Thread: what is this strange hone

Thanks Piet sorry thats something i missed as been said thinking on a Sandstone i mostly thought on a hard stone....then the Hindostan will be the right choice....

thanks for your reply those links are fascinating. The hone looks like a bout coticule I I will send better pictures for you I lapped the stones with a double cut file so it is pretty soft I have not honed a razor on it yet just a few passes with a old western knife to see what the stone cut like lots of feedback very smooth but a fast cutter

Like Piet pointed out, hindostans can be soft too. Not all are fine finishers. However, they are supposed to be novaculites (novaculite means "razor stone"), a chert or flinty substance, so any tendency to being granular like sandstone either points to an incompletely indurated example or a rock of similar nature.

I wouldn't go to far with the les latneuses coticule suggestion, either. The coticule side of these stones is fairly hard for a coticule and the hybrid side is extremely hard - almost as hard as some novaculites (eg translucent and surgical arkansas).

Regards,
Neil

Originally Posted by Neil Miller

Like Piet pointed out, hindostans can be soft too. Not all are fine finishers. However, they are supposed to be novaculites (novaculite means "razor stone"), a chert or flinty substance, so any tendency to being granular like sandstone either points to an incompletely indurated example or a rock of similar nature.

I wouldn't go to far with the les latneuses coticule suggestion, either. The coticule side of these stones is fairly hard for a coticule and the hybrid side is extremely hard - almost as hard as some novaculites (eg translucent and surgical arkansas).

Regards,
Neil

Thanks Neil for the addition, as been written the Coticule thing was only a guess.....
in thinking on a Hindostan also the surface on this picture is in my thinking quite untypical for a Hindostan, i never saw one with these lines, dots and streams.....


Here was also a discussion about Coti/Hindostan and i kind of chert...
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthr...ery-stone-coti

Picture is linked from the Thread from Member SliceOfLife:

thanks you think two stones are soft hindosans? they both seem about the same or pretty close the yellow one looks like some sort of coti but I do not not know did you see the pictures? a soft hindosan would make more sense Have you ever used a soft hindo? how do they use them slurry? please tell me what you think thanks very much

thanks so much those links are wonderful what be the best way to use them ? they like water I Have not tried oil are they a good first stone then move to something harder? looking forward to hear your reply thanks so much BRAD

Iam still unsure but that doesnt matter....in thinking on the Hindostan you have to check the properties as far as i read and experienced these stones can act differently in their grit estimation

Originally Posted by gfc7

thanks so much those links are wonderful what be the best way to use them ? they like water I Have not tried oil are they a good first stone then move to something harder? looking forward to hear your reply thanks so much BRAD

A proper hindostan can be used with water, but a light honing oil brings a slightly better edge. Most examples are very old and will have been used with oil anyway.

As with all natural hones, each example can and usually does vary, sometimes markedly - you can't tell by looking, you have to use it. A good one will give an edge somewhere close to a 10k synthetic (note that you cannot assign grit ratings to natural stones - we only do so as a rough rule of thumb so, however subjective, we get a ball-park idea of the stones capabilities).

It will be hard, too, if we want to use it as a finisher (note that the majority are all quite hard - they were used as gravestones and most civil war and earlier carved gravestones have lasted very well indeed, better than most other materials used at that time). They are a real chore to lap flat, unsurprisingly! Being so hard and because of the material they are made from (novaculite) they are slow in use if they are quality finishers, and take a lot of laps to do anything to a razors edge.

Dont work on the assumption that harder is always better though, it is not correct. Thuringians and coticules though hard are othing as hard as a decent hindostan, plus they can give an edge that is equal or even better. Some syntnetic finishers like the sigma 13k are softish in an easy to lap way, as are most synthetic waterstones,

For the above reasons I would not suggest one as a first stone for you Brad. If you are after a first, single hone then it seems to me that you are new to honing and just want to maintain a shave-ready edge.

I would advise you to get a synthetic hone, of which either the nanjwa super stone 10k or 12k are excelle t examples. Synthetics have a known reliable grit rating, so you know what you are getting and dont have to gamble like you would with a natural. They are faster too and generally easier to learn to use.

Once you have mastered honing is the time to experiment - you need a sound basis first and you can find that in a myriad of posts on this site.

Regards,
Neil

thanks Neil I have been always been a synthetic fan DMT and silicon carbide carborundum mostly I love that name ,but any way I just bought a set of Naniwa ss stones and they are great .THE hindostans were one dollar at an auction a week or so ago they looked like they came out a stone wall but a quick lapping and I saw that had something I just did not know what. I have been using them and an arkansas white hard stone that Ive had since the early 90's its a great feel smooth with lots of feedback the experience is very enjoyable with man made hones you go through the grits and if you can hold an angle you get the desired result Ive always love to sharpen since I got my first knife. I was given a worn ELLIOTs best silver steel 6/8 that was ⅝ when I was 14 , about 2 years ago I started to hone and shave with it I have loved razors and honing ever since. thank you very much for sharing your expertise with me sincerely Brad