Thread: Anybody have any ideas as to what this might be?

Does it float?

Originally Posted by ocelot27

Does it float?

I knew this would come in handy some day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yp_l5ntikaU

The stone does not float.

Tried a slurry honing but wasn't happy with it. I was easily able to shave with it but wasn't as smooth as the oil finish. Just freshly honed two razors from bevel set. Both progressions started the same - Suehiro 1,500 to Shapton Pro 2,000 to Suehiro Rika 5,000 to Shapton Pro 8,000. Then they diverged and one went to my new natural stone and got 100 laps on a smeared few drops of oil. The other got Shapton Pro 12,000 and Suehiro Gokumyo 20k. Both razors then got 10 laps on nylon web hanging strop and 100 laps on SRD English Bridle plain leather hanging strop. Both are killing the HHT. Couple more days and the competition is on.

You all know, there are some stones that do float. One I can think of off hand is sepiolite which is what meerschaum is made from.

Have any of you tried that as a hone? har har.

Tried a slurry honing but wasn't happy with it. I was easily able to shave with it but wasn't as smooth as the oil finish. Just freshly honed two razors from bevel set. Both progressions started the same - Suehiro 1,500 to Shapton Pro 2,000 to Suehiro Rika 5,000 to Shapton Pro 8,000. Then they diverged and one went to my new natural stone and got 100 laps on a smeared few drops of oil. The other got Shapton Pro 12,000 and Suehiro Gokumyo 20k. Both razors then got 10 laps on nylon web hanging strop and 100 laps on SRD English Bridle plain leather hanging strop. Both are killing the HHT.

Shaved with the edges, and actually found them pretty comparable. I think the new stone is a little smoother.

On another note, I've done a little more slurry testing tonight and got some encouraging results. I think earlier I was using bad practice - using too much pressure while raising the slurry. I was really bearing down with about all I could - trying to raise it very quickly. Tonight I used only the weight of the Atoma plate and got much better results. Didn't hone a razor but did do my test piece and also a pocket knife. Tried an HHT with the pocket knife and failed, but I then proceeded to shave my arm hair very easily. Tried a quick swipe down my face and tore right through my sideburn, then I went ATG and it ate that up too! This is getting fun!

Here are some shots of the slurried stone showing the consistency I used and the results on my test piece. The finish was "reset" by honing on a 2k Shapton Pro and then a 5k Suehiro Riko before being honed on the slurried stone. The few linear scratches that show in the finish are from the Suehiro 5k.

And here are the most magnified shots I can get showing the test piece finish through my 30x optical microscope.

Originally Posted by eKretz

Shaved with the edges, and actually found them pretty comparable. I think the new stone is a little smoother.

On another note, I've done a little more slurry testing tonight and got some encouraging results. I think earlier I was using bad practice - using too much pressure while raising the slurry. I was really bearing down with about all I could - trying to raise it very quickly. Tonight I used only the weight of the Atoma plate and got much better results. Didn't hone a razor but did do my test piece and also a pocket knife. Tried an HHT with the pocket knife and failed, but I then proceeded to shave my arm hair very easily. Tried a quick swipe down my face and tore right through my sideburn, then I went ATG and it ate that up too! This is getting fun!bbb

The use of slurry helps increase the cutting speed. There is no need for a shaving edge. You wash it off after, and use the stone with plain water or oil if it's not too hard to clean after, or Smith's solution.

I'm just experimenting with this, but I'll say this much: the edge finished on a slurry shaved quite well.