I recently sprung for one of these thuringinas from Timbertools. Haven't tried it yet, but am interested in seeing if anyone else has tried one and what you've experienced with it. got one of the big ones.
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I recently sprung for one of these thuringinas from Timbertools. Haven't tried it yet, but am interested in seeing if anyone else has tried one and what you've experienced with it. got one of the big ones.
From what I've heard, they are from the MST company, but I don't know if they have higher standards for their stones and charge so much. Few say theirs was fine like an escher, others say it's not even a hone, paperweight. Good luck, and when you test it, tell us what you think.
Lap it down and hopefully you got a good one. Mine is a midrange stone that I really wouldn't want to have to shave off directly. I would venture to say in the 6K range. Works great for knives though as it's a harder stone. This is how mine works...hope yours is softer and a finisher.
I have one, too. It appears to be glassy smooth. I'll be lapping it flat and seeing how it does very soon.
I've lapped this one and it didn't take too long, and it doesn't take too much effort to raise a slurry. Might turn out to be a good un.
Seek and ye shall find.
I just honed with my Timbertools Thuringian for the first time. I honed a Friodur that had previously been sharpened on my coticule, which leaves a very smooth shave. After 70 laps from light slurry diluted to water, and without stropping, the thuringian improved the edge from the coticule. this is looking like a very good finisher to me.
the one I had was ok finisher, vintage thuris are much better IME
I have one of these I have been using for the last month or so I have honed about 15 razors on it. my stone is soft if I try to finish a razor on water only I have to keep washing it off because it raises slurry pretty quick. I have finished on the light slurry it produces while trying to hone with just water on the last few razors with great results. I can shave straight off the stone and get a good comfortable 3 pass shave. Each razor is a little different so some of them shaved well off just a water only finish. some had to have the light slurry but so far I am more then happy with the stone.
I'm very happy with my stone too. I can tell no difference so far between my new thuringian from timbertools and my vintage thuringian.
I have to ask, do they have any difference from the rest of the MST company "Thuringian" stones? Their price is much higher than the rest.
Coticules are expensive, I can't really understand why, supposedly because they where rare until 10 years ago (today there is one 6x2 coticule for every person of the planet but we still manage to keep their price above 100$), but they are coticules. We know that the timbertools thuringians are MST Thuringians. What I'm saying is, you can find MST thuringians for 30-40$ including shipping, but they sell the same size MST stones for 129$ plus shipping. Is there something special about them or we re just paying 90$ more for buying it from there because they are named new eschers?
That's exactly what I mean by "pricing policy", intentionally price it high, but put it on a page with something higher so that to the uninitiated, it doesn't look that high.
I could be wrong, that's just my opinion, but if they are doing that, they wouldn't be the first place to do it.
You won't see me buying a hone for $129 unless someone vouches for the fineness of the hone. A high quality small japanese natural superfinisher can be had for that, and that is something you can shave comfortably off of guaranteed.
I bought one of the big boys about a year ago, and I use it as a finisher after a coti, works wonders on everything I have used it on. I would like to try an Escher just to see if its any better than this, Maybe I got lucky but its smooth and puts a great finish on my razors.
I bought one of these 3-4 years ago and I've had an email conversation with one of the honemeisters about it. No accolades are forthcoming from this corner.
Seems to be in the 6k-8k range at best. I won't enter any honing contests with it. It just sits at the bottom of the pile. I hope it doesn't rust or anything......
Jerry
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yes I've heard this before, it seems it's the luck of the draw as to whether you get a good one or not, I guess I was just lucky but mine is hard smooth and works very well, but I've also heard tales like yours where they're not really much better than a Norton eight. Supposedly they come from the same place as the Escher's, so I guess it just depends on what part of the rock deposit they are cutting and which one you get as I cannot see that all the good stones are gone, but after a century or so of mining them I'm sure that the choice ones have been pulled out leaving only a few really good ones left. Oh well such is life sorry yours doesn't work that well maybe try lapping it so you get to a different layer, I have noticed that mine has been getting better with use, it's worth a try especially if it's just sitting there.
I not gonna be buying one anytime soon. Not much of a gambler, especially when involves money
I don't want to talk you into buying anything that you might not like, I just reported my experience with the one they sent me. But you will more than welcome to pay the premium price buying an old Escher, and as I said I would love to try one just to see if it's better than the stone I have now, as the one I have works very well, but as I was told and as I said it is definitely a gamble.
I'm no expert, but from what I understand, the risk with any natural stone is that there can be a wide variation between each within a given type. I would guess that the mine where true Eschers comes from gave consistently good rocks OR whoever branded them had good quality control. Which it is, I don't know.
I have one of these Thuringians from Timbertools and it's smooth as glass.
The stones we re talking about have so many different characteristics. Are we sure it's the same stone, from the same quarry all those stones? Does anyone has quantity to tell us about his observations?
Supposedly there from the same mine, and I guess quality control had a lot to do with it as mine is smooth as glass also, although someone here with more experience told me to lap it well, and the new service was really really nice. I'm very glad that I got mine.
i have zero reason to believe it is from the same quarry.. to my knowledge those quarries are defunct.
i think it has been said these are from the hunsrueck<sp?> area and not the thuringin area.. if this is not the case i am speaking of the mueller stones.. regardless, not the original escher quarries.
I heard the original mines were contaminated and therefore the acquisition of new samples was frustrated. Contamination could be construed to occupy several different meanings, my understanding being that they had become of too great a toxicity to allow humans to go enter. How and why, I do not know.
Same quarry, different area perhaps? I had read somewhere that certain 'new' Thuringians had been created from one large slab of remaining Thuringian, apparently the same rock that Escher & Co. used. That's quite a burden of proof, and the means to prove it would no doubt be impossible if not disproportionately expensive. Whether anyone is mad enough to incur said costs is another matter.
I have also heard from experienced members that the 'new' variety are Hunsruck, which is similar, albeit different, to Thuringen.
The fact that they are being sold by a tool company may suggest that they are more suited to tools, unless it expressly states 'for razors' and even still, I would tend to think this is mere puff, for I'm an advocate of substance and not form per se. Saying that, C12k (Phigs/Guangxis) are too sold by a tool company, but my due diligence confirms that it is pot luck whether a 'good' one can be obtained, for they certainly lack the consistency which Escher and Co obtained; further some fellow razor enthusiasts would deem they too be too slow to be useful, although others whose opinion I respect claim some are able to impart a brilliant edge.
The general consensus is that these 'new' Thurrys are not as good as the vintage variety, though there are exceptions to both types. Some vintage aren't as good as some new, but most new aren't up to the level of the vintage.
Just wondering if there is a link to the MST company?
this I have to reply to, I don't care if they're being sold by the guy who sells oranges on the offramp in California, if they work, they work, if they don't I could return it and it was only 170 bucks as opposed to $500 for a much smaller Escher. To me the gamble was worth it, and it paid off mine works just fine and there are several others here that are very happy with theirs. As for the others I have no idea if they could sharpen with the best of stones, I can get a fine edge from my Norton's, and I have noticed repeatedly that my stone does nothing but improve the edge.
As for their origin I've heard a couple different stories one being that a source "when the wall came down and this is supposedly part of the same mine that the Escher's came from this could be true or nothing but happy horse plucky I don't know. But I do know is that my works and that's really all that counts. And for 200 bucks it was well worth the gamble.
Thanks
Griz
MST is the Thuringian also very good, like an Escher. He also comes from directly from Thuringia. We have compared with the old Escher. Almost no difference.
How old was the MST you used?
new, so a MST and a Dark Blue Escher. There is really no difference
Here the Mueller variety can be purchased. Not sure about the MST.
Somebody just sent me a link showing their Eschers, and the MST website. The website wasn't helpful as it was in German. However, the picture of the Eschers looked exactly like Thuringian that I was sent, as for EZ-PZ it says on the your name still learning, then learn unless you lived there. You have no way of knowing if these are the same stones are not and neither do I however I do know the one they sent me at least works.
hier is the link....neue Produkte
a very good price
there were 28 mines in Thuringia. Escher had 8 Mines. The GDR government has expropriated and destroyed all the documents.
Pardon Translator
There may be some new stones from MST or Müller that are about as good as vintage Thuringians/Eschers but most won't be. It's also said they're from Hunsrück.
the stones of MST come from Thuringia. It is near the Escher pits.
If you look at the MST website you can see the small ones they used to sell came from a Thuringian block. Their bigger stones are not called Thuringians but Natur-Wasserabziehstein, if they also came from Thuringian stone they wouldn't have given it a distinct different description.
If you look at this webshop you'll notice they call it Thüringer Art which means like thuringian.
If the MST Stones were as good as vintage Thuringians there wouldn't be as many threads at srp ripping on them :D
Me, too, Patrick. Oh, off topic for the thread (sorry, fellas), but I did put this in another post and told Ace. I've a roo hide on the way. If I can manage to make a decent strop to send you, I will. Jimbo posted a way cool thread on it and I just had to try it.
http://straightrazorpalace.com/strop...-pictures.html
So I may not be able to go to a mine and see how a hone is made, but I will get to see how a strop is made (hopefully).
I just honed my little 4/8 salamander our wedge:
100 laps on 1000 grit
100 laps on 6000 grit
100 laps on Timbertools Thuringian
the edge,as seen with 200X microscope, looks to be the equal of any finishing hone I have; really flawless
I'll shave with it in a couple of days, as it fits in my rotation