Thread: Hone slates......

garnet schists ? Yes a very common rock but in order for it to be hone quality a very special set of circumstances has to ocurr and even then it has to be in sufficiently large quanities to make it economically worthwhile. Even then many such deposits are still relatively small and play out after a short time. Go up to Gore Mountain in New York State. The whole mountain is basically garnet and that's where alot of garnet paper comes from.

As far as slates go remember it's well..a rock. It's metamorphosed shale and its defined by the size of the particles that make it up. The actual minerals within can vary so you can have very different properties.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Chris, while I do have them both I must confess that I haven't used the Charnley much and the Dragon's Tongue not at all. This thread is reminder that I have to take the DT out for a spin and see what I can do with it. Lynn and Sham both thought highly of the Charnley IIRC.

Jimmy, you've probably honed more razors in the past two weeks than I have in the past two years. But, I have used and compared the Dragon's Tongue Welsh hone and the Charnley Forest on several razors.

The Dragon's Tongue I bought last year from Inigo Jones, because the idea of buying a natural hone stone suitable for razors for only $45 shipped appealed to me greatly. The Charnley I bought from Sham when he listed one in the Classifieds last year. Both are very hard, and I've only used them with plain water after lapping, no slurry. Factor in that I'm no honemeister here, just a guy who likes to hone razors, struggling and succeeding at various times.

The Dragon's Tongue as sold by Inigo Jones arrived with a very rough surface, which seemed to have been created purposely. I lapped it smooth with 220 diamond plate, followed by wet/dry sandpaper at 325, 600, and 1000 grit. The Charley is as smooth and hard as marble out of the gate, and is a bear to lap.

After lapping, the DT feels smooth and fluid but with a decent "tug", a bit like hard coticule. But I couldn't get it to polish like a good finisher. And, it doesn't seem to cut like a good cutter. I've read here about others who've gotten either good polishing or cutting results with it, but I found it to be "neither fish nor fowl." It's still a very cool stone, and am keeping it because it may click with me later, who knows? It took me a while to get on with coticules, too.

The CF is extremely hard and fine, and very slow. It feels a bit like a Chinese ??K, equally dense and heavy, but even finer. I've found it to be a superb polisher, taking sharp razors and making them very sharp razors. I've only used water, but Sham advises that the best results can be had using oil. Maybe I got a good one, but my CF seems comparable in polishing to the best Japanese naturals I've used, but much slower. It has a slick, "oily" feel when polishing, with a gentle suction sensation to the stroke when I'm in the zone. Very smooth shaving edges.

The downside? Slowness, and they are a waste of time if I'm trying to use them with a razor that doesn't already have a decent edge to start with.

Tim thanks for the info on the dragon's tongue. I also got a CF from Sham. It is a big one and a beauty. Both Lynn and Sham told me they like to use it with oil. I can't bring myself to do that for the mess so I added a couple of drops of dish soap when I honed with it. That seemed to help out and when I get the time and the inclination I will go back to it. I am not a huge fan of slow stones.

+1 Tim...totally agree with your analysis.
Ive used both the DT and Charnley and my results concur. Honestly, ive yet to own a hone, that finishes as high as the Charnley's i have...that includes the Eschers. I know some will probably not want to hear that, but...
My only regret, is that ive sold a couple of the Charnleys...wont do that again. Rofl.

Many thanks,

Mac

Originally Posted by McWolf1969

+1 Tim...totally agree with your analysis.
Ive used both the DT and Charnley and my results concur. Honestly, ive yet to own a hone, that finishes as high as the Charnley's i have...that includes the Eschers. I know some will probably not want to hear that, but...
My only regret, is that ive sold a couple of the Charnleys...wont do that again. Rofl.

Many thanks,

Mac

Trade you a big charnley for two Eschers .

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Trade you a big charnley for two Eschers .

Rofl...careful what you offer, i just might take ya up on that. Ive seen your Charnleys and covet your gray one.

Mac