Hundreds huh???? I can't see me doing that with all my razors, at once. That would kill an entire day. A few razors at a time, might save my sanity, and marriage.
Since I don't have the time pressures related to providing a professional service the impractical nature is a bit of a moot point. It's the pleasure and enjoyment that is more important. However, I am curious to see how long the edge lasts before needing to be taken back to the stone. Monday my Arkie shows up and the slippery slope gets it's shot at taking over.
No denying a leisurely hone is a pleasurable, therapeutic experience. I've used some hard finishers that DO require extensive laps to achieve the desired edge—and to me, the experience is well worth it. Aside from the time constraints of business, I have to carefully monitor usage of my left hand as I pay the price (painful!) if I overdo it.
Scott..I Usually Use this Stone when I Go & Make a Cup of Tea at Night & I Stand in the Kitchen for 20 Min & Play..The Way I Look at It is this..I Use a Naniwa Super Stone Progression & its Fast..The Work is Setting a Bevel Anyway..20 Min on the End of a Synthetic Progression with an Arkie is Gonna be Far Quicker I Would Imagine than Someone Using Say a Full Coticules or Jnat Progression.. Billy..
I shaved with my second ARKIE test razor. It was very smooth and was similar to the shave I received with the Dubl Duck. Excellent hair popping ability, down the entire edge, even after the shave. I will be using this ARKIE more often. G.M.Mayer "Blue Steel"
I honed up this W.Greaves & Sons Stub Tail Wedge this morning, and finished it off with the Surgical Black Arkie. I did not have much hope for it, because of the blade issues, but It gave a wonderfully silent and smooth shave. This little Arkie will be a keeper. W.Greaves & Sons
Make sure you do this on a stone or glass surface you don't care about. The powder will tear up a granite countertop, and permanently haze a piece of glass. SWMBO would not be impressed. I used counter top samples from a hardware store.
I have four Arkies- Soft, Hard, Black Surgical, and Translucent. All but the translucent are from Dan's, and are 6x2 stones. The translucent is a vintage Norton, and is 4x2. I have done a razor from just off the 1k through the four Arkies, and it had a very smooth creamy edge. It took forever though. (Two or three nights.) I like the smoothness from the translucent, and am trying to work the Black and Translucent into finishing my razors. Look at the scratch patterns if you have a scope. Arkansas do a shallower scratch pattern, but polish at the same time. I recently did a kitchen knife on my set, and my wife is afraid to use it now.
The tiles are not typically as smooth as counter tops. Go to a counter place and ask if they have any scraps they might give you. Sink cut outs work awesome. (They get used a lot for leatherworkers to get smooth hard work surfaces.) The granite in that picture would probably be overkill. It is a 24x12x4 inch slab, and had a nice polish on the back side until I used SIC powder on it and messed it up. It was a tombstone with a spelling error, and is a fantastic work bench.
I use that stuff when I grind mirrors for telescopes. I spend days grinding. Your arms will get strong Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
The white Arkie from @Spyder arrived yesterday and I waited a whole day before honing my first razor on it. I'm thinking that may be a record for this thread. This was also my first time using any stone. I spent 20 minutes or so with it and it went by so fast I couldn't believe it. I was concerned about it being tedious but it wasn't in the least. I can easily see more razors getting the Arkie treatment after getting that first one out the way with less difficulty than I imagined. The SOTD has the results, but, as you can guess it added a nice smoothness and a little more sharpness as well. Best shave I've had with that razor. Now to figure out who's next...
Aye..Its a Distinct Edge off the Arkie..This Stone in No Way Compromises Sharpness Over Smoothness..The Edges are Both Sharp & Smooth..Solingen Steel Fairs Exceptionally Well on the Arkie.. Billy..
I just did a 50-60 lap touchup, on several already sharp razors. I immediately noticed they took on a sharper feel, during the Black Arkie honing process. I then shaved with an OLD French Rattler razor. I've had "Good" shaves with it, in the past. But, after the minor touchup with the Black Arkie, This razor now gives "Top Notch, Stellar Shaves". I'm becoming more and more impressed with this stone. I think "Finishing Stones" such as this, deserve a name all to themselves. Arkansas "Ultra Finishing" Hones. Leon Pelleray, A Paris Bis 17.
