Thread: Nature Green Jade as barber hone???

There are also Welsh Slate hones that are kind of cheap, I have now idea about shipping to spain, the seller on EBay (aj_1001) ships from england

Originally Posted by DaveW

I have one of those green stones - but in 200x50mm. They are incredibly slow, and I've never used mine to touch up a razor. If you're looking for a touch up stone, you'd be better off with a slab of biggs of owyhee jasper, but those require that you have a diamond hone to get them flat in the first place.

I just put a newly acquired razor to a washita, a translucent ark, a black ark, a piece of owyhee jasper, and then the green stone I mentioned above....

in order of fineness, I'd say the washita (despite being broken in) was definitely the least fine. No surprise. the translucent next, the black ark and green stone were similar, and the jasper was the only one that actually put a bright polish on the edge of a razor.

Of those stones, they are all settled in except for the jasper (so the jasper could go finer yet). I did put the razor to a shoubu stone that's very very fine, but I don't know that it's any finer than the jasper. It is, though, as fine as a japanese stone gets - and it could break in a little more on the surface (I don't lap stones unless they completely stop cutting - I'd rather let them cut as fine as possible).

Anyway, I'm sure the green stone could be used as a touch up stone, but it's not ideal. I'd rather have a fine and hard hone slate of some type. You could get a bigger hone probably for the same money if you're in europe. Jasper is cheap here (about $15 shipped) but it wouldn't be so cheap there.

He DaveW, I have on occasion been looking at jasper slabs with the idea of turning on into a hone, but there are so many different types of jasper that I have no idea what to pick, do you have any pointers as to selecting a piece as a hone? it would be realy appriciated!

I think it'll be to slow and for the size to expensive.....but I just will throw in the Word "Barber Hones" in thinking on TOUCH UPS......

Originally Posted by Bram

He DaveW, I have on occasion been looking at jasper slabs with the idea of turning on into a hone, but there are so many different types of jasper that I have no idea what to pick, do you have any pointers as to selecting a piece as a hone? it would be realy appriciated!

The world of jasper stuff appears to be tailored toward people making jewelry. There are two types I've used and that are very fine (and that would definitely not self slurry).

Ebay, search the term "large biggs jasper slab" or "large owyhee jasper slab"

What you're looking for is the following:
* biggs or owyhee, don't omit that
* something a little more on the plain side. I don't think the things that make jasper pretty really make for good honing
* watch out for pieces with cracks or holes in them, or large inclusions

Here's why with the search terms above
* biggs or owyhee - to make sure you get a true hard jasper. Travertine and some of the things called jasper are too soft and shed particles and won't cut fine.
* large - most jasper slabs appear to be in the 2x4 inch range, or smaller or slightly larger. Doesn't matter for jewelry if they're small. It matters to you. You want to find something in the 6x3 to 8x4 inch size range.
* slab - the term slab suggests that the jasper has been sliced and polished. It is not something you want to do much lapping of with a diamond plate. You can cut and true the edges OK with a diamond hone, but large surfaces of it are difficult. A slab that's been made for jewelry might have a nib on it or something that needs to be ground off, but will otherwise be very very close to flat and maybe just have a few lapping machine marks in it

Like I said, something plain, and I've paid from 99 cents to $15 for large pieces.

It is a type of stone that you need to bring an already prepared razor to. You can get two pieces and slurry one if you want a faster cut, but the slurry from it is aggressive while without slurry, the stone will break in to do nothing but polish and never release anything. It's like a natural version of a spyderco hone, cheaper, and much more interesting

Expect that slabs cut for jewelry are about 1/4 inch thick, so if you plan to use them with any frequency, you'll want to cut out a backer for the stone so that it has some support and weight. I will take pictures of my several slabs this weekend and create another thread. These are a fun hone to have, but the learning curve is a bit steeper than the already perfectly prepared japanese hones, etc, and like the very fine natural hones, the term "bring an already sharp razor" to them applies.

(just a PSA - i do not sell jasper or anything, so nothing I say will benefit me or anyone i know. I was turned on to jasper slabs by an engraver when I mentioned I wanted something hard that's super fine and polishes without cutting)

DaveW, really, thanks for your comments.

Jasper is a variety of quartz with iron which gives it the reddish color. I'm not sure it would make a good hone for a razor. You see many arrowheads made from it because it is hard and brittle and takes a great edge itself almost like obsidian.

I'll see if I can get some microscope pictures of an edge (who knows, I might be surprised by them). I have shaved off of my owyhee jasper (which is more yellowish or green) and in that case, the hone is right on par with any other natural super finishers (it's finer than something like a black or translucent novaculite hone). I don't know anything about the different types that are more colorful and varied (like poppy, etc), but the biggs and owyhee are reliable as long as someone has already cut them flat and they don't have cracks or interruptions in the surface.

I've not strayed to any other types of jasper other than those mentioned (the ones I mentioned are more boring looking and less interesting than stuff like brecciated red jasper or brecciated yellow jasper, and the types that are very red, etc, with a lot of iron). Owyhee is devoid of red and has a much different surface texture than quartz, it feels more like a very very hard and fine slate hone instead (with a little bit of cutting power), one with tiny particles (though if you lap it and get those particles free, they are extremely aggressive - there's no great reason to let them roll around free on such a hard hone).

If I can get microscope pictures, I'll take them using the bunch of stones I described here (minus the washita, there's no reason to take a picture of those) - my scope is a $20 ebay special and sometimes it's difficult for me to get the pictures I want.

I would say anyone who finds a decent slab for $10 won't get hurt trying it out, and probably doesn't need to wait for my pictures. But expect to do a little work with one to get a nice true edge on one side and lap out any lapping machine marks that might be in it.

I'll get the ball rolling, my microscope isn't very good ($18), so it's kind of taxing for me to get pictures. It's 200x, so these pictures are up close.

This is a decent comfortable shaving edge, though it could use a little more stropping. To me, the acid test is HHT-3/4 from both sides of the razor, and despite the edge looking a bit ragged here, it passes that test. Usually when I get a "shave ready" razor from someone, it's not close to as sharp. I just bought this razor off of ebay, and it was several notches duller than this...

Anyway, first picture here to get things rolling is a Ozaki mine barber hone, a vintage one. Honed 50 strokes on slurry and then another 100 on clear water. Some vigorous stropping would smooth the edge out some, but I'll check the edge tomorrow, and then after the shave, I'll hone with the jasper, and we'll see how it looks.

Both pictures are the same hone, it just depends on how the light is hitting the edge.

Most people don't have a natural stone as fine as this one. I don't have any others as fine, either, and the scratches from this one would be several multiples as big as shown if I slurried this one. It's in a very broken in state and to the naked eye, this edge looks like a very bright polish with no defects or raggedness.