Thread: What is it about naturals?

If I may be crude, honing on naturals is like sex without a condom. Each "stone" feels different when you take the synthetics off.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

I was just thinking how we refer to the man made as synthetics but they aren't. If they were what are they synthetics of? Not a coticule, not an escher, not anything really. They are just man made honers. For them to be synthetic they would have to be exactly like the original like synthetic Sapphire or Diamonds. Probably a diamond pasted strop is one of the few truly synthetic media.

They are synthetic stones--they are made to approximate the abrasive effect of natural stones that existed before. Synthetic does NOT mean an exact replica-it vaguely means "something produced by people." Synthetic fibers are not exact replicas of silk or cotton, synthetic languages (Esperanto, Elvish, etc.) are not exact copies of real languages, etc. but they are made to do the job of something natural. Thus, synthetic hones are exactly that.

It appeals to the inner caveman in all of us.

Originally Posted by Gamma

Lets not forget smell - honing on a Coticule (and other naturals) puts up a certain essence that's not found in any of the Synths I've tried. Some may like it and others may hate it - but I love it. It reminds of when I was hunting stones in quarries with my grandfather back in the 60's. The smell of wet stone is a powerful reminder of those days for me.

+1 on this often overlooked characteristic.

I get very faint - if any - scent from my cotis. My jnats on the other hand produce a distinct clay-like scent when I use them - naturally, the softer the stone, the more pronounced the scent.

I don't mind the scent at all and at times even enjoy it. My wife, on the other hand, is a different story: For some reason the slightest hint of that clay odor from my j-nats - even just a few strokes of the naguras on my hardest stone - causes my wife's sinuses to go haywire - resulting in uncontrollable sneezing fits as well as a headache...

Needless to say, it limits me to either honing out on our deck in the warmer months or when see is not home during the winter months.

interesting about the smell,I smoke when I hone,all I can smell is cigarettes

I have rarely used a natural stone and never for a razor. I do prefer the synthetic emeralds, rubies and diamonds (not cubic zirconia) to their natural counterpart. They are cleaner clearer and crisper. I like the naturals for a different reason, they have impurities. That gives them a character the synths miss and that gives them "life" so to speak. A synthetic should be perfect every time, therefore perform just like the last one (in theory).

Jeff

Originally Posted by JimR

They are synthetic stones--they are made to approximate the abrasive effect of natural stones that existed before. Synthetic does NOT mean an exact replica-it vaguely means "something produced by people." Synthetic fibers are not exact replicas of silk or cotton, synthetic languages (Esperanto, Elvish, etc.) are not exact copies of real languages, etc. but they are made to do the job of something natural. Thus, synthetic hones are exactly that.

With rocks and minerals the general connotation is synthetic are exact like lab created diamonds and rubies and emeralds and other creations while the stuff that looks like the real thing but isn't is artificial. So, if you set out to make a synthetic coti it would have to be exactly the same save maybe a few impurities. Of course when you make a hone it isn't intended to be a synthetic or a natural it's just a hone so the notion of synthetic doesn't come into play. It's just a man made hone. Think back in the old days when they made fake diamonds out of paste. They looked very close to the real thing but those were artificial. These days they can make the real thing in a furnace those are synthetic.

It's that you can never be sure that there isn't a better one out there. Better meaning finer, harder, able to meet the user's needs more quickly, able to fill a broader gap in one's progession, more aesthetically pleasing? Then there is the fact that many are 'extinct.' Naniwas, Shaptons etc are all of ordinary commerce and can be obtained relatively easily. Perhaps if they were to become discontinued, they would become of greater desire, like certain Barber Hones.

Naturals are just damn cool. Especially cotis and jnats. Each one is unique and offers something different

Originally Posted by bloodhoundman

Naturals are just damn cool. Especially cotis and jnats. Each one is unique and offers something different

You say that, but there is a Norton Barber hone which I currently want more than any natural. Birnando has the only example I have ever seen and he was kind enough to let me use it at the last UK Razorcon. Without doubt the most powerful hone in existence!