Cookaholics Bulletin Board

Well, I'm a klutz.
(Sigh!) I dropped my Smith's Hard Arkansas stone and now its broken.
Almost through the middle, diagonally.
I've had it for 20 years, so I've gotten loads of use out of it.

So I went on line shopping for a replacement.
Yep I can easily find a replacement of the same thing, but I've noticed there are other products out there.
Some of the synthetic stones offer grit ranges of 600, 1000, 1500, 2000, 3000, . . . whatever.
That's when I realized I have no idea what the grit range of my HK was.

Going by finger-tip feel, it seems a little finer than my 2000 grit sand paper.
Anyone out there have knowledge or measured the grit with a stylus?

I have two of these stones that I inherited from my father. I keep one on my hobby bench to keep my xacto knife sharp.

For knife sharpening, you generally want the 600. Finer than that, what you're doing is polishing, not sharpening. IMHO.

I found in a shaving forum this guide to hardness:

Washita/Soft Arkansas are not really suitable for straights, imo. (<800 grit)
Bevel setting: hard white arkansas w/slurry, (~800-1200 grit)
Sharpening: Surgical Black arkansas w/slurry (~3000-6000 grit)
Finishing: Translucent arkansas (~6000-8000 grit, some are higher)

Source


I cannot certify its accuracy but the poster seemed quite knowledgeable.

Thanks for the feedback.
Certain blades benefit from a hard arkansas, many do not.
Exacto is certainly one where you want a true razor edge.
A barber's straight razor might be another (with leather strap to finish).
I have sharpened knives, then shaved (sucessfully) with them. I certainly don't recommend it, it could be way dangerous.