Thread: New Cretan hone

I got my Cretan from Vasilis, a member here. Mine came lapped and ready to go. PM him and ask how he laps them. He lives in Greece.

Just ordered some 60 and 120 grit SiC fromt he link Srdjan provided, I will update with the results.

Wish me luck!

Yes, you'll be fine with those

Originally Posted by RusenBG

Well i slipp on them , what can i say , it is sliperry alround them.
Now is studie the J nats and i am wondwring what the .... they have in them to cost this prise , compared to te coticule , novaculite and ect.

Hype, simply hype.

Originally Posted by TheCoticuleWhisperer

Hype, simply hype.

It’s not that simple. Some of those stones replace everything from 2K to the end. Not all, but then again not all are/should be very expensive. There are many things to consider, not just function when it comes to Japanese naturals. Many threads and explanations have been given, in the last 20 years especially. Books have been written, an entire culture and economy relied heavily upon them once. They are fascinating stones with unique properties. You need to look at the big picture, razor community is just a fragment.

Originally Posted by Iasonas

So I received my cretan today and I went straight to dry 50 grit sandpaper to flatten it. Well guess what, this @@@@ rock won't lapp.....

I spent almost 2 hours on good quality 50 and 80 grit sandpaper and it removed the pencil lines but I am sure that the stone is not perfectly flat. Also let's not talk about slurry bevause there is none, either with a dmt 600 card or its matching slurry stone.

I am getting really frustrated and want to throw the stone out of my window....

Might this be a finisher variety of the cretan?

Here is a photo of the hone (dry).

Attachment 292786

The secret for lapping them is to do so with dry sandpaper, 100 grit or so. It goes faster than wet, and if you try overly coarse sandpaper, it kind of doesn't cut too deep in every passing of the stone.
I had to find out the hard way...

Originally Posted by Srdjan

It’s not that simple. Some of those stones replace everything from 2K to the end. Not all, but then again not all are/should be very expensive. There are many things to consider, not just function when it comes to Japanese naturals. Many threads and explanations have been given, in the last 20 years especially. Books have been written, an entire culture and economy relied heavily upon them once. They are fascinating stones with unique properties. You need to look at the big picture, razor community is just a fragment.

Yes, it's not just hype. They are absolutely very good stones. Top-tier for sure.

"You need to look at the big picture, razor community is just a fragment."

Yes, it has been said by folks who know, have spoken directly to miners, that, as stones were brought out of the mines, they were tested and graded for size and quality, aggressiveness. Small and very fine stones were tossed into the tailing pile and large aggressive stones were packed onto wooden backpack pallets to be carried down the mountain.

Then as now, razor honing market is/was very small compared to the tool and knife market that makes up the majority and where stones are constantly being replaces as they wear out, razor stone last lifetimes. Small fine stones just were not worth carrying down the mountain, by hand.

It is those tailings that are being excavated now to produce many of the “razor quality” stones that are sold today.

If you are lapping a hard stone on grit or wet and dry, mark the stone with a sharpie, pencil will wash off with slurry or powder and give a false reading. You should be able to flatten a hard stone, like a novaculite in 20-30 minutes, once flat polishing goes quickly.