Genuine Arkansas Black Surgical (Ultra Fine) Knife Sharpening Bench Stone Whetstone 8" x 2" x 1/2" in Wood Box BAB-82-C

I got Dan's surgical black mainly for fine tuning my pocket knife. I love my knife and wanted the very best. The black that I received is excellent. The material and craftsmanship is as close to perfect as possible. It was well worth the investment. If you want something that will give you a razor sharp edge, and you want top of the line quality, then I highly recommend this rock. I got some D2 steel as sharp as a razor and it didn't take long at all. This stone is GREAT.

Very dense stone, smooth and ultra fine, puts a polished edge on your blades. Is everything they advertise and more. Buy with confidence.

Dan's is the best Ark you can buy today. I've tried a few mfgs products at this point. The quality of the material is excellent. The quality of the workmanship is also excellent. I would call the stone I received as close to perfection as I've seen. I looked at the edge of my straight razor under a magnifying glass and it looked to be around 4000 grit I'd guess (by comparison to my King Japan 6000 grit stone). It shaves very similarly to the King in that off the Dan's Black stone. It will shave right off of the stone, however some passes with a strop and it'll really shave. I had previously bought a 2nd from Dan in translucent and this 1st quality Surgical Black produces a much keener edge.But with all of this being said, this is currently 5.7x the price of the King 1000/6000 Japanese waterstone. I would call the edge produced by the King 6000 at least as good as the edge produced by this stone. Under the magnifying glass, the King's scratches are a little finer, from what I can see. Where the Dan's Novaculite stone wins is longevity. You will not easily damage the Arkansas stone with a blade whereas the synthetic could be easily gouged or scraped if you're not careful. The Arkansas should last forever (if not dropped!).If money were no object, I would say the Dan's would be my choice. The quality is perfection! However, for me, I can't afford to spend more than absolutely necessary on a sharpening stone. The King 1000/6000 is the best bet for my needs at $30. If the Dan's were in the realm of say $80 to $100, I would opt for it, even though that would still be triple the price of the King Japan. It really is a very nice quality stone. I had a Halls Surg Black years back and the sharpened edge from the Dan's is a LOT better. The differences are uniformity (Dan's material is amazingly uniform) and machining (Dan's is machined extremely flat!). I also bought a Best Sharpening Stones Black here on Amazon. It was good and flat, but the quality of the stone itself was not nearly as good as Dan's. It looked like what I'd consider a '2nd quality' by comparison. It was like an 800 grit for 1/3 of the stone (different color and texture) and the usual ~4000 (black and uniform) for the rest. This particular 'Best Sharpening Stones' Black didn't sharpen as well due to this. It really seemed like a 2nd vs the Dan's. EDITED to add... I took a chance and ordered another 'Best Sharpening Stones' black and this one was very very good. So maybe the first was a fluke. But just beware of this if you use Best. That said, I am very impressed with the QC on the Dan's Black stone I received. It's just a little too expensive vs what my budget justifies for sharpening. King Japan 6000 grit is my choice, based primarily on bang for the buck. But if you are looking for an Arkansas Surgical Black, this is probably the best one out there. I'd guess this is what Norton was putting out in the days of old.

Has been fantastic. I am a sharpening expert with 30+ years experience, I have everything else (Japanese waterstones, sandpaper, diamond stones, grinders) have tried and used with great success just about every method - except a good Arkansas stone, until now. I did try soft Arkansas long ago, but it was nothing special. THIS IS SPECIAL. Pretty much everything it touches is transformed. Have tried on O1, A2, PMV-11 all with phenomenal results from a few mere strokes. I swear, it is like magic. Things that once were scary sharp are now magic sharp. Great on old 100yr+ tools and new. I cannot rate more highly. I would buy more, but don't need more. And they are so hard to get overseas. I have since bought a soft Arkansas which is also good, but not as magical - cuts a bit faster though, I would not do rough sharpening on the black. What in the world does this stone do to the molecules of the metal to make such an edge? One day science might know, for now it is a magical mystery. Ten stars if I could give it.

Thing works as advertised. The box it comes in is the only fault, as the box isn't fitted to itself so it the lid just slides around on top of the base. The stone itself is very hard, provides an excellent polish, is nicely sized and perfectly cut, and can be used with either oil or water. Good buy. Throw the box away though.

As a straight razor enthusiast, I enjoy trying out different stones and the finishes they leave on my edges. Unlike the other naturals I’ve tried, like natural slate, this one took a little bit of research to use properly. But after breaking the stone in a screwdriver and using a water/glycerin mix, it was amazing! I did about 200-400 laps on a couple razors fresh from the Naniwa 12k, and the results were fantastic! The razors kept their keenness, but felt smooth and comfortable on my face. An excellent buy overall, though I wouldn’t recommend the surgical black for beginners. It’s a slow, hard cutter, and good technique is essential (one mistake/slip up with the blade will ruin the edge, according to other users).

I got this to put the final polish on my chisels and carving knives. It's quite a bit finer than the hard Arkansas, although the hard Arkansas stone is certainly good enough as final stone most of the time. On the other hand, the surgical black Arkansas stone leaves a very fine polish, and almost no burr, so I'm definitely getting a better edge with it. If I'm careful about removing the burr with light passes on the black Arkansas, there is no need to strop the edge before going to work.

Arkansas black stone only comes from one place in the world and that is the Ouachita mountains in Arkansas. Well known for its purity (99.9% silicon) it is even used to sharpen surgical instruments.