Thread: Working With The Shaun Stone.

Working With the Shaun Stone

About three weeks ago I was sent a stone to work with. The stone was sent by RezDog (Shaun). The stone was a sample from some large rock formations on the island where Shaun lives. The island is Haida Gwaii, just off the coast of British Columbia, Canada. Several samples of this stone have been passed out to members in the shaving community. I’m grateful for the opportunity to work with this stone, which has been referred to as the “Shaun Stone”. As to the type of minerals that formed this stone, I have no idea; Maybe Shaun can shed some light on this.

The following razors were honed with the Shaun Stone;
M. George & Son Sheffield, Geneva Cutlery, Burrell Cutlery, Puma NOS, unknown razor etched “Solingen” on the blade, W.H. Morley & Sons, Wade & Butcher Sheffield.

When I first received the stone, I put it to soak in water for a week. I then removed it & grid lapped it twice with a DMT 1200. I only used “1” layer of tape, even for the two large Sheffield blades. During the honing I only used “water” as a lubricant. Before the shave test, the razors were stropped on a Neil Miller, 40 laps on linen & 60 laps on Shell Cordovan.
All the razors had the following progression; Norton 1k, 4k, 8k, then finished on the Shaun Stone. The Geneva, Burrell, Puma, and the W.H. Morley required 80 to 100 laps to produce a good shave. I pushed the edge on the unknown Solingen blade by another 60 laps to get a wonderful shave.

Here’s where the road changes; the two older Sheffield razors started showing signs of a high gloss bevel around 30 laps on the Shaun Stone, under magnification. I continued for 20 more laps on the Sheffield’s for a total of 50 laps, stropped & shave tested. The result was the closest, smoothest shaves to date. The two immediately went into my rotation.
I cannot explain the difference in the two group’s results, other than maybe the difference in the steel. My limited knowledge on razor steel gives me no answers for you. I can only say that 50 laps on the first group would not get me a good shave.
A few things to take note of when using the Shaun Stone;
Water can be used to produce great results with this stone,but there is a tendency for the blade to “skip”, sometimes “stick”, as you stroke the blade across the stone, if you do not keep the surface heavy with water.I can get by with a spray bottle on many of my finishers, but not with the Shaun Stone. I used a cup to wet the surface every 8 to 10 strokes. Not a whole cup of water, mind you, but enough to have standing water for the next set of strokes.
Pressure also plays a part in the “skipping”, “sticking”, very light, with heavy water resolves this problem. Some members have used oil in their testing of this stone. That of course is their choice. I do not use oils on my natural finishers, only water, that’s my choice. I have tried Smith’s Honing Solution a few times in the past, it performs well, but I steer away from it now, when it comes to my razors.
I have seen photos of some of the other Shaun Stones that are being tested & the stone I have is consistent in description & according to Shaun, they are from the same large sample formation. The stone I have, has two inclusions on it that did not hinder the honing of the razors. There is a photo of slurry on the stone I used, but I did not use slurry in the honing results of these razors.

This Shaun Stone is obviously a great finisher, as the results of the two Sheffield razors have shown us. The other set of razors took more work to get wonderful shaves. I would call the Shaun Stone an aggressive stone & a fine stone at the same time. Monitoring your progress, with at least a loop, is essential with the Shaun Stone, IMO.
I would like to see more of these stones make it out into the community. It was an interesting & fun stone to hone with.

Thank you again, Shaun.