Andrew Pitonyak
09-01-2019, 12:20 PM
I don't remember seeing much about Preyda arkansas stones. I start by listing the specifications from the web site for RH Preyda, Dan's, and Best Arkansas stones.
First, the easy summary in tabular form:
Brand
Type
Density
Grit
Grit
Comment
Preyda
soft
Medium
400
600
Preyda
hard
Fine
600
800
Preyda
hard black
Extra Fine
2000
3000
Preyda
translucent
Ultra Fine
4000
6000
Preyda
surgical black
Extra Ultra Fine
8000
1000
Dan’s
soft
Medium
400
600
Dan’s
hard
Fine
600
800
Dan’s
true hard
Extra Fine
1200
+
Same as Translucent
Dan’s
translucent
Extra Fine
1200
+
Same as true hard
Dan’s
black
Ultra Fine
1200
+
Best
soft
1200
12 micron
Best
hard
1500
10 – 11 micron
Best
Black Surgical
2300
2500
7 – 7.5 micron
Best
translucent
3500
4000
5.5-6 micron
More verbose with a few links:
https://rhpreyda.com/
They offer the following Arkansas stones:
Soft (400-600 grit) Medium density
Hard (600-800 grit) Fine density
Hard Black (2,000-3,000 grit) extra fine density
Translucent (4,000-6,000 grit) ultra fine density
Surgical Black (8,000-10,000 grit) x-ultra fine density
https://www.danswhetstone.com/product/wide-bench-stones/
https://www.danswhetstone.com/information/selecting-your-whetstone/
Soft - (400-600 grit) Medium
Hard - (600-800 grit) Fine
True Hard - (1,200+ grit) Extra Fine (same as Translucent)
Translucent - (1,200+ grit) Extra Fine (Same as True Hard)
Black - (1,200+ grit) Ultra Fine
I have ONE stone from Dan's at this point, and it is the Black, listed as Ultra-Fine, so what they call their smoothing / finest / polishing stone.
If you look at Best Sharpening Stones (https://www.bestsharpeningstones.com...rpening-stones (https://www.bestsharpeningstones.com/arkansas-sharpening-stones)),
I pulled numbers from here:
https://www.bestsharpeningstones.com/arkansas-sharpening-stones (https://www.bestsharpeningstones.com/articles/Arkansas-Stones-FAQ)
and
https://www.bestsharpeningstones.com/articles/arkansas-sharpening-stone-grits
they list the following:
Soft - about 1200 grit or 12 micron
Hard - about 1500 grit or 10 - 11 micron
Black Surgical 2300 - 2500 Grit or 7-7.5 micron
Translucent 3500 - 4000 or 5.5 - 6 micron
Just looking at the numbers, I have already formed some opinions, but, I wanted to talk about a set that I have from RH Preyda.
For starters, this is the kit that I bought from Woodcraft: https://www.woodcraft.com/products/6-x2x1-2-hard-blk-hard-soft-3-stone-kit
Seems like an OK kit for $46 to keep at work in case I wanted to touch up a knife or something, but, I would like their finest stone for polishing. I will say that my immediate first impression is that the box was poorly done. Specifically, the lid drops on top and is completely smooth. In other words, the lid will not stay in place.
415327
My first thought was that I would modify the box so that the top would slip onto the top, but, the clearance for the top is roughly 3/16" so I did not want to try to route a lip. I considered routing a groove around the outside and then gluing some wood in place so that I could slip the top on. The walls are just under 3/8" thick. I decided on a hing wiht a 20mm filigree clasp to hold it shut.
415328 415329
This setup works well.
I threw some Norton's oil onto the Hard Black (mineral oil) since I have a bunch of it and I gave it a quick touch-up with a 1/2" chisel that needed it. Don't know what to say other than it brought the chisel up to snuff very quickly and easily. Would have liked to have touched it to something a bit finer after that, but after a strop, it was already pretty sharp so I was happy with it.
The Honing oil in my set is packaged differently than that shown on the Woodcraft site. Mind does not have the RH Preyda brand listed and it states that it meets or exceeds certain standards for food safety. I did not open the package, but, my assumption is that this is mineral oil.
415330
First, the easy summary in tabular form:
Brand
Type
Density
Grit
Grit
Comment
Preyda
soft
Medium
400
600
Preyda
hard
Fine
600
800
Preyda
hard black
Extra Fine
2000
3000
Preyda
translucent
Ultra Fine
4000
6000
Preyda
surgical black
Extra Ultra Fine
8000
1000
Dan’s
soft
Medium
400
600
Dan’s
hard
Fine
600
800
Dan’s
true hard
Extra Fine
1200
+
Same as Translucent
Dan’s
translucent
Extra Fine
1200
+
Same as true hard
Dan’s
black
Ultra Fine
1200
+
Best
soft
1200
12 micron
Best
hard
1500
10 – 11 micron
Best
Black Surgical
2300
2500
7 – 7.5 micron
Best
translucent
3500
4000
5.5-6 micron
More verbose with a few links:
https://rhpreyda.com/
They offer the following Arkansas stones:
Soft (400-600 grit) Medium density
Hard (600-800 grit) Fine density
Hard Black (2,000-3,000 grit) extra fine density
Translucent (4,000-6,000 grit) ultra fine density
Surgical Black (8,000-10,000 grit) x-ultra fine density
https://www.danswhetstone.com/product/wide-bench-stones/
https://www.danswhetstone.com/information/selecting-your-whetstone/
Soft - (400-600 grit) Medium
Hard - (600-800 grit) Fine
True Hard - (1,200+ grit) Extra Fine (same as Translucent)
Translucent - (1,200+ grit) Extra Fine (Same as True Hard)
Black - (1,200+ grit) Ultra Fine
I have ONE stone from Dan's at this point, and it is the Black, listed as Ultra-Fine, so what they call their smoothing / finest / polishing stone.
If you look at Best Sharpening Stones (https://www.bestsharpeningstones.com...rpening-stones (https://www.bestsharpeningstones.com/arkansas-sharpening-stones)),
I pulled numbers from here:
https://www.bestsharpeningstones.com/arkansas-sharpening-stones (https://www.bestsharpeningstones.com/articles/Arkansas-Stones-FAQ)
and
https://www.bestsharpeningstones.com/articles/arkansas-sharpening-stone-grits
they list the following:
Soft - about 1200 grit or 12 micron
Hard - about 1500 grit or 10 - 11 micron
Black Surgical 2300 - 2500 Grit or 7-7.5 micron
Translucent 3500 - 4000 or 5.5 - 6 micron
Just looking at the numbers, I have already formed some opinions, but, I wanted to talk about a set that I have from RH Preyda.
For starters, this is the kit that I bought from Woodcraft: https://www.woodcraft.com/products/6-x2x1-2-hard-blk-hard-soft-3-stone-kit
Seems like an OK kit for $46 to keep at work in case I wanted to touch up a knife or something, but, I would like their finest stone for polishing. I will say that my immediate first impression is that the box was poorly done. Specifically, the lid drops on top and is completely smooth. In other words, the lid will not stay in place.
415327
My first thought was that I would modify the box so that the top would slip onto the top, but, the clearance for the top is roughly 3/16" so I did not want to try to route a lip. I considered routing a groove around the outside and then gluing some wood in place so that I could slip the top on. The walls are just under 3/8" thick. I decided on a hing wiht a 20mm filigree clasp to hold it shut.
415328 415329
This setup works well.
I threw some Norton's oil onto the Hard Black (mineral oil) since I have a bunch of it and I gave it a quick touch-up with a 1/2" chisel that needed it. Don't know what to say other than it brought the chisel up to snuff very quickly and easily. Would have liked to have touched it to something a bit finer after that, but after a strop, it was already pretty sharp so I was happy with it.
The Honing oil in my set is packaged differently than that shown on the Woodcraft site. Mind does not have the RH Preyda brand listed and it states that it meets or exceeds certain standards for food safety. I did not open the package, but, my assumption is that this is mineral oil.
415330