Is this a Charnley Forest and how to lap it?

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06-25-2010, 08:17 PM
RazorPete

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Is this a Charnley Forest and how to lap it?

Hi everyone,
I'm trying to figure out whether this old sharpening stone that I have is a Charnley Forest or not. Its about 1 1/2 by 6 inches, aside from the scratches it has, its otherwise really smooth feeling and seems like a pretty hard stone. Its mostly light gray-green in color but it has a generous amount of red-brown swirls in it too. What do you experts think? Is this a Charnley? I'm going to lap it on a flat granite surface with 600/1000/2000 grit sandpaper and then test it out. But I have a feeling thats going to take a while and in the meanwhile, I would appreciate if anyone has some feedback about this stone.
Thanks in advance
Pete
06-25-2010, 08:30 PM
JimmyHAD

Looks like it is a CF. I've used my 325 diamond plate and never anything finer. If I was lapping it I would use 325 paper or the 600 if that was the coarsest I had. I see no reason to go finer but YMMV. :)
06-25-2010, 08:36 PM
nun2sharp

Looks like it could very well be, please post more pics after the lapping!
06-25-2010, 09:06 PM
RazorPete

thanks for the feedback! This inspires me to get lapping (with the coarser grit). I'll post pics afterwards
06-25-2010, 09:53 PM
Piet

That stone looks familiar. I had it in my watchlist. If it really is a Charnley you will need 120-220 grit waterproof sanding paper or better yet a coarse diamond hone. I started with 120 grit sanding paper on mine but after a few days I realized it was taking too long. Instead I used a $3 diamond hone with semi-flexible backing on a glass plate and finished it with 240 to 2000 sanding paper.
06-25-2010, 10:15 PM
hi_bud_gl

very hard to call. it will need lapping then may be we can say .or have better idea.let us know when you done lapping. i don't think you need more then 1k in any hone while you lap it.
06-26-2010, 01:44 AM
FatboySlim

For my part, I think it's a Charnley. I'm not an expert, but I do like mine.

As far as lapping, a real Charnley Forest can take a joke. It is a very hard and dense stone, so be prepared for a lot of effort. But I feel they are worth the effort, one of the top finishing stones I've ever used to take a sharp razor to a very sharp razor. That's all its good for, but it's very good at that.
06-26-2010, 07:55 AM
adrspach

For size I would say not CF (quite small). For the colour it is hard to say lap it first and then show the pics. To help with that. Normally with chipped and dished CFs I start on grit 60-80 dry (often dusting it out with a brush). Once it is flat I go higher grit with water. It is dense stone it does take long time to lap it but a beauty can be revealed. Good luck.
06-26-2010, 02:07 PM
Scipio

I've never seen a charnley..in the grit, so to speak, however from various pictures of them I have witnessed amongst many posts here I would identify it as a Charnley Forest. Stubear did a review on one recently.

Lap that hone up and get the pics on here.

I would be interested to hear the opinion of anyone who has used both a Charnely and a genuine Escher, and how they compare.
06-26-2010, 02:18 PM
RazorPete

3 Attachment(s)

Thanks everybody for your input. On Jimmie's advice I got a 325 grit DMT plate and still it took quite a while to properly lap it, especially getting the one major chip out. I finished with some 2000 grit sandpaper on a flat granite countertop, and now its really smooth feeling. Anyway, here's some photos:
06-26-2010, 02:25 PM
Woodash

Quote:

Originally Posted by RazorPete

Thanks everybody for your input. On Jimmie's advice I got a 325 grit DMT plate and still it took quite a while to properly lap it, especially getting the one major chip out. I finished with some 2000 grit sandpaper on a flat granite countertop, and now its really smooth feeling. Anyway, here's some photos:

That's a beautiful stone....
06-26-2010, 02:30 PM
Scipio

Thats an awesome piece of rock! HAD is on the rise, I gotta get me one of those to play with!
06-26-2010, 06:59 PM
adrspach

To be honest from the pictures after lapping I have to admit that I have never seen CF like this one (so far only about 15 gone through my hands). Othervise very pretty stone.
06-27-2010, 03:20 AM
RazorPete

Thanks everyone for your feedback. It sounds like not everyone can agree on this stone, so I'll just have to try it and see if it performs like a Charnley and provides a sharper edge than my Chinese 12k. If it does that, then I'll be very happy.
:)
06-27-2010, 12:01 PM
Scipio

Quote:

Originally Posted by RazorPete

Thanks everyone for your feedback. It sounds like not everyone can agree on this stone, so I'll just have to try it and see if it performs like a Charnley and provides a sharper edge than my Chinese 12k. If it does that, then I'll be very happy.
:)

And? How does it work? Come on fellow HADict, it only takes a few minutes to find out!
06-27-2010, 01:28 PM
RazorPete

Just to let you know I am still a stone neophyte and currently all I feel comfortable doing is touching up an already honed razor that's getting dull. I currently only have one razor that's being honed and shipped back to me. I'll get it this week and then when it comes time to touch it up I can test the stone against my previous experience with the Chinese 12k. So even though it will take time I will report back, I promise. Pete