Well..You Must See & Feel a Differnce from the Lapped Side of the Stone Compared to the Non Lapped Side..Mine is Night n Day..The Non Lapped Side is a Ruddy Matt Black Finish..My Lapped Side is as Smooth as Glass & I Can See the Grains (Different Shades) of the Stone..Looks Like Marble Sorta.. Billy..
Here's a company making natural Arkansas stones Link I can even show you what the stones look like after 35 years of heavy use and abuse. LOL
The actual company who mined my stones is OOB... There's a chip out of the hardest one... But it hasn't slowed me down any.
I got both types of Silica Carbide in, 600 grit, and 1000 grit. I decided to lap the unlapped side first. I first made a few lines on the lapping side, with a purple sharpie. It wont wash off like a lead pencil will, and it still comes off easily, when it is lapped. A little of this powder goes a long long way. I wet the Granite tile with soapy water. This is so the oil that s in the Arkie will be removed, and no sward will clog the stone. I took a small pinch of 600 grit and dusted the wet granite. Then I made figure 8 strokes, and circular strokes, for around 20-30 minutes. I kept the tile wet and dusted a little when needed. This grit makes short work of the Arkie lapping. I then lapped the other side, I had done before. This went faster, because it was basically finished already. Now, both sides had a 600 grit finish on them. I then completely cleaned the surface of the tile, and lapped one side with the 1000 grit silica carbide. This went very fast, and only took around 5 minutes. After washing the Arkie with soapy water, and drying both sides, the feel and texture is incredibly smooth. You can tell a slight difference between the two, by shining a light on the surfaces. You cannot tell the difference with a touch. I will use the 600 grit side as a progression side, on some razors, tomorrow. If you order this stuff, order the smallest amount you can. I think the 1/4 pound of 600 grit, and the "Snuff Can" full of 1000 grit, will be enough to lap about 80-100 Arkies. It only cost $3.50-$4.90 shipped for each.
It sounds like you are creating a type of diamond plate out of your black Arkansas stone. Interesting concept.
I've never thought of it that way. I do know I destroyed a diamond plate with mine. Those Arkies sure are tough.
Here's an article... Link I'm interested in knowing what the difference is between the two sides will be in effective grit and in creating the smooth edge we are after. I'm also interested in knowing how long the edge lasts after the honing on the arkies.
What I'm wondering is if a person could dress the back side of a SB to mimic say a hard. And if so, I wonder where one would stop in the burnishing process to achieve that. Just wondering aloud.
I lapped 5 razor on the Arkansas Surgical Black today. Each blade was chosen because, it has defied my efforts of giving the best shave possible. Each has given good shaves, maybe a 7-8 on a 1-10 scale. I decided to test out the stone, and see how it worked, with to 600 grit lapped side then the 100 grit lapped side. first impression was that on the 600 grit side, you could hear the ASB(Arkie Surg Black) working the metal. After about 50 strokes and the blade sounded a little smoother, I switched to the 1000 grit lapped ASB side. This went smoother, and around the 40-60 lap mark, the blades would go nearly silent, and glide across the stone. A few more laps for good luck, and I stopped. I did test the feel of the blade, before and after the 600 and 1000 grit sides, and there was a noticeable increase in sharpness. The shave will be the deciding factor. Sorry for the photos, the razors are still very oily, but sharp. Top- Japanese Frameback "Bostom" Middle- French Rattler. "Rasoir Fin" Bottom- Japanese "寒月 KANGETSU 東京" Top- French "H.G." Stainless Scales Bottom- Japanese "JPN 1000"
First shave, doing the 600 to 1000 grit lapping on the ASB. It was a success. It took the Japanese "JPN" razor and transformed it from a 7 to a solid 9, on a 1-10 scale. I was very pleased in doing the lapping this way. It feels like it cuts down on the time it takes on the ASB hone, if you only had it lapped 1000 or greater, which I had done prior this week.
So far, the 寒月 KANGETSU 東京, and The JPN have turned into very nice shaving razor. They were mediocre shavers before, despite my tries. Now, these two are good enough to be part of my daily shaver collection, instead of my "Unimpressed" box of straights. This little Arkie is an impressive stone.
My very first and only SR whetstone was a Ouachita Lily White that cost me $105 in 1981.. It was the stone my Barber told me to order to maintain my SR's I have not seen one like it out there in years.. I understand that the Pike Lily White Razor Stone is close to it Used only that for 26 years... The stone is so dense it makes the PHIG seem wimpy They are a Novaculite much like many of the Chert of Brit and Scot stones of the old days, cool factoid "The word novaculite is derived from the Latin word novacula, for razor stone" They are exceptional Burnishing tools.. I set aside using actual oil on my Arkie and my Charnley Forest simply because of the stupidly expensive water stones that reside near them now.. The Smith's honing solution works as good and has zero danger of permeating my water stones plus it's CHEAP hehehe
The two big advantages for me over any Oil #1 It isn't Oil #2 the viscosity is easily adjustable with a few drops of water
@gssixgun , I have, and use an old can of Smith's Honing oil, it feels like very thick Mineral Oil. I guess that stuff predated the Honing Solution that doesn't have oil in it. I've been using that on my Arkie Surg Black.
I just looked on the bay, and the Smiths website. It looks like they only produce the "Honing Solution" now. The stuff I have is old, and in a tin can.
Glen..Funny You Mention the Oil thing..I Restored a Rolls Razor for a Local Guy at the Post Office the Other Day..Cutting a Long Story he Introduced Me to His Barber Friend Whom Cuts his Hair..The Old Guy is in his Late 80s & he Said He Used Oil in Just about All his Stones Many Years Ago..He Reckoned it was Quite Common Place..Oh..He Laughed at the Old Balloon Training thing.. He Said..Yeah Well..A Balloon Doesn't have Warts, Boils & Zits & it Doesn't Fall Asleep in the Chair.. Billy..
