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

Originally Posted by Slartibartfast

I will call it the Peoples Hone.

That's good! I prefer "People's 12K", though.

Why dont we call it the Ginsu hone, after the knives of equal reputation.

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...

Hunter Thompson might have called it the Gonzo hone .

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.

being able to type C12K for those of us with typing deficits is a big plus.

How about Guangxi natural water stone (since the box says "natural water stone").

I could learn to type GNWS, I suppose.

But sellers continue to sell it as a 12,000 grit stone:
Buy Natural Polishing Water Stone, Water Stones, Sharpening - Woodcraft.com

So, I really don't see where it makes a hill of beans.

This issue I'd take with changing the name at this point is that it would take me 4 extra keystrokes to spell out Guangxi rather than type 12k.

Chris L

The bell has been rung, I am going to hone with my Chinese 12K this evening.

Charlie

Maybe 12k is not meant to represent a grit rating.

Maybe 12k is the communist version of the karat rating for gold

Maybe 12k represents the number of dogs that are cooked up each year to feed the peasant workers who hew these from solid rock

Let's not be hasty. Let's give our comrades in China the benefit of the doubt