My first Arkansas just arrived

[Jakebullet]

I knew I still had unfinished business with the Ark.
It still wasn’t really flat and I knew it. It was bugging me.
I only had to get it flat once and that was it so I decided on trying one final time.
I ordered some more silicone carbide wet and dry, pulled out the big granite slab and got going.
This time I had 20 sheets of 60 grit and I needed them all.
Each one would last for maybe 20 seconds then go real slow.
Sometimes I’d get close to flat then inexplicably move away from it again then come back towards it.
Draw sharpie grid. Grind, rinse, dry, draw sharpie grid, check with straight edge, replace paper, spray,
Grind, rinse, dry, draw sharpie grid, check with straight edge, replace paper, spray,
over and over and over….
Finally after the 20 sheets were done and the sweat glistened on my brow, I felt I must have gotten it nearer to the mark.
I then did 5 sheets at 120 grit,
5 at 240 and 5 sheets at 400.
At 400 the stone began to really stick to the surface and sharpie grids were removed very quickly. I felt that finally I must be close.
I had no higher grit wet and dry so I finished on 600 grit SIC for a few minutes in a metal cookie tray on my granite slab.
This somehow burnished a centimetre patch near one of the corners which is now highly reflective.
I lightly oiled the stone and ran some laps on my Friodur.
100, 200, 300 I was enjoying myself.

It was peaceful and relaxing and the oily feedback and occasional high pitched ‘Tink’ as the spine landed on the stone was nice.
No I just need to strop and shave.
I’ve actually been getting great edges off the stone anyway even as non-flat as it was but I’m looking forward to tomorrows shave test to see if there’s any improvements to be had.

 

[H Brad Boonshaft]

You just have to bite the bullet and do it.

You only need to do it once.

From that finished face you can alter the face by burnish or a few laps on 600 paper to reverse a burnish, depending on what works for you.

 

[Jakebullet]

Thanks for all the advice and guidance chaps.
Which do you prefer H? The 600 face or the burnished?

 

[H Brad Boonshaft]

I used to like a super burnished 600 face, using a heavy carbon steel cleaver to burnish.

I had one side to 600 loose and finished on 600 paper, and burnished the other. Paper seems to give a more uniform finish.

But lately I have been using more the 600 side, and really like it once a few razors have been honed on it, so it is lightly burnished.

I have picked up a few more Arks and hope to lap and test them in the near future.

Working on a new to me lapping technique, will post the results.

 

[Jakebullet]

You know you’re getting old when this is your Friday night.
I’d messed up two of my razors.
My Henckels on my last honing. My two year old had dumped some talcum powder on my honing table (aka the kitchen table) and the windows were open as I honed on the Ark. i kept getting a gritty feel until I worked out what was happening. I tried a shave but it wasn’t brilliant.
My little coticule was dropped by one of my little ones which thankfully didn’t snap but the slate backing came away.
I re glued it with far too much superglue and had to prise it from the kitchen counter.
When honing my Robeson Shuredge on it a month later I noticed a clicking sound where a tiny speck of glue had found its way onto the face of the stones. Again, not a great shave after.
Tonight I took both razors back to the 6k side of the King 1k/6k, then to a diamond slurry on my kiita jnat, then to a tomo nagura slurry on the same.
Both razors were passing a strong HHT at this point.
I oiled up the Ark and gave each razor 100 laps.
Wow what a difference this made to the HHT as both razors now cut silently all along the edge.
I don’t fully understand what this means. Is the Ark finer than the. Jnat?
With oil it certainly seems so, and the jnat gives an extremely sharp edge.
I’ll shave with both this weekend and see how they go, I’m very hopeful.

 

[Tomo]

Arks are magic. They’re the extra five percent that makes all the difference. One of those things that you don’t realize that you need before you try one.

 

[SilverGeezer]

Arks are magic. They’re the extra five percent that makes all the difference. One of those things that you don’t realize that you need before you try one.

Aye.

 

[duke762]

Dang Jake....It's 3:43 AM and I'm thirsty and want to hone something...

Arks are magic.

I have more Ark's than I need but not as many as I seem to want....

 

[Jakebullet]

Shaved with the Shuredge today and on the first stroke I heard myself whisper ‘wow’.
Super smooth, super comfortable.
It cleaned everything away with zero pressure.
I had a quick rinse, I don’t think my face has ever felt that smooth from the 1st wtg pass.
I finished up my next passes and got a brilliant close shave.
I’m still a bit blown away by how silky it felt.
Looking forward to trying the Friodur tomorrow.

 

[Jakebullet]

Black and yellow.

Two of my favourite stones atm are my small yellow coticule and my surgical black Arkansas.

Both were formed over 4.5 billion years ago.

The coticule with its dodecahedral garnets, and the crazy hard and very beautiful novaculite Arkansas.

Last night I honed my ELSINE 7/8ths on the Coticule, 200 laps under trickling water, then a nice relaxing stropping on linen and leather.

I was sure I already had a great edge.

Then I remembered a video on YouTube where Doctor Matt had gone from finishing in a coti then to a few minutes on an Arkansas.

He said that usually the stone you finish on is the edge you get but as the Ark is a slow finisher then a few minutes on it would preserve the smooth characteristics of the coti but would impart some of the sharpness from the Ark.

The best of both worlds.

Anyway I oiled the Arkansas and gave the ELSINE a further 50 laps on that.

My Ark is my favourite stone to hone on.

I use running water with my slates and coticule, and standing water and slurry on my jnat.

But the rich velvety feeling of the razor silently undercutting oil on that beautiful glistening black rock is my favourite.

After another good stropping and a few taps along the edge with a hanging hair it was ready!

While I had the Ark out I also touched up my Ark edged Friodur and Shuredge with a hundred laps apiece.

So this morning I was looking forward to trying out this black and yellow hybrid edge.

And just as advertised I got a great smooth coticule feeling edge but with an extra smoothness and sharpness on top like a cherry on a cake.

 

[Empire straights]

Black and yellow.

View attachment 1524814


Two of my favourite stones atm are my small yellow coticule and my surgical black Arkansas.

Both were formed over 4.5 billion years ago.

The coticule with its dodecahedral garnets, and the crazy hard and very beautiful novaculite Arkansas.

Last night I honed my ELSINE 7/8ths on the Coticule, 200 laps under trickling water, then a nice relaxing stropping on linen and leather.

I was sure I already had a great edge.

Then I remembered a video on YouTube where Doctor Matt had gone from finishing in a coti then to a few minutes on an Arkansas.

He said that usually the stone you finish on is the edge you get but as the Ark is a slow finisher then a few minutes on it would preserve the smooth characteristics of the coti but would impart some of the sharpness from the Ark.

The best of both worlds.

Anyway I oiled the Arkansas and gave the ELSINE a further 50 laps on that.

My Ark is my favourite stone to hone on.

I use running water with my slates and coticule, and standing water and slurry on my jnat.

But the rich velvety feeling of the razor silently undercutting oil on that beautiful glistening black rock is my favourite.

After another good stropping and a few taps along the edge with a hanging hair it was ready!

While I had the Ark out I also touched up my Ark edged Friodur and Shuredge with a hundred laps apiece.

So this morning I was looking forward to trying out this black and yellow hybrid edge.

And just as advertised I got a great smooth coticule feeling edge but with an extra smoothness and sharpness on top like a cherry on a cake.

You ever tried starting with a coticule and finishing on an old glassy bbw? I love coticule>ark worth the right bbw you can get a pretty similar edge.

 

[Mr Kooby Shemayrew]

I gave away my 8x3x1 Surgical black Ark yesterday. She was a good one too. Had a slightly velvety feel. Didn’t eat edges, very forgiving, easy honing.
Now I’m down to just !ONE! 8x3x.5 Dan’s black Ark….. plus a hard, and a blue black.

I’m getting a custom razor in return.

….I wish they made washitas in 8x3’s.

 

[SliceOfLife]

View attachment 1511840
You know you’re getting old when this is your Friday night.
I’d messed up two of my razors.
My Henckels on my last honing. My two year old had dumped some talcum powder on my honing table (aka the kitchen table) and the windows were open as I honed on the Ark. i kept getting a gritty feel until I worked out what was happening. I tried a shave but it wasn’t brilliant.
My little coticule was dropped by one of my little ones which thankfully didn’t snap but the slate backing came away.
I re glued it with far too much superglue and had to prise it from the kitchen counter.
When honing my Robeson Shuredge on it a month later I noticed a clicking sound where a tiny speck of glue had found its way onto the face of the stones. Again, not a great shave after.
Tonight I took both razors back to the 6k side of the King 1k/6k, then to a diamond slurry on my kiita jnat, then to a tomo nagura slurry on the same.
Both razors were passing a strong HHT at this point.
I oiled up the Ark and gave each razor 100 laps.
Wow what a difference this made to the HHT as both razors now cut silently all along the edge.
I don’t fully understand what this means. Is the Ark finer than the. Jnat?
With oil it certainly seems so, and the jnat gives an extremely sharp edge.
I’ll shave with both this weekend and see how they go, I’m very hopeful.

Arks are basically infinitely fine (potentially, down to a small fraction of the size of the sio2 molecule, 28nm)... if flawless and depending on technique and surface condition... Real world? They're the finest naturals out there... with good surface condition and technique... but you run into the limits of tool/razor steel while sharpening... so "finer" becomes irrelevant at the top end. Which is why some guys get better edges off coticules than off .01 micron paste. The razor steel, user technique, even how hard your beard is to cut, and tons more is involved... buying razor finishers allows a lot of variety at the top end without any finishers being the indispensable "best".

 

[Nhenson0986]

I’ve been shaving and honing with straights for 3 1/2 years or so and have a liking for the feel of natural stones.
I don’t have many, a couple of Welsh slates, a little coticule and a kiita jnat. I also have a 1k 6k King combo.
I’ve long read on these forums about the qualities of black Arks so looking for the next stage in sharpness I ordered a 6x2 piece from Dan’s Whetstones a week ago and it arrived in my mailbox here in England today.
View attachment 1480381View attachment 1480382
It’s a pretty black stone like one of the monoliths from 2001 space odyssey.
Now I’m not sure what to do next. I saw a video where dr Matt burnished his on water for 10 mins until it was polished and shiny.
Some people say just hone on it.
Dans has a good reputation but is my stone even flat or do I have to lap it?
Would you use oil or a water soluble honing agent?
How often would I clean /lap the hone?
Any help is much appreciated.

That stone looks beautiful. Hope you’ve had great success with it!

 

[Nhenson0986]

Arks are basically infinitely fine (potentially, down to a small fraction of the size of the sio2 molecule, 28nm)... if flawless and depending on technique and surface condition... Real world? They're the finest naturals out there... with good surface condition and technique... but you run into the limits of tool/razor steel while sharpening... so "finer" becomes irrelevant at the top end. Which is why some guys get better edges off coticules than off .01 micron paste. The razor steel, user technique, even how hard your beard is to cut, and tons more is involved... buying razor finishers allows a lot of variety at the top end without any finishers being the indispensable "best".

This is a great explanation. Very well communicated. Thanks for this.

 

[bmiller3230]

Dan's are good to use out of the box for razors. They white-label some and sell them through other sellers that aren't quite as finished, but still good quality stones.