Shipping update.
Michael shipped the Zulu Grey hone on May 30. There was a minor delay in outgoing customs in Durbin, SA and again upon arrival in New York. The hone arrived at my Chicagoland mailbox on June 15. Thus, the total time from ordering to delivery was twelve weeks.

Hopefully, the hone will be worth the wait. The stone was very well packaged and withstood the torturous journey quite well. The stone was lapped on all sizes, but was polished on only one. The back side of the stone has a couple of small chips near the corners, but it could still be used for sharpening. The stone is quite dense and hard. The polished surface is very smooth. Thus, it should be a good finishing hone.

Due to the length of time required for Michael to ship the stone, he also included a bonus: a 3/4" x 3/4" x 7" travel hone. It was lapped on all sides, but not fully polished. It will be a great knife sharpening stone, but I am not sure I will use it for razors.

The question I need to answer over the next few weeks is whether it will be a better finishing hone than my current finishing hones: a Vermio Greek hone, an Imperia la Roccia, a true hard black Arkansas, and a Llyn Melynllyn welsh slate, all of which produce nice edges. I am hoping the ZG will produce even better edges. More to come.