Thread: Guanxi hone problems

I purchased C12K for this site. It came flat, polished, and ready for use. I've enjoyed using it. Buy Natural Water Stone, 8" x 2" x 1" at Woodcraft.com

Originally Posted by Biggreg

I purchased C12K for this site. It came flat, polished, and ready for use. I've enjoyed using it. Buy Natural Water Stone, 8" x 2" x 1" at Woodcraft.com

Just to clarify...
Not all of them from Woodcraft are flat. Mine was not even close and I have lapped at least two others at meet-ups and they were not either.

I have one that I got from eBay that when lapped with a well worn DMT that will show a reflection and another Chinese stone the I'm not sure what region it is from, but it has has the look of frosted ice and the feedback feels like honing on ice. I have finished razors on both and both have produced very nice edges, but I find that the polished one produces alittle better edges. That could just be because I am alot more familiar with it and rarely use the other one. First picture is of the high polish one, but I couldn't get a picture of the reflection and the others are the frosted one.

They do polish out the higher grit you lap them to the better. They are a really great stone and a great bargain. Yeah they can be really inconsistent but coticules and other natural finishers that can cost 5 to 10x's as much are just as inconsistent. I don't know if the gold flakes are bad or not but if they bother you then you can just try to lap them out. Mine i guess must be softer because everyone tells stories about how hard it is to lap them but mine seems pretty easy to lap. It does self slurry but not much and if I hone under running water and the slurry washes away and is no problem. It gives a shave comparable to my finest arkie. Its a nice buttery smooth shave with a hint of crispness to it.

TinTin,, I would order the next one from Woodcraft,, it may need some lapping (a higher grit than you used). I have 2 from them & they are good hones. If the problem is, that the stone is too course, put it in the classified section, someone will pick it up & use it for knives. That way you don't take a total hit on the expense.

i'm considering getting some Sic powder and giving it another try. maybe it will work out (I'm hoping).

My Chinese Ebay hone is my best finisher, it is very hard with an almost glass like surface and very dark.

Sounds like jimmywetshaver gave you a heck of an offer there. Ild send it to him. I used wet dry sand paper up to 2k and then used my slurry stone to finish off the polish.

I have two. One is 2x8, and was good to go from the time I got it. The second, a 3x8 I payed 14 bucks for and came to me with both sides completely unfinished (saw marks both sides) I started out buy running a belt sander over with a 60 grit belt. I then moved up in grit checking for flatness and finish. Once I was happy with the flatness, I finished by hand to 800 grit. It turned out to be a pretty good hone, not as nice a finish as my Translucent/Black but still fine enough to shave well off of. I also worked a piece of granite at the same time to use as a hone. I do not know what yours is like but I think it's a pretty good deal and really cool that jimmy offered to do that for you. good luck

Someone questioned the use of a chisel to burnish the stone earlier, but I have suggested that in the past. A chisel or a plane blade, and I know Euclid440 suggested an old hardened meat cleaver.

It's not the cutting edge of the chisel that you're using, but the back (flat part) of the chisel. It is hardened steel and it will burnish the particles of the stone just as the particles burnish it. You have to have something hardened close to 60, as softer metal will just pull the particles off of the surface of the stone - it has to be something hard enough that the stone doesn't cut into it easily. Some knives are hard enough, but not all.

I've never had a PHIG that actually had particles that small, their virtue is instead that they hold their particles (just like any other hard natural stone).

The only ones that I had that were junk were the ones that were too soft. That said, I only had one that was "really good", and it was the first one I had. I sold it thinking they were all like that.