Thread: Y/G Escher is as fine as...

What attracted me to eschers to begin with, besides reading about them on the forums, was that they were labeled as being specifically for razors. Shaptons, Nortons .... synthetic stones in general, are made with tools, chisels, plane blades in mind. We use them and they work , but the idea that a stone was specifically recomended for razors was what brought me to the eschers. At that time there weren't many members who had them and the ones that did used them water only.

I read the instructions and decided that I'd follow them. They called for a light slurry. Shortly thereafter the coticule guys were getting into the dulicot thing and I messed with that with the coti and the escher. Anyway, the escher is a razor stone as is the coticule. The escher is the best one AFAIC. May not give the sharpest edge ..... or maybe it will, in the right hands .... but it gives the most comfortable/sharp edge for my particular physiognomy.

Well, I sold it. Here on the classifieds, it went up and then it sold and got reclassified off the member classifieds quickly. Knee jerk, maybe. I told my wife I would never buy an escher because she knows how many stones I already have, and she knows how much they cost. So last night when she caught a glimpse of a stone she never saw before, I said "yeah, that's an escher, I just sold it". She was pissed!! Not pissed that I sold it, but that I had ever bought it in the first place.

I did have one last shave from a fresh edge, one that I had honed as I was taking pictures of it to sell. This time dry, which resulted in about the same keenness as light pressure wet, though the stone prefers much more to be used wet and releases less stuff if it is used wet, and none with light pressure wet.

I will give the stone one thing, and that is it is definitely capable of more than I thought at first, and while I can still get edges a little bit more keen from my japanese hone, it is uncanny how closely I shaved on purpose this morning and how I have no irritation from it. Not even in the places that sometimes give me trouble if I shave close (the little pockets of hair just left and right of my chin and just above chin level). No barber would've used half its thickness if it was a bad stone, though, I suspect all along it's really just a matter of learning the stone. And it was definitely barber used, no tool or knife use would've left the surface swayed like it was before i lapped it, but without any marks on it.

But I have learned other stones already, and keeping a $400 stone around that I don't use every single time, and that could fall and break...it all just tipped toward selling it.

It's always nice to give everything a try, though. It cost me a few bucks to try it in the exchange of buying and selling, but now I know something I was curious about.

Originally Posted by myersn024

I have what was sold to me as a translucent black arkansas stone, and out of the stones that I've used and own it provides me the sharpest and longest lasting edges. However, it is more than a little crisp on my face, and it takes several shaves to mellow out. Recently I purchased a small dark blue E&Co. stone that I go to after my arkie for about 15 or 20 strokes. After that, I find the edge to be right where I like it. I also tried the E&Co after both my 8k Norton and my coticule, and I was not impressed with the edge at all........ So, to reiterate what some other members have already touched on, the Escher isn't a magical stone. You have to bring your A-game to the Escher to get its full benefit.

The black trans wouldn't happen to be one of the black trans stones from natural whestone would it? As someone with a super sensitive face, I've been impressed with just how much improvement an ark honed edge will take in sharpness, but they will razorburn me a lot easier than this escher edge would.

I bought one of the black trans stones from natural whetstone, and figured that it would be like a piece of coal with some translucence (anyone who has ever seen the shiny side of coal knows what I'm talking about), but it's a bizzarre combination of aggressive cutting, tiny pores (more like a black stone) and super density (like a translucent stone). I haven't used it enough on razors to come up with a final opinion about it, and put it in the classifieds to offset the escher purchase (that reminds me, I can go take it out of the classifieds now.

At any rate, were I to keep the escher stone, or if the buyer finds it unsatisfactory and I take it back, that's what I'd do with it, too. It makes a remarkably soft edge.

Originally Posted by DaveW

The black trans wouldn't happen to be one of the black trans stones from natural whestone would it? As someone with a super sensitive face, I've been impressed with just how much improvement an ark honed edge will take in sharpness, but they will razorburn me a lot easier than this escher edge would.

I bought one of the black trans stones from natural whetstone, and figured that it would be like a piece of coal with some translucence (anyone who has ever seen the shiny side of coal knows what I'm talking about), but it's a bizzarre combination of aggressive cutting, tiny pores (more like a black stone) and super density (like a translucent stone). I haven't used it enough on razors to come up with a final opinion about it, and put it in the classifieds to offset the escher purchase (that reminds me, I can go take it out of the classifieds now.

At any rate, were I to keep the escher stone, or if the buyer finds it unsatisfactory and I take it back, that's what I'd do with it, too. It makes a remarkably soft edge.

Yes, I purchased it from Natural Whetstones and have been extremely happy with it...... once I got it lapped flat. Talk about a PITA! I wasn't sure what to expect when I purchased it as I had never seen or heard of a translucent black Arkansas stone. What I received appears to be a translucent stone that's gray in color with darker gray splotches throughout; it's definitely one of the most unique looking stones I've ever seen, much less owned. It's edges are very very keen, and while they do mellow quickly enough, they benefit greatly from several passes on my E&Co. I touched up one of my favorite razors earlier this week, and after about ten laps on the 8k I used the trans black Arkie for about 100 passes. Then I did 20 x strokes on my E&Co, and the shave was the best I've had in a while. I'm very happy with my purchases thus far.

FWIW, I did find that despite being a slow cutter that the surface of my trans black glazed over quite quickly and the edges I was getting from it weren't as good as I remembered them being. So, I recently took my credit card sized DMT 1200 and de-glazed the surface, and it made a world of difference in the stone's performance. You definitely want to keep the surface from getting clogged. Also, I only use Smith's honing solution with my stone. I haven't tried actual oil, but given the edges that I'm getting I have no real reason to mess with success.

Here's a pic of my trans black.

That looks like a nice stone. I think it might be a bit finer than the one I got, but the density of mine is pretty high (2.85 specific gravity), so I may need to just work it a while and see what it turns into.

I got a black norton stone not long after, and it also has just a bit of translucence at the corners, but is also a good stone. Very abrasive for a stone as fine as it is, but maybe not quite as fine.

I've always wanted to try a true black Arkie, but my HAD has gone into remission since purchasing the trans black and E&Co.

Meyers

I agree deglaze Tranlucences and Surgical Blacks with a 600 DMT. Gives a nice crisp keen comfortable edge that I shave off of. No leather.

The Escher is a Magical stone it gives a smooth shave.
Only nice rocks do that. People used to reffer to special rocks
as magical. And they used to treat them with respect for the power they had.
That's what i heard from a freind who like nice rocks.

Originally Posted by Suile

The Escher is a Magical stone it gives a smooth shave.
Only nice rocks do that. People used to reffer to special rocks
as magical. And they used to treat them with respect for the power they had.
That's what i heard from a freind who like nice rocks.

You have a good point! The magic for me regarding Eschers is that it is really hard to get anything off them but a smooth buttery edge. With many finishers, it is easy to go too far, but I find it very hard to do with an Escher.

That is not just my opinion either. Several old literature sources recommended German water stones for student barbers and for seasoned ones as well who had the tendancy to overhone.

So many great hones available today, but as Jimmy said the Escher is definitely a "razor hone"!

Originally Posted by Kingfish

Several old literature sources recommended German water stones for student barbers and for seasoned ones as well who had the tendancy to overhone.

So many great hones available today, but as Jimmy said the Escher is definitely a "razor hone"!

Here are a couple of pages from Moler's Barber Manual circa 1929, recommending the "German water hone" for inexperienced honers because it "won't overhone." ;