Thread: help with welsh slate hone

Originally Posted by cau

Rob, 20 laps and test. What test do you use? If you did 150 laps would you have overhoned? Wasted time or steel? I'm not sure when I should be done, so I usually over do it...

By test, i tend to assume its a reference to shave testing. Or whatever you use to determine a razor is finished. These stones are slow and don't remove a lot of steel, at least when suitably smooth & burnished to finish a razor. It would be really hard to over do it.

Tintin - any chance you could post a photo or two of the honing face of the stone?

Random thought, is it possible you could use less pressure when using the slate? They are harder than most synthetics, I've seen it mentioned that harder synthetics give some folks trouble until they adjust. I'm wondering if maybe a similar thing could be happening here.

Originally Posted by Marshal

By test, i tend to assume its a reference to shave testing. Or whatever you use to determine a razor is finished. These stones are slow and don't remove a lot of steel, at least when suitably smooth & burnished to finish a razor. It would be really hard to over do it.

This has been my meager understanding. I read about finishing on a Charnley with 200+ x-strokes. Few hundred laps on a black Ark. I have a Vermio, and don't think 30 laps would amount to much. In the time it would take to lather and shave test I could finish my 150 laps. But I'm never sure I'm not wasting time or steel. Figured I'd ask...

Originally Posted by cau

Rob, 20 laps and test. What test do you use? If you did 150 laps would you have overhoned? Wasted time or steel? I'm not sure when I should be done, so I usually over do it...

Whatever your sharpness test is, mine is arm hair. i stop as soon I feel improvement from a 8k knowing i'll improve it even more with CrOx Paddle and stropping

Originally Posted by tintin

personally ready to give up on natural hones. way beyond my level of expertise or interest. Lesson learned.

What naturals have you used before? If you are having major issues with them I would do a normal synth progression up to 10-12k then use a finishing stone that you are sure is up to scratch like a jnat. I have an Ozuku Asagi and it is by far the best and easiest finishing stone I have.

I also have a couple of coticules and a charnley forest. As well as the welsh slates and C12k but I would not consider my versions of these stones good enough to finish on.


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Originally Posted by Marshal

Tintin - any chance you could post a photo or two of the honing face of the stone?

Random thought, is it possible you could use less pressure when using the slate? They are harder than most synthetics, I've seen it mentioned that harder synthetics give some folks trouble until they adjust. I'm wondering if maybe a similar thing could be happening here.

I'll get a picture of it this afternoon. My only experience with naturals is this and a PHIG. i'm just wondering if the difference between a 8k SS and a 12k of any kind is just too small for me to notice the improvement? Or maybe i just don't like the feel of 12k and it seems like it's degrading the edge?

Is that what you're currently finishing on, an 8K SS? Have you tried a synthetic 12K stone?

It could be that you don't like the feel of anything passed that. For the longest time I just used my Norton 4K, 8K then moved onto a natural stone because the first shave fresh off the 8K hone was prickly. Too keen and easy to create razor burn. Natural stones for me seemed to tone that down, and I was afraid synthetics would compound the issue.

Long story short, I picked up a 12K synthetic and what I actually found was I just needed to adapt to the new sharper edges. Less pressure, better technique etc.

I guess my last question is, what do you mean by it degraded the edge? Did it tug/pull the hair? Or did you just end up with more irritation that you would have coming off the 8K SS?

I have the 3 welsh slate set a well and I'm very happy with them

Here's a image of it. Yes, i finish with a SS 8k. with this last try of the hone i used water and glycerin. 20 laps no difference another 20 and it felt like sand paper.

Hrmm...I was hoping maybe there would be an inclusion or something askew someone could maybe point out, but visually I don't see anything wrong with the hone. Does it feel gritty at all when you run a razor across it? Maybe one spot where the razor seems to catch a high spot in the stone?

I'll attach a photo of my stone, whether it will help or not is up in the air. But the only time I've had a stone, any stone, do that is when it wasn't clean, it wasn't smooth enough, the stone had an inclusion, or when it uncovered weak steel that chipped or some other issue with the razor that for whatever reason wasn't apparent on the previous stone.