Thread: Apache Black Gila

Well, people pay ardennes good money for LPB cotis and they are fast

I suppose if you like very hollow ground blades a really fast one could be great for bevels where you eat as little steel as possible and create a nice, stable edge from the get go. Like I said, they are great coming off of a 1k to get rid of the scratch pattern. I don't mind cotis with speed. La Dressante is far and away my favorite vein. Quick and fine.

Originally Posted by DaveW

It had the label on it at one time, but the label came off (thankfully in one piece) after using it only twice (but I probably let it sit on the wet label one of those times). Fortunately, there's a big imprint on the back where (evidence, I guess). I'll keep your tips in mind the next time I get a microchipper. I had 5 cotis at one point, and this is the last one, but the linen has nearly eliminated honing for me (that and the fact that I've stopped buying razors...I hope I don't jinx myself saying that).

Are you talking about the vintage "silk finish" linen? The stuff that has a waxy type substance in it?

Originally Posted by Dcaddo1

Are you talking about the vintage "silk finish" linen? The stuff that has a waxy type substance in it?

I'm curious about what linen they're using too lol. I have some inexpensive thin stuff I got in a 10yd roll from China. It's the only 'linen' I could find anywhere that wasn't hemp.

Apache Black Gila to Coticule veins lol you guys are funny!

Coticules are my primary hone fascination and I was baited. As for the Gila, I have to get the surface back where it was. I may do the ark chisel deal and if that doesn't do the trick I'll just order some 3000 w/d and force the issue. The le grelot I tried the other day came out very well, but not at the level I had prior. I'll get it right. It was lovely to lap that coti. Both sides took two sheets of 220 and one of 1k. It was like grinding into dry bread vs this monster

Funny I messaged the fellow through email about acquiring one of these hones. The black gilas. He must not like Canadians because I didn't ever hear from him. (Joking of course) That being said I am a few hundred dollars richer then I would have been and am glad I didn't they seem like a ton of work to get ready and I already did one Black Ark, never again.

I would like to see a video of honing on one, I watched the review Chris (spelled correctly?) put up and it looks interesting to say the least.

My honest opinion is if you have a trans or SB ark, you don't need one of these or a Turkish oilstone, or a cf even. It's in that realm, it's just a faster cutter than the ark and looks cool

If I have the time, the finisher I tend to default to is a massive yellow trans ark I have. It takes 300ish laps. Usually though, I default to faster options like French finishers or this since I got it. It kind of depends on the razor and what I want from it. The apache when it is set up properly anyway probably gets me 80% of the way on the forgiving ark quality, but a bit more top end.

Originally Posted by S0LITARYS0LDIER

Funny I messaged the fellow through email about acquiring one of these hones. The black gilas. He must not like Canadians because I didn't ever hear from him. (Joking of course) That being said I am a few hundred dollars richer then I would have been and am glad I didn't they seem like a ton of work to get ready and I already did one Black Ark, never again.

I would like to see a video of honing on one, I watched the review Chris (spelled correctly?) put up and it looks interesting to say the least.

Terry's odd sometimes lol. I owe him money for another purchase (unrelated), and a knife he ordered to boot, and I sometimes STILL can't get ahold of him. And I have his direct mail lol. He's one of the most customer service oriented people I've ever met though...you just have to ring the bell at the counter a few times is all!

On honing, I'll see if I can film it when I do the last hone on the donation razors for the other site. Two Gold Dollars (soft steel), and a 63HRC AISI W2 tool steel custom. If I can do it (my tripod broke recently), I'll at least catch some strokes on a Gold Dollar and the custom, so you can hear/see it on different hardness razors consecutively.

Also, it's actually Cris