Thread: Hone of the Day

Originally Posted by Learner

What are "Japanese-style back and forths"?

They're like Lynn's circles but not circular, ie small back n forward motions.

Originally Posted by ScoutHikerDad

I just shaved with an Unexcelled Improved Eagle (Solingen) that I finished on the burnished Translucent Arkansas we discussed in another thread:

Hundreds of circles, Japanese-style back and forths, and x-strokes on thinned mineral oil gave me one of the most effortless, smooth shaves I've ever had. I don't know that the buffing/burnishing made it any better than it would have been otherwise, as I don't have enough experience on either to say, but it was a damn fine shave either way!

Honestly, I've never gotten edges and shaves this good before getting seriously into the naturals of late. Now I might actually have something to contribute occasionally to this thread.

I remember the first time I tried an Arkansas on my razor. It was a translucent and I couldn't believe the results. I had to keep feeling my face to see if it was actually cutting because it was so smooth. Congratulations

One for Tuesday a lovely vintage Solingen in super condition finished on the SG 20K back out tomorrow.

Originally Posted by celticcrusader

One for Tuesday a lovely vintage Solingen in super condition finished on the SG 20K back out tomorrow.

Love the blade etch on that Solingen!

And following-up on Onimaru's answer about "Japanese-style back and forths," I think it depends. On my big, long slate knife hone (all 13"), I'll actually take a chef's knife and do very slow, methodical "back and forth (with the across motion as well obviously), and smooth it out with x-strokes. But what I have seen with Lynn's circles, and in a whole lot of other guys' honing videos too, is that it's sort of a hybrid: in other words, it's sort of circles, and sort of "back and forths" in one stroke, so maybe in that case the difference is purely semantic.

In any case, if all the fundamentals are sound: torque, smooth-even stroke, etc., I don't think it matters much, as long as you even it out with the x-strokes afterwards. In fact, I just got through re-watching Mainaman's amazing JNAT video with the nagura progression, and was amazed by his very fast circles, even into the late stages of a tomo nagura. And his x-stroke finishing laps are extremely fast, but almost machine-like in their precision and repetition from muscle memory.

I guess that just comes from years of experience-not quite "there" yet with my honing speed and smoothness (though I have always been fast and smooth on a strop!), but getting there.

Originally Posted by ScoutHikerDad

I guess that just comes from years of experience

Your not wrong there mate, when I watch some videos, mainamans included, they are like some celestial dance, very fluid, almost mesmerising.

Just received this coticule today. Modern coticule glued to Belgian blue. It surprisingly is a very hard coticule. I confirmed this by trying to raise slurry with a la Verte slurry stone which is notoriously hard.

Took my ol' reliable beater razor and dulled it on the corner of the 5k pro. Reset the edge with the 5k pro and then proceeded to water only laps on the coticule.

Shave test will come later but preliminary tests are all checking out. Now for the one that matters..

Shave was a little prickly, chocked it up to the 5k edge being as refined as a 5k edge gets but still not a straight edge. Coticule with water was too slow to pick up the slack. Dropped to 5k - 15 laps on the 10k (thanks for the tip Glen ) and about 75 on this slow fine coticule. After selling my finest coticule to HARRYWALLY I was worried I'd have to search 3 more years for another like it. While this one doesn't look as pretty it's very close in edge performance to me anyways.

When you buy a coticule sight unseen it's like buying a lottery ticket. You could get a paper weight, a coarse stone or fine one.. it's nice to luck out. After many sight unseen duds and reading marshals trials and tribulations with his rock it makes me happy to have such an easy to work with straight forward piece of Belgium.

Originally Posted by celticcrusader

One for Tuesday a lovely vintage Solingen in super condition finished on the SG 20K back out tomorrow.

What plate is that? It looks special or maybe that's the camera flash

Originally Posted by JOB15

What plate is that? It looks special or maybe that's the camera flash

My very well worn DMT 320 grit.

A vintage carborundum 118S just picked up on ebay :-) and a Eriksson & Bjorklj n°1



Really nice and efficient hone !

Originally Posted by Thaeris

A vintage carborundum 118S just picked up on ebay :-) and a Eriksson & Bjorklj n°1



Really nice and efficient hone !

Looks like they have two different versions of this stone? My box and stone look similar to yours but there is no sticker inside the lid, nor does mine say anything anywhere about a razor. But it still says 118s on mine...