Love my Dan's Arkansas stones. I use them in much a similar way, as a finishing stone, and often find little to no need to strop when done. They, at least how I use them, seem to do a fantastic job of burr removal, as they cut slow enough, at least the finer ones ( Hard, Black, and Translucent ) to not be prone to creating a new burr after the initial one has been cut off really allowing you to really fine tune an edge. Something I've been trying lately is using the arks, mostly the black and translucent to refine a coarse edge 320-600 grit. It seems to work well, leaving a lot of the toothy nature of the apex, but bringing up the sharpness quite a bit, as the stone is so hard, fine, and free of mud to work into those deeper teeth.
@@Jef simple steels mostly. Nothing fancier than 14c28n, or whatever global uses, white 2 blue super. my beater work knives. Agree 100% with the s30v assessment. Tried it, and hated life. After the 600 diamond( and some ark work ) the edge is incredibly aggressive, but shaves. Hard to describe. Using the black ark to refine the edge.
I have a number of arks but haven't used them in quite a while. Usually use one of my diamond stones. Now I'm getting the urge to bust out an ark and a buck knife. Enjoyed the video.
Really good video Jef. In my experience with Arkansas stones they always seem to take the aggression/bite out of the edge at least for me. I’ve only used a soft and hard ark though. Thanks for sharing it’s much appreciated 👊🏼
I've seen that on some higher carbide stuff. It removes some of the aggression, due to the polishing/burnishing effect, these stones have, on those steels. However, it is replaced, with that natural stone edge. It is difficult to describe, but nats, including jnats, have a particular feel to the edge, that is more aggressive than stropping, but less so, than most water stones/diamonds.
Nice work. Although they do take time they still get a sharp blade. As you state in your comments, great for the simpler steels. And the nostalgia about them still has a lot of appeal. 👍👍👍
@@Jef Garnets (dodecahedron in shape) around 25%. Belgian Blue are slow cutters (compared to yellow coticules), not great at raising a burr, but pretty good for deburring IMO and as finishing stones. Having a slurry stone/nagura (another small piece of Belgian Blue) to raise slurry and dilute it over time (grit variation) is the way to go. Belgian Blue is not as great as yellow coticule, but it's way more affordable.
@@Jef You dilute it by adding drops of water along the sharpening process. Essentially, you start by creating a thick dark slurry on the stone, this way you have lots of garnets (this particular stone's abrasive) on suspension on the surface of the stone to grind your edge. This is the lowest grit variation. As you add water, you reduce the amount of abrasive and create your grit progression. You finish, depending on the result you want to achieve, with clear water. You will often see people finishing under running water for straight razors. This would be your highest grit. With this technique, the stone with the highest grit range variation probably is yellow coticule. Obviously, the pressure exerted also impacts the speed grinding and the level of polish. I often use my Belgian Blue on low end (but decent) steels as a strop, with alternate edge trailing strokes and low pressure only, after a 1K stone, to deburr, instead of using leather with compound.
I’ve seen kknives switzerland speak about coticules being able to sharpen high vanadium steels. I looked into purchasing one from the mines, but glord, they are expensive. Maybe one day someone will loan me one, then i can decide if the price is worthwhile 😁
Love my Dan's Arkansas stones. I use them in much a similar way, as a finishing stone, and often find little to no need to strop when done. They, at least how I use them, seem to do a fantastic job of burr removal, as they cut slow enough, at least the finer ones ( Hard, Black, and Translucent ) to not be prone to creating a new burr after the initial one has been cut off really allowing you to really fine tune an edge. Something I've been trying lately is using the arks, mostly the black and translucent to refine a coarse edge 320-600 grit. It seems to work well, leaving a lot of the toothy nature of the apex, but bringing up the sharpness quite a bit, as the stone is so hard, fine, and free of mud to work into those deeper teeth.
How is it after the 600? What steel type?
@@Jef simple steels mostly. Nothing fancier than 14c28n, or whatever global uses, white 2 blue super. my beater work knives. Agree 100% with the s30v assessment. Tried it, and hated life. After the 600 diamond( and some ark work ) the edge is incredibly aggressive, but shaves. Hard to describe. Using the black ark to refine the edge.
Wonderful technique using that nakiri!
Thank you! 🙏
I have a number of arks but haven't used them in quite a while. Usually use one of my diamond stones. Now I'm getting the urge to bust out an ark and a buck knife. Enjoyed the video.
Chop chop! 😁 I use mine here and there for touch ups, or on my Japanese cutlery, so they see a little use, from time to time.
Really good video Jef. In my experience with Arkansas stones they always seem to take the aggression/bite out of the edge at least for me. I’ve only used a soft and hard ark though. Thanks for sharing it’s much appreciated 👊🏼
I've seen that on some higher carbide stuff. It removes some of the aggression, due to the polishing/burnishing effect, these stones have, on those steels. However, it is replaced, with that natural stone edge. It is difficult to describe, but nats, including jnats, have a particular feel to the edge, that is more aggressive than stropping, but less so, than most water stones/diamonds.
Nice work. Although they do take time they still get a sharp blade. As you state in your comments, great for the simpler steels. And the nostalgia about them still has a lot of appeal. 👍👍👍
Yea I doubt I will ever abandon them completely. I really like the edges they produce on my Japanese cutlery
When it comes to natural stones, Belgian blue is also great right after a 1000 grit stone, it just requires slurry management.
What is the Belgian blue made of? Arks are mostly quartz.
@@Jef Garnets (dodecahedron in shape) around 25%. Belgian Blue are slow cutters (compared to yellow coticules), not great at raising a burr, but pretty good for deburring IMO and as finishing stones. Having a slurry stone/nagura (another small piece of Belgian Blue) to raise slurry and dilute it over time (grit variation) is the way to go. Belgian Blue is not as great as yellow coticule, but it's way more affordable.
How does the slurry break down if it garnets?
@@Jef You dilute it by adding drops of water along the sharpening process. Essentially, you start by creating a thick dark slurry on the stone, this way you have lots of garnets (this particular stone's abrasive) on suspension on the surface of the stone to grind your edge. This is the lowest grit variation. As you add water, you reduce the amount of abrasive and create your grit progression. You finish, depending on the result you want to achieve, with clear water. You will often see people finishing under running water for straight razors. This would be your highest grit. With this technique, the stone with the highest grit range variation probably is yellow coticule. Obviously, the pressure exerted also impacts the speed grinding and the level of polish. I often use my Belgian Blue on low end (but decent) steels as a strop, with alternate edge trailing strokes and low pressure only, after a 1K stone, to deburr, instead of using leather with compound.
I’ve seen kknives switzerland speak about coticules being able to sharpen high vanadium steels. I looked into purchasing one from the mines, but glord, they are expensive. Maybe one day someone will loan me one, then i can decide if the price is worthwhile 😁