Thread: French Hones

Today I received a stone, this one labelled "La Lorraine." It seems very hard. The label is sealed with epoxy. It was described in the details listing to be on par with a coticule edge, abet a bit slower. I just did a test run on a terrible gold dollar, and as wonky as that blade is, I was able to pop badger hair rather quickly. All in all, maybe a 5 minute hone session. Some have described this hone as a fast as all hell BBW, and that comparison seems, at least at first impression, accurate. These are french hones eh?

My method—
1. Start with a nice thick slurry. Not dry. Start with circles to gather the slurry.
2. 10-15 X strokes
3. Dip the razor in a cup of water
4. 10-15 X strokes
5. Repeat, repeat repeat.
6. Suction begins to appear...
7. 5 X-strokes
8. Dip the razor in water
9. better suction now, shiny bevel
10. 20-30 X strokes, weight of the blade.

Great First Impression!

Originally Posted by J743

Today I received a stone, this one labelled "La Lorraine." It seems very hard. The label is sealed with epoxy. It was described in the details listing to be on par with a coticule edge, abet a bit slower. I just did a test run on a terrible gold dollar, and as wonky as that blade is, I was able to pop badger hair rather quickly. All in all, maybe a 5 minute hone session. Some have described this hone as a fast as all hell BBW, and that comparison seems, at least at first impression, accurate. These are french hones eh?

My method—
1. Start with a nice thick slurry. Not dry. Start with circles to gather the slurry.
2. 10-15 X strokes
3. Dip the razor in a cup of water
4. 10-15 X strokes
5. Repeat, repeat repeat.
6. Suction begins to appear...
7. 5 X-strokes
8. Dip the razor in water
9. better suction now, shiny bevel
10. 20-30 X strokes, weight of the blade.

Great First Impression!

Those are Stones from Belgium....
I really like La Lorraine!

There is also a Belgian Lorraine ;-)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgian_Lorraine

The Lorraine hones coming from the coticule quarries in Belgium. The Lorraine is a seperate layer within the quarries, not a coticule, not a BBW, a special layer. They are normaly a bit faster then the "average" coticule but not as fine as a real selected coticule layer.
Good stones anyway - have fun with honing!

Thanks Doorsch! I thought it was a belgian stone in my hands.

It didn't come with a slurry stone, but a long time ago I bought a similar "la lorraine" stone, about .75 x. 3, perfect size for slurry.

I did notice that the stone is indeed slower than my coticule, with perhaps less feedback.

In your experience do these stones auto-slurry much?

Originally Posted by J743

Thanks Doorsch! I thought it was a belgian stone in my hands.

It didn't come with a slurry stone, but a long time ago I bought a similar "la lorraine" stone, about .75 x. 3, perfect size for slurry.

I did notice that the stone is indeed slower than my coticule, with perhaps less feedback.

In your experience do these stones auto-slurry much?

It depends i had some which did autoslurry quite fast. I also had some hard ones which do not tend to auto slurry....

Originally Posted by hatzicho

The Lorraine hones coming from the coticule quarries in Belgium. The Lorraine is a seperate layer within the quarries, not a coticule, not a BBW, a special layer. They are normaly a bit faster then the "average" coticule but not as fine as a real selected coticule layer.
Good stones anyway - have fun with honing!

Aha! This was my suspicion! The feedback just wasn't the same—then again, I've had the stone literally 30 minutes.

Perhaps it fits best before a coticule>>>then coticule with water?

Originally Posted by doorsch

It depends i had some which did autoslurry quite fast. I also had some hard ones which do not tend to auto slurry....

hmmmm. Much experimentation needed. Not a problem!

Originally Posted by Disburden

Gents

Can we sticky this thread so it doesnt get lost one day? These stones are rare and dont show up everyday.

Nick, you know how to subscribe to a thread ? Go to 'thread tools' in the toolbar at the top of the thread. Drop down menu comes down click 'subscribe to thread.' If you turn on notifications every time someone posts you'll be emailed.

Pierre La Lune "Extra Fine", 4 x 2 x 0.7":









Nice & fine hone, good feedback and good results .

Cheers
Jörg

Here is one i got last week from France, it measures 17x4x2cm. It only shows a very faint stamping...