Thread: More Tests with a Dragon's Tongue - no slurry

Originally Posted by Brontosaurus

I agree that the pics are nice to see. Still, there seem to be a number of variables from one approach to another as described, 10x achromatic loupe for viewing included.

My shave I would not have qualified as harsh. I tend to shave every three days and the blade mowed down the longish whiskers on the first pass no problem. I do a two-pass shave plus touch-ups. Again, no harshness there to the end. In honing, I moved from a 3k synth to the DT, not from a 1k. Only one side of the DT (lapped to 320x) was used with a very light slurry leading to plain water. Only one side of the Vermont slate (lapped to 600x) was used using oil. Then 8 laps on the cotton element of a Scrupleworks strop followed by 12 laps on the Swedish bridle side. Blade used was pretty hum-drum, a 9/16 Larkin full-hollow. Lather was from a Stirling "Sheep" cake of soap.

Thanks for that, I don't know why mine was harsh, maybe not sharp enough but after a total of 1200 laps on the stones It should have been.
It's possible that the bevel wasn't completely set but I doubt it.
I did notice that I hade deep stria but again after 1200 laps don't know why unless i needed a bit more pressure.

I'll try again soon usung your process to see if it makes a difference.

I looked at my bevel again with the loupe, via indirect light from a west-facing window (cloudy day here in Old New England), and it is indeed a bit scratchy in comparison to a bevel from a coticule. But with the Suehiro 1k/3k combo, the 3k side does wonders in eliminating prior scratches, which is why I brought up the 3k's absence in your example.

Normally, I use a 1k Suehiro > 3k Suehiro > coticule (used with water only) > Welsh purple slate (used with light machine oil) as to a progression. Then plain stropping. For me, it never fails. By using the coticule with water only, no slurry, it is less versatile, with the 3k synth perhaps doing the work that a slurry would do on the coticule. My guess is that as you moved from a 1k synth to the dragon's tongue, you may be used to moving from a coticule used with a heavy slurry off the 1k, gradually diluting this by way of a one-stone progression. If so, one thing to bear in mind is that the dragon's tongue is far less versatile than a coticule in this regard; it may serve as a working-man's bridge to the purple finisher off a 3k synth, but creating a slurry with it to dip down into the nether regions from 1k on up may be asking too much.

In the end, perhaps the DT will not work out for you. I'm going to stay with it for a bit. Not sure what your take on the Welsh purple slate is, but if the results have not been to your liking, I hope you would give the purple slate another try after a coticule as it has served me well in this function (even better than the so-called "Welsh Thuringian"). And here, I'm talking the current crop that AJ has been selling on the 'Bay over the past 12 years or so, not anything precious or vintage.

I just re-honed my razor using your suggestions and a 3k Naniwa, 280 DT (it was 280 or 400) with very light slurry and the 600 Purple Lyn Melynllyn with Mineral oil.

Much better, thanks for your hints Brontosaurus.

Still more of a coti guy but I will definitely use the Welsh Slates again when the mood takes me.

Originally Posted by STF

I just re-honed my razor using your suggestions and a 3k Naniwa, 280 DT (it was 280 or 400) with very light slurry and the 600 Purple Lyn Melynllyn with Mineral oil.

Much better, thanks for your hints Brontosaurus.

Still more of a coti guy but I will definitely use the Welsh Slates again when the mood takes me.

Thanks, Steve, for following up on things and your comments. Glad to know that it helped. --Alan