Thread: Working With The Shaun Stone.

DublO,

Thanks for taking the time and composing a fascinating post. You're sense of wonder and excitement is palpable. (thought I'd shut the door on HAD)

I'd love to see some slurry pics, if available.

I received my HG this last week. Results so far are positive. What "Double 0" said, you can take to the bank. This is a Hard stone! My first trials were on a good shaving Japanese frameback razor that was starting to lose its edge after a year or so and a lot of stropping.
The hone immediately pointed out under a 60X glass that the bevel was far from set anymore. The polish of the HG is fantastic.
I took same razor back to 4-8 Norton till I had a good bevel under 60x and then to the HG. I raised a light slurry from a 1K diamond plate. Slurry was diluted about every 20 laps. The polishing/finishing of the edge was quick and smooth. Many light strokes were my key to a beautiful edge. The hone needs a good slurry or a lot of water to work well without stuttering. Practice will improve my game with it. Is it a cure all or magic? no. Is it a great hone..Maybe!
Results: a good shave with little hassle and another arrow in my quiver to go after other game.
Was it worth the price? Yes, unqualified yes!
~Richard
PS. I am not a honologist. I do have most of the common waterstones and hones. I enjoy working with various stones and hones. My hone rotations are many and interchanging of hones is constant. I teach the 4-8k Norton. Retired I can sometimes buy, or trade for, and try what appeals to me.

Further trials.
I have been experimenting with a slightly coarser lapping / surface prep of the stone. I am thinking after today's shave that the 600 grit works well for my style of honing. A no pull shave from two razors honed with that lapping grit on the stone surface and diluting slurry after every twenty laps by dipping the blade in water and starting the next set. After honing about 20 on linen and 100 on leather gave me the edge i like; Very smooth!
The stone is really sensitive to lubrication be it water or slurry. It will stutter if it gets a bit dry. If you have a wide bevel, it will definitely tell you when it is done. The blade will stick solid to the stone.
YMMV
~Richard

Another bit of grist for the mill. I tried a drop of glycerin on the stone with the plain water. It did improve the smoothness of the stroke when near the end and plain water, and did not affect the cutting view of the wash over the edge as soap would. I have also tried that.
This is a natural stone and can make as good a shaving edge as your skill can accomplish.
My take is that Double 00 had the right of it! the stone is a good one and will stay in and out of my rotations.
Have fun!
~Richard
By the way, the Japanese frameback I honed has a bevel angle less than 10º and did not show any chipping after honing to perfection...nor a bending edge during the shave.

I like my "Shaun Stone", its just shorter than I like thanks to the postal service breaking a quarter or more of the stone off...i have only used it with water and have had some good results although I have not used it enough to really get a good feel for it yet.

P.S. postal service sucks for breaking it...

Originally Posted by DennisBarberShop

I like my "Shaun Stone", its just shorter than I like thanks to the postal service breaking a quarter or more of the stone off...i have only used it with water and have had some good results although I have not used it enough to really get a good feel for it yet.

P.S. postal service sucks for breaking it...

You could use the smaller part to raise slurry,sorry for the issue

I do, its a big slurry stone now lol

More news from the front:
After a month when I did and did not use the HGH as my finisher, I found that it, in some cases is a razor saver.
Case in point; used, new to me, Kamisori, about the size of a half blade disposable. It was dulled and needed TLC. I had tried other stones and never could get a shaving edge, but did get somewhat closer with each. Enter the HGH, I used again Glen's video and honed as shown 7-1 stroke pattern and after about twenty repeats less strokes each time I have a very nice shaver that dropped hairs right as it came off the stone.


It also did a great job saving a corroded GONG 6/8ths that is now a 11/16ths. 4-8 and then the HGH.

I will still use my Thuringians for smoothing but few strokes will be needed!
Still finding how fast it cuts and it may be my go to for anything needing 6K and above
YMMV..but not much!
~Richard

Been playing some more.
Try the HGH dry if it is flat and about a 600 grit lapping. Been playing around with that to refine edges. It seems to be a winner in that method. It works especially well on flexible razors with wide bevels which want to ride up on water or slurry. Many of the old barber hones' instructions said to use dry and I have liked that method for touch-ups and final polishing whatever the stone.
YMMV but fun is in trying something new!
~Richard

Richard you did a great job of adding to the test.