lost it! Some things may be better relegated to the porch... SiC powder will absolutly eat that cutting board. My glass got concave so I had to get a new tile.

 

[H Brad Boonshaft]

Dude, Dollar Store STEEL Cookie sheet.

Contains the mess and stays, flattish, flat enough.

 

[Mr. Shavington]

 

[Frank Shaves]

Late to the party.

Congrats on the new stone - excellent choice!

For my Dan's hard black, I used wet/dry sandpaper to lap the stone up to 800 grit and then came down with 600, 400 and 240. I like the 240.

For my Dan's hard translucent, I took the box out of the stone and used.

I was initially put off with the idea of using oil and tried the different alternatives. I now use and love food-grade mineral oil, and have zero objections to using oil. You can easily clean any oil off the stone using dishwashing liquid.

 

[Empire straights]

Late to the party.

Congrats on the new stone - excellent choice!

For my Dan's hard black, I used wet/dry sandpaper to lap the stone up to 800 grit and then came down with 600, 400 and 240. I like the 240.

For my Dan's hard translucent, I took the box out of the stone and used.

I was initially put off with the idea of using oil and tried the different alternatives. I now use and love food-grade mineral oil, and have zero objections to using oil. You can easily clean any oil off the stone using dishwashing liquid.

I like the lower grits too and yes, mineral oil is different than everything when using novaculite and is hard to beat.

 

[Jakebullet]

Dude, Dollar Store STEEL Cookie sheet.

Contains the mess and stays, flattish, flat enough.

Great suggestion, and most welcome because after all my trials and tribulations on my first use of the silicon carbide, my stone is still not flat (if such a thing exists).
I’ll buy a pan and do it all again this afternoon.
You know the expression, do it nice or do it twice.
Well I’m doing it twice.

 

[Jakebullet]

View attachment 1484412

What great photo.
That’s a giant ark and those chimps are us.
Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C Clarke, whoever it was who came up with the black monolith was definitely an ark head.

 

[Jakebullet]

Late to the party.

Congrats on the new stone - excellent choice!

For my Dan's hard black, I used wet/dry sandpaper to lap the stone up to 800 grit and then came down with 600, 400 and 240. I like the 240.

For my Dan's hard translucent, I took the box out of the stone and used.

I was initially put off with the idea of using oil and tried the different alternatives. I now use and love food-grade mineral oil, and have zero objections to using oil. You can easily clean any oil off the stone using dishwashing liquid.

I know what you mean, oil is just real nice to hone on isn’t it? It’s a nuisance cleaning the blade and the stone and your hands and everything else but it’s a great feel and worth the effort I think.