Thread: Hone of the Day

I would like some input from you wise, experienced honers. what does slate have to do in the great scheme of honing. I received a Ardennes Coticule
today. The other side is slate. I also have a travel board strop (Boker) that has slate bonded to the none leather side. I lapped the Coticule and the slate.
The slate is much harder than the Coticule. I was attempting to get a feel for the new stone. I did some test honing on a Russian razor, first on the Coticule
side which left a frosty bevel. That is what I expected from checking out this site often. Then I did some laps on the slate which left a more polished bevel.
Does anyone use slate as a final polish stone?

Originally Posted by Learner

I would like some input from you wise, experienced honers. what does slate have to do in the great scheme of honing. I received a Ardennes Coticule
today. The other side is slate. I also have a travel board strop (Boker) that has slate bonded to the none leather side. I lapped the Coticule and the slate.
The slate is much harder than the Coticule. I was attempting to get a feel for the new stone. I did some test honing on a Russian razor, first on the Coticule
side which left a frosty bevel. That is what I expected from checking out this site often. Then I did some laps on the slate which left a more polished bevel.
Does anyone use slate as a final polish stone?

The slate that backs your coticule is useless to hone on.
In general slate that is good for razors is a prefinisher in the 8k range. Some may be finer, but most folks move on to better options after they try them.

I also have a hard black Arkansas that I bought years ago. One can drag a razor over it all day and not experience much change.
I know Randy T thinks it is a waste. Other than the Coticule I have a Zulu Grey. It is slow but it will refine an edge.
Thanks for your response Mainaman.