Thread: Made in China but not 12k so let's stop calling it 12k

Actually, it's from the Guangxi region, but until another one is found, I'd rather stick with "Chinese."

To-may-to, Tu-mah-to.

Calling it a Chinese 12k gives newbies an instant method of determining where it should fit in a progression. Should I use it after an 8k? sure. Should I use it after my shapton 16k? nope. Feel free to make the Escher (X)k, coticule(X)k, Nakayama(X)k argument, but for me it's all just semantics. It's just another part of the straight razor lingo that has developed over time, i.e. BBS, TPT, TNT, etc.

Since most people pick these up from Woodcraft - it probably has to do with their description of the chinese hone.

A dense, hard stone that's perfect for final polishing on all your carving tools, plane blades, chisels or any tool requiring a keen edge.

Extremely fine (12,000+) grit natural water stone quarried in the Guangxi province of China.

From this one could argue that we should call it a "Chinese'>'12k". This should properly be read as a "Chinese 'greater than' 12k".

But in the end, To-may-to, Tu-mah-to.

Edit: okay, maybe a "Chinese'>/=' 12k". Read as a "Chinese 'greater than or equal to' 12k". But that's as far as I'm going.

Originally Posted by Ben325e

To-may-to, Tu-mah-to.

The correct one is to-may-to.

Hey, I said it was a minor peeve.

My main objection is that it leads to confusion. All of the other naturals lack grit designation but the Chinese hone, with it's claimed grit, is then ranked in the same manner as synthetic hones without any consideration given for the character of the grit. The performance of a natural is dependent upon much more than just the size of it's grit. Coticules perform differently from each other because of the size and quantity of its garnets, as well as because of its relative hardness affecting the speed with which it releases its grit. Chinese hones vary in this same way. They are not all the same. They don't release grit much at all and as a result tend to glaze over quickly. They are not 12k, so why call them that?

Originally Posted by Utopian

Actually, it's from the Guangxi region, but until another one is found, I'd rather stick with "Chinese."

That's reasonable enough. Weren't Thuringian hones referred to as "German Water Hones" and coticules as "Belgian Hones"? So referring to the stone by the country it came from certainly makes sense. I honestly have no idea how the "12k" got tacked on at the end...

Originally Posted by Utopian

Actually, it's from the Guangxi region, but until another one is found, I'd rather stick with "Chinese."

That's reasonable enough. Weren't Thuringian hones referred to as "German Water Hones" and coticules as "Belgian Hones"? So referring to the stone by the country it came from certainly makes sense. I honestly have no idea how the "12k" got tacked on at the end...

This (12000 Grit) was probably coming from an eBay auction where these hones came up first.
I used to write "12k" but Guangxi would be better.

Originally Posted by Utopian

Actually, it's from the Guangxi region, but until another one is found, I'd rather stick with "Chinese."

Guangxi stone is a good name. Calling Chinese stone is wrong because I know two more Chinese stones. They call them river stones, one pretend to be 3K, another one 15K. I have both of them and would say, that they are approximately of announced grit.

If we're going to change the name from C12K or PHIG, why not go with the obvious, C-Nat.

Originally Posted by Zelenbakh

Guangxi stone is a good name. Calling Chinese stone is wrong because I know two more Chinese stones. They call them river stones, one pretend to be 3K, another one 15K. I have both of them and would say, that they are approximately of announced grit.

I actually just received delivery of:
15000 grit whetstone for fine honing. 2" x 6" x 16" | eBay

I would refer to it as a C15k, but I don't want to be e-drawn and e-quartered. I am a newb and I did not want to pay alot for this muffler, err hone.

I'm going to start another thread with pics of mine and some questions, if you could look for it and chime in, I would be much obliged.

It's not a C12k, it's the peoples hone of indeterminate grit. Or PHIG if you prefer.