Thread: Working With The Zulu Grey.

As far as I know, the coti is the only hone that gets its cutting power from garnets. Could well be wrong.

I'd really love to see microscope photos of different hones' slurries.

I don't think the Zulu has garnets but no doubt someone will confirm one way or another. I just think it's a very hard rock, like a cross between slate and granite. Having used it once yesterday with just water as a finishing stone after the SS 12000, it put a smoother edge on my Taylors 1000. I'm still trying to use less pressure but find it easier to use 2 hands and have to really concentrate on not pressing down on the blade. As others have said once past the bevel setting excessive pressure can kill the edge.

No, can't be a cross twixt Slate and Granite. Slate is a metamorphic rock and Granite is an igneous one.

I really don't know if it has garnets or not. I thought that all the natural rocks had garnets of different sizes, but that's how much I know! But thinking it does and the way it behaves, helps explains it to me.

Thuringian slurry on zulu is quite nice indeed.

when i originally got my ZULU i had also just picked up a nani 12k and some coti's , i started using my Zulu after the 12k from a light slurry to 50-100 with just plain water .. edge was wonderful , then once i got in tune with my coticule i was so fond of the edge that i haven't played with any other stone ..lol.. now my most resent touch ups have been on the coti with water and to the Zulu 20-30 with water and have found a real nice edge that my face loves !!
but i admit i havnt played with the Zulu as much as i should have or would have liked to !

I just wanted to butt in and say that I too have used Thuringian slurry on the Zulu with killer results. For a finishing touch you can also do a few laps with water and Glycerine (5 drops). Jerry and I have been doing some work on the Zulu and we both think it rocks!

Just shaved with a Griffon razor finished with turi slury on the Zulu, and what an improvement from the finished it had before! The razor had been finished on the 16k Shapton glass and then on to the pasted strops. This was one razor that didn't finish well on the pasted strop and even thou it was very sharp all along the edge, it had an alum burn of 2 on a scale of 0-5.

I did water only on a nice coti (~30 laps), then went to the Zulu with a very light turi's slury that was only noticeable when pushing water (cloudy water). I left the slury on and did not dilute to water. After about 40 laps I stroped and shaved (no CrOx). The shave was a 2 pass shave with touchups for a very comfortable and close shave. The alum burn went down to .5 of the scale.

Another nice finished for the Zulu! Double O

In past I've used my Zulu with misty slurry made by its own slurry stone and loved the edges of it.
I dont like to put my DMT card on the surface of my finishers, not sure why - just a bad feeling...
Some days back I've read (here: https://straightrazorpalace.com/hone...e-friends.html) about finishing on dry Zulu.

Before going ahead, short on the HHT-Tests I'm doing:
Normally I do my first HHT - Testing after the Linen. Once achieved the ecpected results I stropp on clean leather and repeat the HHT (to check If I've skrewed it up ).
I have 3 different types of hairs:
- thick and "grabby" (perhabs due to bigger/thicker cuticles) used to test the keeness the prefinish-stage(s)
- normal - testing the finishing progress (normally gives one point lower than the HHT of the "grabby" hair)
- super thin from my little princess - that's my target reference (here again ~1 HHT point drop from normal hair). If I get here HHT4 I can go for test-shaving.

As per HHT evaluation I try to follow the common HHT0 (dull)... HHT5 (silent slicer).

OK, back to the Zulu.
Today I've taken my Caschmiso 5/8 (seems to be a high carbon steel as it starts rusting if I take too much time for honing) and went fo about 100 strokes on dry Zulu.
After Linen I got for the fist time in my Straight-carrier (~1.5 Years) HHT5 on the super thin hair!
Unfortunateley I got the the HHT5 only from the hill to the middle of the balde. At the front part it was HHT4 (still super thin hair)

So I went back to the dry Zulu and done another ~100 laps (not exactly counting) with paying more attention on the front part of the razor --> HHT5 for the almost entire edge.
Put the razot under my toy-microscope (160x) - wow that edge is quite scratchy! Got some doubts about shaving with it...
The folowing picture is taken by my mobile phone through the scope's ocular.


Anyhow after the shower I've put the razor on my face. As expected the shave was feeling crazy keen, not smooth, but also not terribly harsh as I already had some times before (never from Zulu!).
I was already kind of preapring my self to the terrible after shave burn...
Put the after shave water on my face... hmm...
Surpisinly the burn was at its minimum level, I'd say jsut noticeable. Actually this level of burn is quite normal for me, I think it comes due to my inconsistencies/failures during hioning - stropping and shaving.

I must say - this piece of Africa amazes me more and more!

P.S. I'm still to figure out my recently arrived Ohzuku and the Thuringian hones but this Zulu-guy I'll never give away!

Happy honing & shaving!

Philipp

Thanks for your posting of the Zulu. Im getting mixed results with mine. Although i ha ent had any time for honing in the last three weeks. I might dry the dry stone this next try to see how it acts.