Thread: eBay hones have you tired these

The vendor for the "Imperia La Roccia" is not even forthcoming about the provenance of that rock, so take the grit rating with bit of skepticism.

Originally Posted by Utopian

The vendor for the "Imperia La Roccia" is not even forthcoming about the provenance of that rock, so take the grit rating with bit of skepticism.

Not sure what you exactly mean but the ILR as seen by a guy that knows honing shows magnified photo's to compare the edge from that to edges of other stones with actual ratings you can tell that the edge is better than the grit rating they state! If you mean that he doesn't disclose where he gets them from, that is not really a concern of a buyer!

Originally Posted by SirMike

Not sure what you exactly mean but the ILR as seen by a guy that knows honing shows magnified photo's to compare the edge from that to edges of other stones with actual ratings you can tell that the edge is better than the grit rating they state! If you mean that he doesn't disclose where he gets them from, that is not really a concern of a buyer!

Really ? I'd like to know if I was paying Xx the price for a Chinese slate with an Italian name.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/hones...ml#post1441053

Originally Posted by onimaru55

Really ? I'd like to know if I was paying Xx the price for a Chinese slate with an Italian name.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/hones...ml#post1441053

Yeah, I'm with Oz on this one. Im not gonna buy the 'trade secret' bit. I know exactly which quarry my PHIG came from. It's no secret where my Arkansas stones were quarried. Even AJ selling Welsh Slates on Ebay has been forthright on where those rocks are sourced. I didn't even have to do any digging or prying to find the information, it's commonly known and readily available.

The only reason to hide that information really is either A: it really is something like a rebranded PHIG. B: he doesn't have mineral rights to mine the quarry these stones are coming from. C: he's the middleman and he lucked up on some slate a quarry would sell cheap that does a really nice job on razors, but he fears a larger company like Norton, will decide they want in on the action.

In the third case, I kinda can't fault for not wanting to say, "I get them here." But there are better ways to handle that.

Well, for my part I have enough naturals that I don't need another, unless it's a coticule or a Jnat. I do hope your ILR works out for you Jay, jt looks like they've got potential to be very nice stones.

I watched Matt’s video on the ILR stone and that is exactly how you would grit compare a stone. The stria looks similar to the GS20, but not the edge, it is not as straight. To me the edge looks somewhere between the 8 and 12k edge.

So what does all this mean?

It means that Matt’s stone is currently, somewhere between 8 and 20k, will it remain at whatever grit the view rates it at? Maybe…

It is a Natural stone made from silt formation over thousands/millions of years. Is the silt composition the same year after year, of course not, it can’t be?

So, the stone performance may change after a few lappings. It is not uncommon for a Natural stone to perform vastly different from one side to the other.

There are better option, low cost quality synthetics. Learn on synthetics, once you master honing, then experiment with Natural stones. Very few Natural stone will produce a higher grit and consistent finish that a quality synthetic stone.

You can also grit compare two stones, by honing the razor on a known grit stone, then mark the mid-point of the razor and hone the toe half, by keeping the halfway mark on the edge of the stone.

Then compare with magnification. Look at the stria and the edge, then shave with both edges without stropping, the shave is the only test that counts.

I have an ILR stone, you can shave off the stone, but there are better options. Like an 8k or 12k Super Stone and Chrome Oxide.

I am always amused by new honers/shavers, that choose razors of questionable quality and stones of unknown grit and then post of unsuccessful results…

If you are new to honing, minimize the variables and set yourself up for success.

Originally Posted by Marshal

Yeah, I'm with Oz on this one. Im not gonna buy the 'trade secret' bit. I know exactly which quarry my PHIG came from. It's no secret where my Arkansas stones were quarried. Even AJ selling Welsh Slates on Ebay has been forthright on where those rocks are sourced. I didn't even have to do any digging or prying to find the information, it's commonly known and readily available.

The only reason to hide that information really is either A: it really is something like a rebranded PHIG. B: he doesn't have mineral rights to mine the quarry these stones are coming from. C: he's the middleman and he lucked up on some slate a quarry would sell cheap that does a really nice job on razors, but he fears a larger company like Norton, will decide they want in on the action.

In the third case, I kinda can't fault for not wanting to say, "I get them here." But there are better ways to handle that.

Well, for my part I have enough naturals that I don't need another, unless it's a coticule or a Jnat. I do hope your ILR works out for you Jay, jt looks like they've got potential to be very nice stones.

Well no orders have been placed yet but in the future I hope to own one. For me it is in the price point that makes since. And maybe there are others that are just as close. Still new to this I don't know of many stones yet. But I do know where the budget is right now. But with being young and assuming I live to be old. I may have many years ahead to make many more purchases for different stones.

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Sorry

But you CANNOT do an actual grit comparison by honing a SR, this is the biggest mistake people make..

You have to use test blocks of the same steel at the same measured pressure, and they need to be compared for Width and Depth of Stria, keeping in mind that this only compares "Cutting Ability" NOT actual grit size..
Look at a 8k DMT and an 8k Naniwa SS under the scope, then toss in a few other 8k's and see what I mean... 1k synthetics are also a good test bed to see just how inaccurate Stria comparisons are when using a SR.

This is the reason the Grit values on Naturals are total WAGs you cannot separate the Cutting Grit from the Natural Binder..

You also get into Frangible grit, but that is a whole other thread


You can however compare how each one feels on your face when you shave then pick the best for you


Here this pretty much sums it up

Right, it is not a grit rating or really a microscopic comparison, but it will give you an idea of where “YOUR” stone currently is, in approximate grit and where or if, it will fit in your progression… Or as Glenn says you are just spinning your wheels and want to believe it is a high grit finish stone.

The reason that some, (very few actually), Natural stones command so much attention and price, is because they are proven performers.

Just look at proven naturals, like Jnats and Coticules. Avid users rarely own just one, why?

It is your money, but it money is an issue, spending 40-50 bucks on a roll of the dice, is not wise. Spend a few bucks more and get a proven performer. The goal at this stage, is to learn to hone, so you can learn to shave, not collect stones, that you will just have to upgrade, to get the results you really want.

Here is a very good recent thread on purchasing a Minimum Honing Kit, Minimum kit for honing SRs