Thread: My first hone . Yellow Lake

Originally Posted by Icarusflies

Thanks for all this comments.

I just got the GD to have a SR to practice refreshing a blade but i thought it might be possible to make it shave ready. I see it is a no go and that is fine I will just use it to practice the moves.

I am in the process to get a new SR, Probably a Wacker Le Barbier´s bride. I supose they don´t come shave ready. Will my Yellow Lake be able to get it shave ready?

The Wacker will come shave ready so you would be doing it a disservice by putting it to a hone with nil in the skills department. Go to Whipped Dog Straight Razor Shaving Equipment and pick up a good inexpensive razor or three to work with. They can be had a less than $20 USD. You can also find plenty of other items you would most likely need.

The GD is a RSO, not worth the time or money that it would take for a novice such as yourself to learn on. All it will do is confuse and frustrate you. Invest in the lower grit stones for setting bevels and setting the edge. Watching Gssixguns YouTube videos is going to be the best advice if you really want to learn. I would also suggest that as you develope your skills send a razor off to a mentor that can help you identify the areas you need to improve in.

Good luck in your endeavors.

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.

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....