Thread: Anyone up for name that hone?

I love mine, but they really aren't a whole lot of use for razors unless you don't already have a 2kish synthetic stone. Even then they aren't quite as fast. They are exceedingly good on tools like chisels, knives or plane blades though, where you can use just a little more pressure. They cut pretty darn fast on oil but still leave a pretty good edge. For chisels you can pretty much use them as a one-stone solution if you keep your chisels in decent shape. I use the Washita and give a chisel a few quick licks on a CrOx strop after and go to work. Another nice thing is they stay quite flat for quite a long while.

No 2kish yet. I usually jump from a 1K to a 5K. So maybe I could squeeze the Washita in the middle there for fun?

Yes they are great Knife stone, will make you bride happy if you put her kitchen knives to it regularly.
Also as said, good for tools.

For razors there are faster solutions, though a hard Ark finished edge is a thing of beauty. I love an Ark edge. A hard Black or Translucent.

You could, but I don't think it would add much. You need to keep the stone freshly lapped as well if you want it to keep cutting fast. I accomplish this by just scuffing one side of mine on a sheet of 220 wet or dry on a granite plate every couple uses. The other side I leave alone to settle in and it gives a finer finish more like 3k or 4k, but cuts a good bit slower also.

I'm with Euclid on the Translucent and Black Ark finishers also. They give great shaves.

So, I managed to unglue the black (ark?) stone from the base and soaked it in Simple Green for about 30 hours. Here are some other pictures that I hope can give the masters some more info in getting a positive i.d. on this hone. Very curious to know what it is. Also wondering what the rust spot is on one side and the little hole on the other (that I imagine may shed some light on the structure of the rock ... in telling what type of stone). Also, I don't know if the photo does the reality justice, but there is a kind of silvery sheen on the surface of the stone. Still leftover oil from the past? Or something unique to the stone's characteristics?

That looks more like a slate to me. Appears to be sedimentary lines in the side there, and that wavy bottom is very characteristic of slate. Same with the silver sheen.

I just found something in YouTube by "sebastien e." Demonstrating a "blais natural water hone. " anyone know what that is? It's a dead ringer for mine.

Hello Everyone,

Now, after about a week of soaking the stones in Simple Green, scubbing with soap, oven cleaner and soft scrub with bleach, here's what I came up with. I'm posting one general photo of each followed by slurry photos. On the black (slate?) stone, I have included a little peek at the DMT that I used to flatten and slurry the stone so as to really see the contrast of the slurry color (inky black). Thanks to everyone for all their help along the way.

Nice work, you have a couple nice stones there.

Originally Posted by trifle

Hello Everyone,

Now, after about a week of soaking the stones in Simple Green, scubbing with soap, oven cleaner and soft scrub with bleach, here's what I came up with. I'm posting one general photo of each followed by slurry photos. On the black (slate?) stone, I have included a little peek at the DMT that I used to flatten and slurry the stone so as to really see the contrast of the slurry color (inky black). Thanks to everyone for all their help along the way.

Nice work my friend, really made a difference in how they look especially the white one.

Now maybe some of those in the know can help you out better.