Thread: Escher skills

Originally Posted by SirStropalot

Escher is a brand, not the name of stone. Eschers are Thuringians, but Thuringians are not necessarily Eschers. To be an Escher the Thuringian would have been graded by Escher and accepted only if it met their quality standards. That's why labeled Eschers command the high prices.....you know what you're getting.

With Thuringian you just, supposedly, know that the stone came from the same area and may or may not be suitable as a hone.

They may have sourced rock from the area, or a quarry, but that does not make it an Escher.

Howard

Thanks... I'l steer clear then

I know how you feel. For that $199.00 I would set it aside and add a little when you can. Watch the classifieds here because Eschers come up now and then. eBay has them, but you have to be careful!! I've heard of and seen some dubious labels on stones claiming to be Escher.

On your Shaptons, stop at the 16k and maybe do 5 or so laps on crox and then strop normally. I don't like using crox, but it will tame a crisp edge until you can find an Escher if that's what you really want. I like my Escher very much. Usually from the 8k Shapton. My 30k is very lonely!!

Regards,

Howard

As another less-experienced honester, I'll give you this: I got my first buttery edge off a coticule, no paste. Before that I was shaving off 8k, no paste.

I now have paste. And so I go from 8k to Coti to CrOx, then strop. I haven't found any more "butter" but i do have a Zulu in the mail. I hope to be able to make it my "super" natural finisher.

And if that is the case, then I shall severely curtail my HAD. If not, I expect to try rocks from all around the globe.

As i told my friends last night, "Once you shave with a buttery edge... it's the crack cocaine of shaving/honing".

Originally Posted by Double0757

I don't have the 30k shapton but have the 1,2,4,8,16 shapton glass! I take the razor through the SG progression then go to the Escher/Turingian. I don't get more sharpness from the turi, but gain the smoothness from it. What I'm looking is to change the scratch pattern along the edge, to get that turi buttery feel, with light strokes.

You don't need a big stone for that. One of my favorite edges is from a 1 1/8" wide X 5" long light grey turi, that I use after the 16k SG.

Double O

+1 to what Double0757 said!
Go and try to find an original Escher or labelled small size thuringian or an unlabelled one from a trusted source. Most of them go for around 50 to 80$. They will do the job since you only need a few strokes on the thuri at the final stage.
Even though I prefer large hones I also got some small thuris that I hold in hand just for touch-ups. With a little experience this works well.

Talk to Sham over at http://www.razorandstone.com - The Front Page as he always has some and just happens to know a thing or two about Eschers...

Originally Posted by shooter74743

Talk to Sham over at http://www.razorandstone.com - The Front Page as he always has some and just happens to know a thing or two about Eschers...

Thanks,
I took a bit of a chance on this. Abziehstein (Escher?) Thüringer Thuringian Water Hone / Razor Hone | eBay

Do u think i wasted my money? It was cheap

Originally Posted by JOB15

Do u think i wasted my money? It was cheap

There was many Thuringian stone in this type of box, some Escher as well, im thinking its one of them going by the pics, should turn out to be a fine stone, and the price paid was good.

Originally Posted by Martin103

There was many Thuringian stone in this type of box, some Escher as well, im thinking its one of them going by the pics, should turn out to be a fine stone, and the price paid was good.

Thanks.. The seller has sold Escher before and it all made sense.
Being dark blue, would that determine anything, are there dark blue Eschers and Thuringian's?
I think i read that the darker stones are maybe not as fine as the lighter yellow ones.

Originally Posted by JOB15

Being dark blue, would that determine anything, are there dark blue Eschers and Thuringian's?
I think i read that the darker stones are maybe not as fine as the lighter yellow ones.

There are indeed dark blue Eschers and Thuringian, perhaps the yellows are finer, but the blue stone are fine finisher as well. Its really all about learning the stone and make it work for you like all natural stones.

I think i read that the darker stones are maybe not as fine as the lighter yellow ones.

You said that perfectly. Yes, the darker stones are maybe not as fine. Then again, that leaves room for them to be maybe as fine also. FWIW, I use a dark blue MOST of the time, but I do have a yellow green, and a Naniwa 12k. I've spent more time with dark blues than any other, simply due to their abundance by comparison to the lighter colored stones. I don't see an appreciable difference. But that's only my opinion based on my experiences.

Basically, it's been my experience that if I get a vintage thuringian stone of any label, or with no label at all, that stone will be a good finishing stone, regardless of color. This has only been my experience. Others have bought stones called eschers or thuringians, or coticule even, and ended up with a big chunk of soft Arkansas stone. Not everyone selling stones really knows stones. But they do know what keywords get them the most views.

The very next post might come from someone whose experience dictates they tell you the dark blues are garbage compared to light greens. You'll find this to be one of the toughest things to deal with when asking for advice. Bottom line: You probably have a very good finishing stone, but only your own time and experience will bear it out.