Thread: Dragons Tongue Hone anyone?

Hey Chris, you can say you own a bit of Wales now

Cheers for the heads up littlesilverbladefromwale.

I'll give it a good lap on my DMT DC8. That should make it nice and smooth.

Steven

Well, it finally turned up. Currently lapping it, which is taking ages because it is so hard (well compaired to my nortons it is anyways). Hope to have it tested later today and will let you know what I think.

Steven

I'm off to Snowdonia on holiday next week, so please let me know how it goes, I may have to make a special trip to get one of these.

Cheers,

DK

thegreatdk: I'm not sure if you'll be able to get one by just going down. Seemed to take them ages to send it, which makes me think they don't just have a store of them. Might be worth phoning up first!

Steven

I have got a funny feeling they stock these hones in St Fagans museum of Wales.
I'm 90% sure I had seen the box design before, when mine arrived.
When I ordered mine (and half a dozen others on here) the guy told me he has to mill or cut the hones.
Not bad considering they are quite cheap.
BTW the mine owner wants feedback from us.

Originally Posted by nerobot

thegreatdk: I'm not sure if you'll be able to get one by just going down. Seemed to take them ages to send it, which makes me think they don't just have a store of them. Might be worth phoning up first!

Steven

Blimey! I never thought I'd have to phone up to see if the top left hand corner of Wales had any slate left!!

But seriously thanks for the info, if the owner is going to all this trouble to supply them, I'd better get my order in before they go up in price.

(My wife is a geologist, so I can pass it off as a Christmas present)

DK

Well, I have finally tried the hone, and I'll try to write a small review of it. Please let me know if there is anything you agree/disagree about.

Firstly, it WILL need lapping when you get it. It is very rough out of the box, which was disappointing as I thought this was just what the hone was like. However, after lapping, it was very smooth and much more like what I was expecting. However, it is a VERY hard hone and took about 2 hours to lap, though this could just be because of my inexperience at lapping.

After lapping, I did 10 laps of the hone (with a razor that had been previously honed with a Norton 4k/8k) and didn't notice much change to the edge of the blade. So, I did another 20 or so laps, and looked at the edge again. This time, the edge looked smoother, so I had a close look with a small magnifying glass and could actually see that the big scratches from the Norton were gone, and instead were lots of smaller scratches (which I assume would make the edge smoother?), I could also see that the little bit of wire edge that I had from the Norton (will learning how to hone, so not getting it completely right yet) was gone, and instead the edge was straight and smooth.

Anyway, to the important part!

Stropped, lathered, and shaved. The first thing I noticed was that the edge was so much smoother on my face. It felt that the edge was more "round", but still as sharp, which made for a more conferable shave. However, I'm not sure if I could say it was sharper, but perhaps that's just me. There was a much better glide across the face, which I just didn't get with the Norton. So, altogether a much better shave!

I have still get a bit of research to do on this blade. For example: does it require more laps; is it easy to over-hone; does it work any better with a slurry or dry; can it be used in place of a Norton 8k?

However, from my short experience, I can say that it does give a better shave than the 8k Norton, and the edge is a lot smoother. Sadly, I don't have any finishing hones, so I can't compare it to them, but perhaps some other members can.

For the money, you really can't beat it as a finishing hone, and it really does work also. However, they do seem to take a very long time delivering it, which I believe to be because they cut them for each order, so perhaps the wait isn't too bad.

If, like me, you only have a Norton 4k/8k, and want a smoother finish, without paying a lot for some of the other hones, then I would certainly recommend buying one.

Now to see how some chrome oxide improves the edge after the dragons tongue. Sadly they came on the same day, but just had to try the hone first.

Steven

Great review, Steven. Thank you for that. I ordered mine on 10/1 and it's not here yet. I'm in the U.S., so maybe mine will be delayed a bit longer. It makes me feel better knowing that there is a time delay which I'm fine with.

I believe based on your review, Steven, that you DO now have a finishing stone, and it's called the Dragon's Tongue!

I'll be anxious to see how the DT compares to the Chinese 12K.

Chris L

Well I couldn't take it anymore So I ordered the DT. I need it like I need another hole in my head but...... I guess I might have HAD ...... I hear there is no cure.