Hindostan?

Attachment 305339Attachment 305340
Bought this 5"x3/4"x1/2" stone off of the bay not too long ago. It was very inexpensive and looked like a clean hindostan. After lapping it, which was slow going, I took a razor fresh off a shapton 12k to it to see how it did. It polished the bevel much like my black arkie but left it incredibly smooth, unlike my black arkie which leaves a very sharp almost uncomfortable edge. My understanding and personal experience before was that hindostans aren't generally considered finishing hones. I guess my question is are there some out there more suited to polishing like this one does or is this something completely different?

I'm a Hoosier and think Hindostan's are cool to look at .........but the 4 or 5 I have running around the place seem to want to throw transients into the mix. Will polish nicely for a bit with extremely light pressure and then SCRATCH. Hindo's aren't usually that hard to lap that I've seen so far. I saw on another forum recently that a gentleman has one that will finish. Maybe they vary quite a bit in hardness. I think it may be some thing else? Here's mine for reference. Attachment 305355Attachment 305356

Hindostans are pre-polishers at best from the several I have had in hand and the "grit" seemed to change as you work through and into other layers. I still have one that I use on knives here and there.

I have a razor grade hindo, they are out there. 8x2x1.5 in size and the layers are very fine like dukes yellowish stone. By razor grade I mean 8kish not great but doable. It worked great for japanese nagura just in case you would like to try.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Toroblanco

I have a razor grade hindo, they are out there. 8x2x1.5 in size and the layers are very fine like dukes yellowish stone. By razor grade I mean 8kish not great but doable. It worked great for japanese nagura just in case you would like to try.

---

I have a 6x2 that fits in between my 4k and 8k stones. I have played with it and nagura in the past, when I was still new to the honing game. I guess I should try it again now that I'm better at honing.

Unlike hindos I've had I've had in the past, this stone has that glass like feel like the translucent and black Arkansas stones, but leaves a much smoother feel on the face.

Your description sounds like it could be an Owyhee jasper or a similar agate like stone. They are glassy and can be very good finishers, I have several jaspers. The upper left stone in the pic below is my Owhyee.
Attachment 305375

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by joamo

Your description sounds like it could be an Owyhee jasper or a similar agate like stone. They are glassy and can be very good finishers, I have several jaspers. The upper left stone in the pic below is my Owhyee.
Attachment 305375

---

That would make sense! The seller also had some jasper labeled as such, but this one was unlabeled.

There are 2 sellers I know of that are selling jaspers and agates as hones on E-bay. I bought the green quartzite above from one of them.

These type stones, much like an Arkie, perform better with a finer, lapped and burnished surface prep. I use oil on mine.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by duke762

I'm a Hoosier and think Hindostan's are cool to look at .........but the 4 or 5 I have running around the place seem to want to throw transients into the mix. Will polish nicely for a bit with extremely light pressure and then SCRATCH. Hindo's aren't usually that hard to lap that I've seen so far. I saw on another forum recently that a gentleman has one that will finish. Maybe they vary quite a bit in hardness. I think it may be some thing else? Here's mine for reference. Attachment 305355Attachment 305356

---

I remember reading somewhere that gravestones where made of the best quality......:shrug:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by joamo

There are 2 sellers I know of that are selling jaspers and agates as hones on E-bay. I bought the green quartzite above from one of them.

These type stones, much like an Arkie, perform better with a finer, lapped and burnished surface prep. I use oil on mine.

---

I lapped and burnished this much like an arkie, but all I've used on it so far was water and even did some dry runs with it. Using it dry seemed to bring back some of the keenness on my test razor, but still left it smooth.

Gotta' ask, did it smell muddy while lapping? That is assuming you lapped it wet. I did so much work to get the oil out of mine that I'm reluctant to use oil again. I've read some old literature that said that while use with tools that a slurry develops that breaks down into finer particles to provide a keener edge. Love old ad pitches.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by duke762

Gotta' ask, did it smell muddy while lapping? That is assuming you lapped it wet. I did so much work to get the oil out of mine that I'm reluctant to use oil again. I've read some old literature that said that while use with tools that a slurry develops that breaks down into finer particles to provide a keener edge. Love old ad pitches.

---

It did have a very slight muddy smell when I lapped it.