Thread: Llyn Idwal compared to Whig compared to PHIG compared to Escher

After completing my Norton 8k honing I have been looking for the right stone to finish.
Well I have been stoning away with these.

Rightmost CHIG



Center Llyn Idwal



Leftmost Whig




Til now I have been finishing with a B/G Escher. Fantastic results very sharp and very smooth. My only issue as it is only about 2" wide it presents a challenge holding straight and level and even light pressure on the blade.
I don't have the greatest dexterity so it has to be a good day for me to get good results. Someone with a lighter touch and better hands might better my results but I can match every "shave ready razor" I have purchased using this stone.


The Whig is wonderful as it is 3" and easy to use. It improves an 8k Norton edge. Not a bad finisher but the claimed 15k grit approximation seems rather bold. Such whigs might exist but this likely isn't one. Perfectly capable of delivering a nice smooth sharp edge but I seem to finish on Crox to get it done. I think this stone is capable of much better than I can achieve. Someone with a lighter touch and better hands could have markedly better results.

The Llyn Idwal is very hard and quite smooth to the touch.(I don't lick hones). It finishes quite noticeably smoother than the Whig. Strops up to capable edge but not as smooth as I like so it sees Crox but only a couple of passes. It would make a good barber hone type touch up stone or very fine finisher. I think this stone is capable of much better than I can achieve. Someone with a lighter touch and better hands could have markedly better results.


The Chig is large, hard, and smooth. It is also as fast as my Escher. Rarely needs more than 25 passes to attain the "magic razor edge" I need to ATG.

This one is the keeper for me.

The challenge with naturals as has been pointed out repeatedly is consistency. The general opinion of CHIGs is they are slow. This one is not.

Check this thread out here ..... the 20k Suehiro Gokumyo ceramic hone is supposed to be the best thing since sliced bread. I've heard that from as good an authority as it gets BTW.

I think I recognize two of those!

I thought the slate rating was kind of bold, too, but it can be slurried to work up an edge for the chinese stone. It's sort of a different stone than what it says it is, but hopefully one that can be used elsewhere or as a touch-up hone with really light pressure.

If that is the chinese stone that I sold on the classifieds here, I thought it was a really nice stone for cheap (actually, I got it from woodcraft several years ago for free just for offering my thoughts on it. I got it as a tool stone, and I was disappointed with it because it wasn't that fast. Shaving taught me to slurry it and it worked on tools quite well then, but razors even better).

Wish I'd have had something that I could've traded straight up for that B/G escher!

Never heard of a Whig hone.

Originally Posted by benhunt

Never heard of a Whig hone.

It took me a few minutes to figure it out myself. it has to be Welsh Hone of Indeterminate Grit.

I have thought about getting some of the Welsh trio stones for several years but never got around to it. Although I do have a Dragons Tongue from Inigo Jones. (And damn that is just a COOL name for a company. 'I am Inigo Jones, and you killed my father, now prepare to die'

Originally Posted by sidmind

It took me a few minutes to figure it out myself. it has to be Welsh Hone of Indeterminate Grit.

I have thought about getting some of the Welsh trio stones for several years but never got around to it. Although I do have a Dragons Tongue from Inigo Jones. (And damn that is just a COOL name for a company. 'I am Inigo Jones, and you killed my father, now prepare to die'

Ah, I got that PHIG was probably an acronym, but since "WHIG" was spelled "Whig", I assumed it must be the actual name of a hone (though not one I'd use, for, as Samuel Johnson remarked, the first Whig was the Devil).

What do you think of your Dragons Tongue hone? (I agree about Inigo Jones's name; Dragons Tongue is also pretty cool)

I have what I believe is a Llyn Idwal and they are not joking when they say it's a hard stone. It's dished and almost impossible to lap. I've spent a few hours over the years trying to remove the large dish and have come to the conclusion that I'm going to cut it flat. Then spend more ours lapping. Went it gets there I'll post my stones honing results here.

Originally Posted by TrilliumLT

I have what I believe is a Llyn Idwal and they are not joking when they say it's a hard stone. It's dished and almost impossible to lap. I've spent a few hours over the years trying to remove the large dish and have come to the conclusion that I'm going to cut it flat. Then spend more ours lapping. Went it gets there I'll post my stones honing results here.

What have you tried lapping it with?

I've got what I believe to be a Llyn Idwal on the way to me - but fortunately it's supposed to have already been lapped flat.

Originally Posted by benhunt

What have you tried lapping it with?.

Dmt course. Big flattening plate with compound. Sander with super course belt. Lord nows I've tried. They are tough. My two charnleys are soft in comparison.

Originally Posted by TrilliumLT

Dmt course. Big flattening plate with compound. Sander with super course belt. Lord nows I've tried. They are tough. My two charnleys are soft in comparison.

Wow, that does sound unflattenable! Odd, I thought Charnleys were supposed to be harder than Llyn Idwals, though I suppose there's a lot of variation for natural stones like these.

On a slightly different topic, still trying to figure out PHIG and CHIG. The latter I would guess is Chinese Hone of Indeterminate Grit. Is PHIG Portuguese Hone of &c. ?