BOI-HEMOTH TURKISH OILSTONE
At least I think it is a Turkish oilstone. If someone else has any ideas please respond. It is from England and it did require cleanup and lapping. This is why I am not sure about the stones origins. The stone was lapped with a 325 DMT plate. The test razor was a Sheffield “Best Silver Steel” razor.
Pitch was used to hold the stone in the wood cradle. To release the stone from the pitch, cold was used instead of heat. The stone was placed in a cardboard box and left outside over night. Nighttime temp was approx 10°F or -12C. There was less mess with this method. A little twisting and the stone popped right out of wood base.
To remove the residual pitch on the stone, CRC Bathroom tile cleaner and a Scotchbrite pad was used with good results. The wood base was sanded and colored with some alkanet root and sealed with rubbing oil.
Grit estimate is around the 8k mark, maybe higher. It improved the edge of this particular razor. This “Best Silver Steel” is the hardest steel I have tried to sharpen to date. Attached are some other novaculite stones it was compared with. From top to bottom,
Boi-hemoth Turkish oilstone approx 8K.
CF approx 25K
Turkish oilstone approx 12-15K. Similar speckle pattern.
The bottom stone is a translucent novaculite 25K or “Gravestone”. Kelly referred to as Hutchinson stone.
The stone cleaned up nice with a green mossy appearance. It should last for quite some time.
MIke:)
