Thread: Welsh slate

Just picked up a purple welsh slate.supposted to be 10k equivalent. I have never had or used slate before. What grit wet/dry sand paper should I lap and burnished with

I would not "burnish" it.
W/D to 1k is plenty fine enough. If you are going to slurry it than anything, even coarse, will suffice.
Would be very surprised if it worked at a 10k level! It looks like a Dragons Tongue.
I have a purple welsh slate (much different looking than yours) that produces an outstanding edge on a razor, they can but don't always perform so well.
Dragons tongue may work to an 8k level I don't know as I have never used one.
The typical purple welsh slate is loved by some- not all.

I have what I think is a welsh slate. I bought it with some other stones I was after. It works quite well but I don't know about 10k. I never really agreed with trying to quantify naturals wuth a "grit equivalent." To me it just diesn't equate, plus, for example a 1k Norton does not perform like a 1k King. Although similar, they are not "equivalent." Each stone is a little different especially with naturals.
To my mind those comparisons should be thought of like the broadest if brush strokes. It's just a ballpark so you know kind of what to expect but don't expect an exact match.

Yeah I wasn't expecting 10k got it for a good price so I figured why not try something different. Can I slurry it with a naugra stone or do I need to find something natural or a fine diamond stone?

With slates you would generally use either another peice of the same stone which it would usually come with or alternatively you can use a diamond plate.

Originally Posted by Cattleman02

Yeah I wasn't expecting 10k got it for a good price so I figured why not try something different. Can I slurry it with a naugra stone or do I need to find something natural or a fine diamond stone?

I do not slurry mine at all.
I would dress it to smooth then just use water to see where it fits and what it produces.
Properly finish a razor to 8k then test the new rock with water only to see if it betters the edge.
I always advise to avoid variables with a new stone.
Using slurry right away will not really tell you anything about the stone other than how fast and coarse it is capable of. This is for slates alone. Jnats are different where slurry can tame an overly sharp feeling edge.

I agree completely. Use a blade that has a solid 8k edge. Do 20 or 30 laps on the slate with just water and see how it changes the edge.this is step one in learning a new stone in my book. Slurry is later IMO. Also using a burnish finish can help but again that's for later.

Nothing wrong with slurrying. However, it is good advice to see what it will do with plain water first.

All great advise. I have a purple Welsh, I lapped mine with a 1k diamond hone. As suggested I first brought a razor to a 10k edge, then 20 or so water only laps. It produces a crisp shave that works well with full hollow Solingen razors.