Thread: imperia la roccia

ah I kept seeing the whole thing about where it came from. That seemed to be the biggest complaint.
I did not read the angry posts... at least not all of them. I guess they posted some near slander stuff on here in response to people inquiring about their stones? I am one of those people who likes to try both sides of the argument, and since there was an argument I went ahead and tried the stone.

Originally Posted by glytch5

ah I kept seeing the whole thing about where it came from. That seemed to be the biggest complaint.
I did not read the angry posts... at least not all of them. I guess they posted some near slander stuff on here in response to people inquiring about their stones? I am one of those people who likes to try both sides of the argument, and since there was an argument I went ahead and tried the stone.

And what do you think?

Here is my .02. I picked one up in a recent trade, Like you I read the arguments and wanted to see what the fuss was about. I talked to the Owner who told me quote' Any of their stone's can be turned into a Premium, they spend slightly more attention to finish, each is razor tested, and a red stamp' which is cool with me, at least he was honest. I have also talked to plenty of folks who love theirs and don't care where it came from,

Now for my own testing, I traded for a bunch of new stones lately, I got an ILR, Zulu Grey, Apache Strata, Apache Gila, Crystal Strata(borrowed) along with dozens of other naturals, Esher, Coti, C12, Thuri, Arky, Synth coti, and ordered a Silkvein. just to name a few, I also have a very nice collection of Chosera and SS progressions with a Suehiro 20k along with some other synthetic brands.
I personally like to test stones, even though I am hardly and expert at said testing.

The ILR to me is a capable finisher, just like many slates can be. if the price is right then it is an nice addition to a collection, but like others who offer advice I would point people to a Synthetic like SS12 instead of a natural if they only want one finisher. Unlike idiots like me who want them ALL. I guess my .02 review was worth about as much as I promised.

Sweet! What did you trade? A Ferrari? haha.
A couple comments back I through in what I thought of it. I think its a very capable hone, but the edge is not the smoothest edge for a natural finish which is strange.
The guys over there told me that the difference between the standard and the premium is the premium is deemed flawless, where the standard can have slight inclusions on the surface. They did not say anything about turning one into a premium stone. That is a bit strange!
Are you sure you did not miss read that information? Very interesting.
If someone needed a finisher and wanted the best bang for the buck, this stone is cheaper than a naniwa 12k, or even a 10k super. So it has its place. I find some razors like it more than others as with most things.

Originally Posted by glytch5

Sweet! What did you trade? A Ferrari? haha.
A couple comments back I through in what I thought of it. I think its a very capable hone, but the edge is not the smoothest edge for a natural finish which is strange.
The guys over there told me that the difference between the standard and the premium is the premium is deemed flawless, where the standard can have slight inclusions on the surface. They did not say anything about turning one into a premium stone. That is a bit strange!
Are you sure you did not miss read that information? Very interesting.
If someone needed a finisher and wanted the best bang for the buck, this stone is cheaper than a naniwa 12k, or even a 10k super. So it has its place. I find some razors like it more than others as with most things.

I re-read the conversation as I typed it, Here is part of the message, I appreciated his honesty with me and might very well buy a full 8x3 premium just so I have box and paperwork to go with it. Its a great stone in my opinion, I wish them the best on their operation.

~~We can make a premium out of a 3x8. To be honest. our stones are very consistent. Almost everything we cut can be turned into a premium. Slighty more attention to finish, and each is razor tested, and then stamped in red, and with an additional stamp that says Premium and Hand picked. I'll have to get you a price if you want to go that way.~~

Originally Posted by sidmind

I re-read the conversation as I typed it, Here is part of the message, I appreciated his honesty with me and might very well buy a full 8x3 premium just so I have box and paperwork to go with it. Its a great stone in my opinion, I wish them the best on their operation.

~~We can make a premium out of a 3x8. To be honest. our stones are very consistent. Almost everything we cut can be turned into a premium. Slighty more attention to finish, and each is razor tested, and then stamped in red, and with an additional stamp that says Premium and Hand picked. I'll have to get you a price if you want to go that way.~~

So maybe Premium is a nice stone that is just lapped a little finer??

I bought one when they first came out and were much cheaper, by more than half.

They are not 12k, not close, at least mine is not…

Being a natural stone, they cannot be grit rated, each stone will vary, some dramatically, but even at best they are not close to the touted, 12k-15K.

Can they finish? Maybe, but not like a 12k super stone. Now, that the price is approaching the cost of the super stone, why take the chance.

Like the other, EBay slates and the C12k’s, it is very much a crap-shoot designed to capture the new honer, with price.

So, if you want to roll the dice, do so knowing you could put the money towards, a guaranteed performer, a 12k super stone.

That some, have produced a shaveable edge is great, but I would bet that edge could still be much improved, by a 12k Super Stone.

You can’t change the grit, by lapping the surface finer.

You pays, your money and takes your chances…

remember its a money back garuntee, so if you roll the dice you just have to pay shipping... if you buy an use a super stone and simply don't like it, you can't return it. I love super stones though! I only bought the 2x6... its really bigger than 2 x 6 but I like it. I'm not returning mine.

Originally Posted by glytch5

remember its a money back garuntee, so if you roll the dice you just have to pay shipping... if you buy an use a super stone and simply don't like it, you can't return it. I love super stones though! I only bought the 2x6... its really bigger than 2 x 6 but I like it. I'm not returning mine.

Unfortunately a guarantee is only as good as the person making it. The seller was brigading any negative review and not informing people he was the owner (until it became obvious). A subjective review is just that, someone's opinion. Some people like Eschers, others think they are a waste of money, and they've been around for more than a century. So why wouldn't people have negative things to say about the ILR? There is no need to overly defend your product unless you're hiding something. Otherwise let it speak for itself. Frankly that bad taste in my mouth never went away so i'll personally not spend my money on it. I can't say either way if it's good or bad, BUT I've never liked people assigning grits to natural stones. It's like false advertising IMO.

Originally Posted by scag315

Unfortunately a guarantee is only as good as the person making it. The seller was brigading any negative review and not informing people he was the owner (until it became obvious). A subjective review is just that, someone's opinion. Some people like Eschers, others think they are a waste of money, and they've been around for more than a century. So why wouldn't people have negative things to say about the ILR? There is no need to overly defend your product unless you're hiding something. Otherwise let it speak for itself. Frankly that bad taste in my mouth never went away so i'll personally not spend my money on it. I can't say either way if it's good or bad, BUT I've never liked people assigning grits to natural stones. It's like false advertising IMO.

I hear ya man... makes sense. I still don't get why to bother being worked up about something putting a grit estimate on something... how is that a deal breaker!?!?! who cares? Thats my opinion. Everyone out there who gets into this hobby wants to know "what grit" something is. Besides if you watched Dr. Matt's video on the stone, he showed that the thing puts on a finer scratch pattern than synthetic stones in that grit range. I know this sounds like super defending of the product... but I got to beg the differ on a lot of this. I'm not head over heals for the stone, in fact I don't use it often... idk

Originally Posted by glytch5

I hear ya man... makes sense. I still don't get why to bother being worked up about something putting a grit estimate on something... how is that a deal breaker!?!?! who cares? Thats my opinion. Everyone out there who gets into this hobby wants to know "what grit" something is. Besides if you watched Dr. Matt's video on the stone, he showed that the thing puts on a finer scratch pattern than synthetic stones in that grit range. I know this sounds like super defending of the product... but I got to beg the differ on a lot of this. I'm not head over heals for the stone, in fact I don't use it often... idk

And not all grit ratings are created equal. The shapton grit rating is not the same as the Naniwa which isn't the same as the Norton. Scratches are scratches. You can polish something as much as you want but that doesn't mean it shaves great just because it looks pretty under a scope. Again I can't say whether it's good or bad but admittedly calling the same stone a premium vs regular (and a huge price difference) simply because you supposedly put a finer finish on it (So the not premium stones aren't lapped as well?) is also off putting IMO. Again I don't care if people like the stone or not, I personally wouldn't give somebody my money that has so many red flags. To each their own though.