Thread: My first hone . Yellow Lake

Originally Posted by Jimbo

Well, it's not that a GD is a "no go", it's just that it "might be" a no go, and the problem is that when you are new to razors and honing you are not really in a position to know one way or the other. That's why we don't recommend GDs for people new to the sport, despite their being cheap to purchase.

The yellow lake hone is, from memory, one of those UK stones that could be any number of things, because the owner of the mine use the name Yellow Lake simply like a brand. Some are welsh (purple) slate, for example. Others are more like a finisher. Did it come in a box that says "Yellow Lake" on it? It's a natural stone, so the only way to know what you have is to try it out. And again, if you are new to the game of honing you are not really in a position to know where your stone sits overall. It's not a problem, just a matter of experience.

I agree with the others - that GD probably needs some bevel work and regardless of what kind of Yellow Lake you have you'll need a lower grit and faster cutting hone. Or send it out in initially, then try the Yellow Lake as an edge refresher down the track.

James.

I got this hone in ebay from AJ who seems to sell a lot. It did not come in a box but the slurry is purple and AJ says that is a 12 K.

I ll just use the YL for refreshing.

Thanks for all the replays.

Being a hard natural stone and a bit slower you will want to do more lsps for refreshing than a more aggressive synthetic stone. As for factory edges if it isn't truly shave ready like some smaller maker's but so so like Dovos etc seems to be then you want to start by setting the bevel and working from there. Should be a fine touch up or barbers hone style use stone though

I just tried honing my Boker Silver Steel.

I did 20 laps then Chromium Oxide and finished with a good strop.

Lets see how it goes tomorrow morning....