Sharing some Arkansas insight

Here recently the well known member SliceOfLife shared some details about how arks cut vs most other hones/stones. He compared the way they cut to a cheese grader rather than a positive cutting grit. Well the lightbulb went off and a thought entered my mind: more pressure! And so it went. I set a bevel on a 1k synth followed by some half stroke work on a hard ark with quite a bit of down pressure. I lightend up for about 30 laps and moved on to the surgical. I basically repeated this on the SB but with more finess at the end. It was a pretty intuitive approach all in all. But all the extra pressure did away with the gripe that most have about arks being slow cutters. Besides even with more pressure than one would use on a synth there really isn't a lot of metal being removed. I used Dan's honing oil throughout. Overall I used a much more physical approach than I ever would with a synth.

Yeah, I've a thread around here of UniArk, where I hone a razor bevel to finished on a SB ark.

SliceOfLife said:

Yeah, I've a thread around here of UniArk, where I hone a razor bevel to finished on a SB ark.

Click to expand...

Didn't you do a video on that?

SliceOfLife said:

Yeah, I've a thread around here of UniArk, where I hone a razor bevel to finished on a SB ark.

Click to expand...

That sounds like dedication lol. I have started to use more pressure, half strokes, and circles on my arks. It speeds up the process, but I still get my best results maxing out on a coti, then SB ark. I think patience is my biggest issue.

Guys I thought is share the fact that I received 3 new arks from DWS today. I got 3 stones 6x3x0.5". A soft, a hard, and a black. Let me tell you that the 6x3 is an incredible size to work with. I do love them so. I took my new ZY's to them and they are fine cutters for sure.I look forward to many years of use out of them. It is truly a privilege to use them.

Yeah. I think I did two, a 12*3 and a 8*2 or 6*2. I'll dig it up when I am home tonight.

lightfoot said:

I got 3 stones 6x3x0.5". A soft, a hard, and a black. Let me tell you that the 6x3 is an incredible size to work with. I do love them so.

Click to expand...

I bought the same 3-pack of Dan's you have a little while back except mine were in 8". In theory I had intended to set bevels with the soft, refine on the hard, and finish on the black. In practical application it didn't work out for me. It was taking me way to long to get bevels set on the soft. I reverted back to my King 1k. My hard arkie was a worthy stone and I believe I could have shaved right off of it though I never tried. I got really good edges off of the black. In the end I shipped them down the line. I tried really hard but I never could get used to the smaller size. I ended up with a couple of 8"x3" arkies. A surgical black and a translucent. I can't tell any difference in between the SB and the translucent when honing on them or shaving off them. They both knock it out of the park. When I use them my progression is synthetic 1k>4k>8k>arkie. I seldom use them. I am currently in a welsh slate phase right now.

Glad to hear sbogill. It's hard for me to get focused on one stone or the other as well. I picked up a rather large slate from AJ and it's a good stone. I guess I'm growing to prefer a slightly shorter ark because it's a good hand held size if needed. But I use mine mostly on the bench. Also a synthetic bevel setter is hard to walk away from. However I believe I could maintain my razors with my arks all across the board if needed. Probably not good for any heavy lifting though.

Washitas, kept lapped, make good natural bevel setters. Someone described keeping the surface 'agitated' to keep it cutting well. I like that term and it is appropriate.

kelbro said:

Washitas, kept lapped, make good natural bevel setters. Someone described keeping the surface 'agitated' to keep it cutting well. I like that term and it is appropriate.

Click to expand...

Many have suggested that finding these stones is getting a bit more difficult. I'd love to have one though. I would imagine that you could set a bevel on a soft as long as the surface wasn't too smooth and one honed with enough pressure.

kelbro said:

Someone described keeping the surface 'agitated' to keep it cutting well. I like that term and it is appropriate.

Click to expand...

I have heard of old timers spitting on their stones. I always though it was just impromptu lube but now I know they were "agitating" their stones!

lightfoot said:

Many have suggested that finding these stones is getting a bit more difficult. I'd love to have one though. I would imagine that you could set a bevel on a soft as long as the surface wasn't too smooth and one honed with enough pressure.

Click to expand...

Finding unlabeled washitas for cheap is pretty easy to do if you know what you're looking for.

Dcaddo111 said:

Finding unlabeled washitas for cheap is pretty easy to do if you know what you're looking for.

Click to expand...

Yeah I definitely don't have the ability to discern what's what yet. How would one educate themselves on finding these for a fair price?

Honestly... it's not hard even if you don't know what you're looking for. A LOT of what's out there in 8x2 is a washita. If you pick up a half dozen stones, you'll probably get one or two... and 8x2" stones usually sell for next to nothing. Picking up the stone lots that don't have anything obvious like a Coticule or a frictionite in them is usually a good gamble. For shipping plus a few bucks you'll get a bunch of low grit synths, and often a washita or two.

I regularly drop $50-200 on stone lots for Coticules, Thuris, Tams, even charns/LI's that they contain. And USUALLY get at least one Washita out of the half dozen oil encrusted hones I write off as "Synths or Washitas" when figuring what I'm willing tto bid.

For instance, I picked up a lot last week for a 4x2" coticule. Didn't pay any attention to the rest of the lot. Got a Gerber steel that from what I've seen sells for almost what I paid for the lot, got two other vintage steels, got 2 6" soft arks, and got an 8" washita... amongst other stuff. Based on what I paid, No one bidding against me was interested in anything other than the Coticule.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/112094247979?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

Stone in the middle is the 8" washita. Two stones on the right are 6" softs.


Are they a bit rarer than they used to be? Yeah. But that doesn't mean they're rare.

Give you an Idea. I used a minty 8" washita a few years back to glue a slab of coticule that had lost its BBW to, and sold it for about what the coticule cost me. I wouldn't do the same today... but surely others out there would. These stones were one of the most popular stones out there, were found in HUGE croppings, and were exported all over the world. Even though they wear very quickly for an arkansas, and are VERY prone to breaking (you'll find tons snapped in 2-3 pieces in their boxes); there are tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, out there in the hands of people who will never use them. Tucked away in deceased relatives tool boxes in sheds and garages.

They're the one natural stone I can regularly find available at flea markets around here.... and I've NEVER seen a coti or thuri in many years looking.

I have several but my favorite is a white Norton Washita from the early 50s. Fast cutter that doesn't dish as easily as some of the others.

lightfoot said:

Yeah I definitely don't have the ability to discern what's what yet. How would one educate themselves on finding these for a fair price?

Click to expand...

Hit up flea markets in your area. You will see stones. I see more Belgians and Thuris than I do Washitas or Arks, but they are out there. And as David said they can be had for not too much dosh.

I would also add you should avoid broken stones and synthetic stones unless you want one i.e. an India; but in my experience they are way too dished to be worth the effort since you can buy a new one for about 20 bucks.

sbogill said:

I have heard of old timers spitting on their stones. I always though it was just impromptu lube but now I know they were "agitating" their stones!

Click to expand...

Either it was a bad joke or nobody got it! Wonk wonk...

sbogill said:

Either it was a bad joke or nobody got it! Wonk wonk...

Click to expand...

Oh I think we got it all right : ) But all is welcome in this thread!