Thread: Just admit you've done it

Originally Posted by holli4pirating

We all love looking at hones, the way they smell, the feedback on fingertips and razors, and the sound you get when you run a razor over them.

But these are just 4 of the 5 senses.

Admit it - How many of you have had a taste? (And which hones?)

As a field geologist I have tasted thousands of rocks.
But never a hone.

But always a freshly broken surface. You can
taste and smell clays and alteration products.

Of interest I can tell the difference in makeup that my girlfriend
uses. It is so distressing to nuzzle and think -- Kaolin base
with a touch of talc and illite. In fact I find makeup a
bit off putting as a result. I am a soap and water clean
skin fan as a result.

The closest i have come is:
3 oz of gin
1 oz of dry vermouth
a pinch of nakayama slurry
Shake and strain into martini glass. Garnish with slurry stone.

Originally Posted by Spect

I've licked all my Naniwa's, the engrish sticker on the stones pretty much demands it.

Has anyone checked out this site? Engrish.com I like the one about not touching when the circumvolution is not over. (May 21st, 2010)

There was a better website but I cannot remember what it was. It had food label translations.


I have only smelled my natural honing stones, however when I was a kid I had a big salt crystal kept on a window ledge that I would lick from time to time. If the cows can have a salt lick, why not me? The same logic led me to try dry dog food as a kid. I thought it was pretty tasty and if they do use horse in dogfood and that was what I ate, I liked it.

This is why I am such a smooth talker......

Dylan, I'd never even thought of licking a hone until one of our members recently posted an old barber manual that recommended it as a grit test. It never occurred to me before, but I tried it on several hones because it seemed pretty logical, what with all the sensitivity of the tip of the tongue vs. the fingertips. I guess I don't have a "trained" tongue, because I wasn't able to tell much.

Originally Posted by Stubear

I've never tasted a hone, but I really like the smell of my naturals. The Maruichi has a real earthy smell to it, and the Charnley Forest is mounted to a pitch covered base which smells like old galleons..!

Yeah Stu, I'm not much on taste, but I admit to being preoccupied with the freshly lapped smell of my hones. My coticules seem to have a somewhat sharp dirt/soil scent (in a good way), but I have a Maruichi Kiita that smells like rich, wet, clay-ey, primordial, righteous Japanese MUD! I love that smell. I started my career as a forester, so a good earthy mud smell with no stench is high on the list of things that take me back and make me smile.

I also have a Maruichi Asasgi I bought from Old School that has a wonderful, sweet smell. I thought this was a fluke smell it picked up during storage, and mentioned it to Old School, and he thought I was a bit nuts. But even after laquering and lapping, it still has that faint, pleasant, sweet smell. Very faintly floral, almost like a Lily or something. No idea why it is, but I really like it. Unique.

Originally Posted by Slartibartfast

The closest i have come is:
3 oz of gin
1 oz of dry vermouth
a pinch of nakayama slurry
Shake and strain into martini glass. Garnish with slurry stone.

That's one "dirty " martini

Originally Posted by holli4pirating

Admit it - How many of you have had a taste? (And which hones?)

Yes I have. Nearly all the varieties I have (quod vide)

Every time I see this thread come up, it reminds me of a guy I knew growing up.

One day, we were sitting around hanging out, and he asked a "hey, have you guys ever done..." question (not even going to tell you what he asked so don't ask)

When we all looked at him like he was crazy, he played it off and said, "me either, I was just seeing if YOU guys did it"

Originally Posted by richmondesi

Every time I see this thread come up, it reminds me of a guy I knew growing up.

One day, we were sitting around hanging out, and he asked a "hey, have you guys ever done..." question (not even going to tell you what he asked so don't ask)

When we all looked at him like he was crazy, he played it off and said, "me either, I was just seeing if YOU guys did it"

So, wha'd he ask? lawl

My favorite is my Nakayama Asagi, it taste like sashimi. Synthetics taste more like fast food....Not that there is anything wrong with fast food.