Arkansas stone help.

[Blade_Runner37C]

My ONLY issue with Arkansas blacks or even True Hard is that there is zero feel. I mean you don't feel anything when going over it, no resistance. i've heard taking a lower grit sandpaper to achieve that but would be scared to run a piece of sandpaper over this expensive stone.

 

[Legion]

My ONLY issue with Arkansas blacks or even True Hard is that there is zero feel. I mean you don't feel anything when going over it, no resistance. i've heard taking a lower grit sandpaper to achieve that but would be scared to run a piece of sandpaper over this expensive stone.

There is no damage you could do with sandpaper that you couldn't undo with finer sandpaper.

However, as has already been said in this thread, the way a true hard Ark finishes is largely due to the surface prep. If you were to rough it up to a point that you could feel the surface under the razor it would defeat the point of the fine stone.

 

[H Brad Boonshaft]

Once the stone face is flat, it can be altered/adjusted easily with a sheet of Wet & Dry and a flat surface. You can quickly go from 1k to 600 or reverse in just a few minutes.

The hard work is getting the stone flat, and that is where lose 60 grit Silicon Carbide and pressure on a steel cookie sheet comes into play. You are flat when you can remove a Sharpie grid completely on the stone face in 10 laps or less.

Also, once flat you are not removing much material changing stone face grits, much less than lapping a synthetic stone clean. And once that stone face is dialed in, you are not altering it like you would with a synthetic stone.

Pretty much once you find a stone face that works for you there is no need to alter it again, at least for years. 600 and 800 grit work for me.

 

[LJS]

now I just need to figure out how to set a bevel.......

There has been a lot of good advice and experience shared from others on arks I don’t need to repeat. But I will say your comment above is more important than what you learned from others on arks. An excellent finisher doesn’t really help a poor edge. Spend more time on coarser stones getting a perfect bevel so you can appreciate what a finisher like an ark can do for refinement. Follow your own advice and you will enjoy an Arkansas stone. But don’t slip because they can be hard and unforgiving of mistakes.

 

[Blade_Runner37C]

There has been a lot of good advice and experience shared from others on arks I don’t need to repeat. But I will say your comment above is more important than what you learned from others on arks. An excellent finisher doesn’t really help a poor edge. Spend more time on coarser stones getting a perfect bevel so you can appreciate what a finisher like an ark can do for refinement. Follow your own advice and you will enjoy an Arkansas stone. But don’t slip because they can be hard and unforgiving of mistakes.

Thanks and by the way I love your chicken planks and fish w/ slaw, hush puppies and fries w/ extra crumblies. (LJS Long John Silvers)

 

[Kyle89]

Thanks and by the way I love your chicken planks and fish w/ slaw, hush puppies and fries w/ extra crumblies. (LJS Long John Silvers)

OH mannn hush puppies- haven't had those in years LOL

 

[Frank Shaves]

My ONLY issue with Arkansas blacks or even True Hard is that there is zero feel. I mean you don't feel anything when going over it, no resistance. i've heard taking a lower grit sandpaper to achieve that but would be scared to run a piece of sandpaper over this expensive stone.

I hear you! I experimented with different finishes on my Dan's Black Arkansas (Ultra Fine) using wet/dry sandpaper. I prefer 240 grit over 400 and 600 but that's me.

Place the sandpaper on a flat surface, spray or wet the sandpaper with water and USE ONLY THE WEIGHT OF THE STONE on the sandpaper, otherwise the edges of the stone will become rounded. The sandpaper abrasives will quickly break down resulting in a finish that I believe is finder than the sandpaper's grit rating.

Your goal is to only change the finish of the surface not to remove material amounts of material.

 

[H Brad Boonshaft]

The trick to setting a bevel is to first ensure that the razor sits flat on the stone.

First ink the bevels, use colored ink, it is much easier to see without magnification, I like red or blue.

Then do a single lap on a 1k, look at the bevel. You should be removing ink from the whole bevel heel to the toe. If not find out why, do not just grind on it blindly.

If you are not removing ink at the heel or heel half of the razor, your heel needs correction and you are honing on the stabilizer, or the razor has a smile or warp, and you need a rolling X stroke.

Take a look at the Alex Gilmore Axe Method. It is a quick simple way to hone a razor with a 1k and a Jnat, but you can adapt it to a synthetic progression easily. It is an excellent way to set a bevel.

BTW use tape while learning to hone or you will needlessly trash the razor, there is no downside to using tape.

Learn to make a smoking shaving edge from your 12k, the bevel should be near mirror and the edge laser straight, then once you have mastered the 12k add in the Ark, there is a learning curve to the Ark.

If you screw it up, the 12k can fix it.

 

[Koop]

Take a look at the Alex Gilmore Axe Method. It is a quick simple way to hone a razor with a 1k and a Jnat, but you can adapt it to a synthetic progression easily. It is an excellent way to set a bevel.

BTW use tape while learning to hone or you will needlessly trash the razor, there is no downside to using tape.

Learn to make a smoking shaving edge from your 12k, the bevel should be near mirror and the edge laser straight, then once you have mastered the 12k add in the Ark, there is a learning curve to the Ark.

If you screw it up, the 12k can fix it.

This ^!

 

[LJS]

Thanks and by the way I love your chicken planks and fish w/ slaw, hush puppies and fries w/ extra crumblies. (LJS Long John Silvers)

Never been in one of those in my life Never actually noticed the shared initials before now either