Thread: Switch those stones around: My Welsh Slate experience

I bought the 3 stone set from AJ on eBay. They arrived, though the razor I bought is getting some pitting removed professionally. So, I pulled out my great grandfather's Case, which I'm hesitant to use, and gave it a try. According to free description, the thinnest was the Dragons Tongue and the coarsest. I put a slurry on with her slurry stone and went to work. I didn't feel anything. The feedback was just smooth. After probably a hundred passes, it was no better. I know from some reviews I've read this has happened before. So, I went to the people stone. Built a slurry and did who knows how many passes, noticing I could hear and feel the stone cutting. I pulled it off and could get some arm hair to shave off. So, I figured what the Heck. I pulled the thickest stone out, supposedly the Welsh Thuringian. Man, I could hear and feel it cutting. By a hundred passes, it was cutting hair. So, I went back to the purple one, diluting as I went. It shaved arm hair better. Finally, I did the same thing to the thin one, supposedly the d.t. Pulled it off after several passes, diluting as I went. Holy crap that was sharp! I may have to get either a Zulu Grey, translucent arkie, or surgical black if a strop doesn't temper the edge a bit, once I get a strop. That was a little too sharp for me. I'm impressed by how they worked.

you don't have a strop? tc

Not yet. I'm buying supplies in phases. Strop, brush, and soap are next.

It is very easy to feel the sharpness on an edge coming off a coarse hone. That felt sharpness is due to the relatively coarse teeth left on the edge.
An edge that is equaly sharp that comes off of a very fine hone will often feel less sharp but
the smoothness that the finer edge offers is what you will appreciate during the shave.
Before you think about getting more hones you should use the ones you have untill you get to know them much better.
Glen has said something to the effect that it is not the amount of money you spend on hones but the amount of time you spend, and experience gained using them, that pays off.
I wholeheartedly beleive that.
Good luck with your honing.

If your on a budget and you need to get your razors shaving then you can get the king icebear 1/6K stone pretty cheap. Under $40 in most cases.

http://www.amazon.com/King-Combinati...king+1000+6000

It's by no means the best stone available.

The 1K side is good and used by a lot of people both in the combi stone format and as a stand alone hone. It's a capable stone, and will set a bevel.

The 6K side is a good intermediate. It is not a finisher in it's own right. With you already owning some basic finishers with the welsh slate then the 6K side will work. A lot of people give the king a hard time as it's not a finisher and they buy it to be a finisher. As an intermetiate to go onto something smoother it's reasonable, Slurries well, And cuts reasonably fast.


With the King 1/6 you would be able to set your bevel, And push the edge ready for finishing. And the investment is low enough that if you do decide to get better stone you have not wasted money.


For your strop go get a leather offcut, Or a wide leather belt. The strop is important and adds a lot to how well a razor shaves.

A cheap brush can be had for very little. Boar is generally the cheapest bristle type. I use boar myself and once you have used them a few times they break in and you get good lather from them.

Amazon.com: Omega Red Curved Boar Hair Shaving Brush with Stand - #80265R: Health & Personal Care

seems to me your putting the cart before the horse , if you dont have a strop why are you honing, because if your already shaving without stropping , that might be your problem. have to be able to shave properly to even know if the blade is honed properly,, honing should come later just my opinion tc

+1 to getting a strop ASAP. I've shaved straight off the hones before (just to see how it feels) and no matter what, the stropped edge always shaves better. Now number of laps stropping differs depending on who you talk to, but stropping is no doubt critical to a good shave (this is my opinion at least). There might be a few people who prefer not stropping off the hones, however I'm not one of them.

It actually might serve useful to know what the unstropped edge feels like as well. That way when you do get a strop, you will see how powerful that plain piece of leather actually is. Newspaper can be used as a make shift strop as well, until you get the leather of course. Keep us posted! If you're curious about the newspaper strop there are videos on youtube.

Cheers,
Zac

I haven't actually tried shaving, just the arm like I've seen Lynn do on his videos. I'm looking at getting a strop and brush soon. Actually, didn't plan on trying to hone just yet. I'm only buying hones due to a mild case of HADD from my limited woodworking experience. I just couldn't resist trying these stones out. I'm sure some of you know what I'm talking about. I was like a kid on Christmas Morning.

Ahh that makes a lot of sense

Your first strop should be seen as disposable, Your going to scratch it. And if your unlucky you might even chop it in half! Whipped dog have some great deals on a very basic one called the poor mans strop that is fit for purpose, And at the bottom end of cost. It also comes with a balsa wood paddle and some chrome oxide powder (Crox). You use this paddle to smooth your edge a little more, or to refresh your edge.

Whipped Dog Straight Razor Shaving Equipment

The hones you have are pretty common purchases. While there not top end in terms of hone grit they will work. I think they have grit ratings from 5K to 8K.

You should also think about picking up some RSO's (razor shaped objects) ebay have loads of them available like "Gold Dollar" razors. While they often have grind problems they serve well as a tool to learn to hone on. And once you have managed to get an edge on a couple you should be ready to move onto more expensive razors without fear of destroying them. My own RSO's eventually shaved pretty well, And the time I spent with them to get the basics down was well worth the investment.

Just an update. I tried again but added a drop of Dawn to the water on the finest stone, and the difference was night and day. The end result was significantly smoother than trying to do so on water alone. It also had less resistance while honing.