Thread: Can an Escher be used without water or dry?

I am curious why anyone would hone on a dry stone. The Eschers are hard enough to find and when you do they are expensive. Honing dry would put a lot of wear on both the stone and the razor. When particles come off the stone there is no way it can be good for the blade. I don't dry hone on my Jnat or water stones for just this reason.

Originally Posted by jkatzman

I am curious why anyone would hone on a dry stone. The Eschers are hard enough to find and when you do they are expensive. Honing dry would put a lot of wear on both the stone and the razor. When particles come off the stone there is no way it can be good for the blade. I don't dry hone on my Jnat or water stones for just this reason.

I do and prefer it on my Coticules however

I've been experimenting with Cotis for a long time now, and contrary to what everybody says and what I read everywhere I get the best results with dry honing on my Coticules.
It's what I do and which gives ME the best results. What anybody says about it doesn't concern me, since to each their own, trial and error have led me to dry honing and I will continue to do so.
The 'extreme' smoothness of a Coticule is there but the sharpness is significantly higher when I hone dry versus on water. Just sayin' since you were curious

Also, after doing over a thousand laps or so the coti's surface became pretty darkened, a rub up and down on the coti with the slurry stone immediately cleaned it entirely

Originally Posted by jkatzman

I am curious why anyone would hone on a dry stone. The Eschers are hard enough to find and when you do they are expensive. Honing dry would put a lot of wear on both the stone and the razor. When particles come off the stone there is no way it can be good for the blade. I don't dry hone on my Jnat or water stones for just this reason.

Whatever you use it with dry or wet, in modern times i can assure you its nearly impossible today to get one of those stones that used that nothing is left from it...sure this depends on usage but if youre not a well visited Barber still using straights today or one whos honing razors for others the stone will hold a lifetime...

Originally Posted by doorsch

Whatever you use it with dry or wet, in modern times i can assure you its nearly impossible today to get one of those stones that used that nothing is left from it...sure this depends on usage but if youre not a well visited Barber still using straights today or one whos honing razors for others the stone will hold a lifetime...

Wouldn't lapping take care of most if not all particles that had been imbedded? Afterall, not using much pressure, one good lapping session to ensure the stone is flat would remove most of the layer that had been used and you would be on to fresh rock I would think....

Yes, there is that, lapping I am sure was not the obsession it is today.

Now, razors are finished to a much higher degree than they were then, prior to “finishing” on Eschers and Coticules, I would think. You don’t really need the rubber or the slurry.

Heck most are probably pre-finished higher than the natural itself.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

Yes, there is that, lapping I am sure was not the obsession it is today.

Now, razors are finished to a much higher degree than they were then, prior to “finishing” on Eschers and Coticules, I would think. You don’t really need the rubber or the slurry.

Heck most are probably pre-finished higher than the natural itself.

Interesting, I find for me, refreshing first on the Nani 12k, then going to the Escher for the final edge is probably going backwards, but for me, that natural stone finish is just superb, nothing like it - especially on an old Sheffield....

Originally Posted by Euclid440

Heck most are probably pre-finished higher than the natural itself.

This is my method that works with every quality razor I have ever encountered. I run my synthetics through a progression to the synthetic finisher of 16K or 20K, then finish on YG Escher. Super sharp, but still smooth. The edge is not too fragile. Win - Win!!

Originally Posted by ScottGoodman

This is my method that works with every quality razor I have ever encountered. I run my synthetics through a progression to the synthetic finisher of 16K or 20K, then finish on YG Escher. Super sharp, but still smooth. The edge is not too fragile. Win - Win!!

+1...Except I go to the natural after the 1-12K progression. This always produces my most preferred edge...

Originally Posted by Wolfpack34

+1...Except I go to the natural after the 1-12K progression. This always produces my most preferred edge...

Hey Mike - was going to even mention coticule first, then Escher, but figured you'd probably pop on and mention yourself....I have some stellar edges you've done that way.....