Thread: Thuringian?

This is a hone I picked up at an antique fair a few weeks ago. I'm pretty sure it's a Thuringian, but I'd sure appreciate it if you all jumped in with your opinions. I noticed an earlier thread with lots of Eschers in it, and I thought that mine looked an awful lot like some of the grey or green stones.
It's got just the faintest lines of blue running through it, thicker and heavier on the back side.

It seems almost buttery smooth, and cuts fairly quickly with a slurry. I've been starting with a fairly thick slurry like the pic, and watering it down a bit every 20 or 30 laps until I'm using clear water. Then maybe another 50 laps.
I've always gone next to the Nani12K and then Spydee UF, but last week I was starting to get the idea that the edge I was getting off this stone was sharper than I thought, so last night I decided to try taking it as far as I could, and not go to any other hones.

I tried holding it in my hand, a step forward for me, and seemed to find a sweet spot where the razor was just hovering over the hone... hard to describe, but it felt as smooth and light as a whisper on the hone. Arm hair seemed to just fall over at the sight of the edge.

The HHT test was a little funny though.... It seemed to fail miserably, sometimes, but when it passed, it passed without a speck of noise or resistance. Unlike any other edge I've managed to get yet. I can do a HHT 3 or more often, 4 after stropping pretty consistantley, but this one is weird. I read it as either a HHT 0 or a HHT 5, but nothing in the middle.

I'm going to try that razor out tonight, and see how it shaves.

These are some pics of the hone. ( I made 'em big to show as much detail as I could..) I think the color changed a bit somewhere, there is a bit more green to the stone than shows. The faint blue lines show, the back side seems almost mottled in places. It's been wetted down to show the color better. I've also shown some slurry. It's almost milky white, and that's about as thick as I use. Does that seem right?

So, makin' a long story short: IS it a Thurry? And does my slurry look OK, should it be thicker, or thinner? And what's up with the HHT? Why such differing results?

It looks like it to me, especially given the color of the slurry. I'm sure someone else could tell you with more certainty though.

I never slurry on my Thurry, I just use her as a finisher. Leaves really smooth shaving edges.

it may be escher or thurry .
slurry is fine.
HHT IS Just test nothing more or less.
it depends too many factors.
hope this helps

Looks like it to me too but as hi_bud says, you have to hone on it to see how it works for you.

Originally Posted by holli4pirating

It looks like it to me, especially given the color of the slurry. I'm sure someone else could tell you with more certainty though.

I never slurry on my Thurry, I just use her as a finisher. Leaves really smooth shaving edges.

+1

Does the slurry smell like chalk? I've three thuringians and the slurry coming from them smells just like chalk...

Thanks. I wouldn't dare call it an Escher, but now that some reasonable people have confirmed it for me, I won't hesitate to call it a thurry.

The edge on the razor was certainly different than any of the other edges I've managed to get using my whole repetoir. Not quite as sharp as I like, but there was a smoothness there that I've not experienced before. I usually throw everything I have at my razors, this was the first time I've ever shaved with an edge that didn't see to whole progression.

It's hard to describe, but the edge had a character that seemed very forgiving.
I'm going to take that razor back to this stone again and see if I can't get it just a bit sharper.

So why no slurry?
How do edges off a thurry compare to edges off a coti?

Originally Posted by wdwrx

So why no slurry?
How do edges off a thurry compare to edges off a coti?

No Slurry?
i cannot answer to this question. i have always used with slurry .I even don't need to use it without slurry. Unnecessary time waste.
Some people could use without slurry but sharpening ability of the thury will be way law.
Second part Good thurry or escher edge will be a lot better then most coticules out there.
Remember there is bad thurry's out there too which edge won't be as good as it should be.
GL

It looks a lot like my Thurigen so does the slurry

Keep in mind the way I was told is that all "Eschers are Thuringens but not all Thuringens are Eschers"...

Saying all of any natural stone gets a bit tricky, and that is where the "Myths' start

In My Experience IME which isn't a ton of different stones, but quite a bit of honing... Is that the edges from a good Coticule -vs- a good Thuringen are very close, in sharp and smooth, my personal opinion is that the Thuringens leave a slightly sharper edge... (True Eschers are even more )

I use my Thuringen as a finisher only, coming off the Norton 1-4-8 with a shave ready edge, I use a light slurry for about 10 laps to "Train" the edge to the stone then dilute to clear water over the next 10 or so laps, and then continue for another 20 laps with clear water....

Try shaving right of the stone, NO stropping at all, that is a best test of the Stone that I have found...

That is just how I use the stone, try it if you like...

Thanks Sham and Glen,
I don't think my honing skills are yet to the point where I'd shave right off any of my stones... I seem to still need every crutch I can get, but I'll sure give it a try, just as soon as my whiskers grow back...

BTW, Glen, I've seen mention of this "training" you speak of; what does that mean? Is it the slurry that does the training? Do you use slurry on other fine stones?

Yes I do, I think it sets the edge to the stone.. Same reason that I run the Shapton, Norton and the Naniwa sets so often, they give me near 100% consistentsy...Coming from the Norton 8k to the Naturals like I do, I feel you need to change the striations on the edge, to the Natural stone, to get the most out of it...So I "train" the edge to the Natural stone with about 10 laps with light slurry..

Doesn't mean I am right, it is just what seems to work very consistently for me...

For me that is really the key word, I need to know that it is repeatable at least 90% of the time...

Lynn and I were talking about this the other day, there are tons of different ways to get a razor to shave ready, and some of those ways might be better then what I do.... BUT I know for a fact, that my ways are the most consistent for me, or I don't use them.... 90% is the minimum I will accept, if I do 10 razors and 2 of them need more work after I get through, then I look at the sequence or the stones in the process...
Once the bevel is set and sharp, honing should be pretty easy and straight forward if you find yourself going back again and again then you need to analyze what you are doing...

IMHO everything we do above the 8k level is pretty much all personal preference anyway, and actually un-necessary to shaving the razor...

OMG heresy / sacrilege get a rope or better yet stoning would be more appropriate !!!


I hope that answered your question I got a little