What do you use on a hard black slate hone? Water or honing oil.

I only use water with my slate hones, I know the edge would be keener with Smiths honing solution (which I use on other stones) but I use other stones after the slate so, for that reason I am happy to keep with water

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Originally Posted by Slawman

I like options & the Shapton will be another option. I have a Coti that is a good stone also. I am thinking of starting to do some razor honing & fine knife sharpening in the near future. I have a neighbor who teaches in a culinary school & is also opening a fine dining type restaurant here in town. The guy who was doing his & the schools knives has retired. Rather than sending their knives out we have been talking & I hope to get his business. I like having tools to do the work I have. Plus I like having "STUFF". I tell my wife & kids the He who dies with the most stuff wins. I want to win! ROFLOL ;-)
Slawman

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Okay, I thought your were going to use the Shapton 16k after the slate finisher. My experience has been that certain slates, particularly those used with oil, can up the ante off a coticule. The only trick is not to go too far with them so as to create an overly harsh edge. Any idea of the locale where your piece comes from?

No guess where it came from. It was bought at a flea market in Indiana from the same place I got my hindostan hone. Think I paid around $5.00 for it. To be honest I had misplaced it for a couple of years & just found it.

Slawman

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Originally Posted by gssixgun

I no longer use honing oil at all

I found Smith's Honing Solution which is water soluble, I haven't looked back since,, What I really love is the ability to adjust viscosity with one product and a few drops of water...

Plus I never have to worry about getting oil on an expensive Nakayama

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Same here, I only use oil on the hones I use for my kitchen knives (synthetics and Arkansas)

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Originally Posted by Slawman

No guess where it came from. It was bought at a flea market in Indiana from the same place I got my hindostan hone. Think I paid around $5.00 for it. To be honest I had misplaced it for a couple of years & just found it.

Slawman

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If I were in East Central Illinois, I'd be pretty excited about a Hindostan stone, if only to keep things somewhat close by, regionally-speaking. Might be interesting to do a little research on slates in Indiana and a little further afield to see if they were historically used for honing there. There was a guy on the forums a while back using some black slate he'd dug up in Kentucky, claiming that it was a decent finisher, etc., etc.

When you first purchased it, where there any indications that it was used with oil? And beyond the seller, was it from the same source as the Hindostan? If so, it might be interesting to try a Hindostan > slate progression to see what that yields.

The guy I bought both stones from had no clue about them. Said he got them at an auction near Bloomington Indiana. There is a lot of slate in Indiana & also shale. There is a lot of coal mined there so you see shale & slate in the tailings pile at times.