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I have three Chinese finishing stones, two 12K and one 15K (they call it river stone). There is a big difference between these stones. Blueish 12K stone is good for polishing, but grey-blue color chinese 12K is a good cutter, especially with slurry. !5K is also not bad.
I've not heard of the 15K version. What does it look like?
I bought two C12K at a flea market a while back. They are both the same kind they sell at Woodcraft. One is a medium gray color with bluish striations. It cuts quick and under a loop , the edge looks like it came off of a 8k Norton. The other is dark slate gray and polishes more like a 16k.
See I haven't used one, but I have read some are much better than others, the 'norm' being 10K level. But then again if the 16K you compared it to happened to be a Shapton 16K, then I have also read that stone is more like a Naniwa 12K so.....
You can see it 15k grit whetstone for final honing. 5.8" lapped - eBay (item 180651778509 end time Apr-16-11 17:54:15 PDT) , besides there is 3K Chinese stone. Don't have the picture at the moment. Wery much resembles 15K, but with whitish spots.Quote:
Originally Posted by Scipio
It's always like this with natural stones. They are very individual. It's like lotery with them. I very highly value one of my 12K Chinese stone, superb finisher. Second is disposable, use it for making slurry on my Nakayama kiita.
This is why I stick to the Escher. I've tried various Jnats and kept wondering "...what if...what if..." but I guess I'd always keep wondering. The Escher smoothes out all my insecurities and baggage about grass being greener.Quote:
Originally Posted by Zelenbakh
I'm sure if I had an Escher my C12K would be used as a paperweight.
Let's see now. C12K ~ $30.00, Escher ~ $400-500. It's like comparing a Ferrari to a Vega, in price, but not performance. Is the Escher 12-15X a better finisher? Is it 12-15X faster. I have a thuringian, don't know if its an Escher, because no label, and I picked up a C12K just to compare. The Escher leaves a fine finish as does the thuri, but MUCH faster.
What is performance like between the 2?
Some Thuringians are as good if not better than the Eschers I have used. Some are definitely inferior.