Thread: Slurry on a Hard hone

I have a hone that is unknown to me but which fits the following description:

pearlescent white

Harder than an Arkansas

No striations or grain to speak of but definitely natural stone

Diamond wet cutting wheel just managed to cut it

Very very fine grain under microscope

Anyway, I was thinking of Ebaying it because of it's slow cutting speed when I had an idea. What if I tried to get a slurry on it, this may speed the hone up.
With one of the slips left from cutting it down ( 3 6"diamond blades later ) I proceeded to rub it on the hone with a small amount of water. I could not see if a slurry was made so I just grabbed an old but needing a refresh Razor and started to hone it. There proved to be a slurry tho not a lot and it made the hone cut a lot faster. I went on till the razor was feeling about right and tested the edge....faultless!! Passed all the test with flying colours and felt like it would take very little stropping to finish, and to be honest I think it didn't need the strop.

Is there others out there that have tried to create a slurry on hard hones?
let me know what you found please.

PuFF

Sounds like it could be marble?

The honemeisters on the german board laugh at me but I admit to use marble in combination with some polishing-pastes like Edelweiss or Tormek instead of slurry.
Some other guy has mentioned to use toothpaste on marble.

Works fine for me!

Marble is quite a soft stone. It sounds like PuFFah has a chunk of novaculite which I believe is a quartz. Quartz is hard, but a wet diamond wheel should cut it without too much complaint.

Bruce

Bruce
When cutting it there was sparks of the wheel its that hard. Had to go slow because the hone kept wanting to ride over the wheel and not cut. The glow off the wheel was quite weird.

PuFF

I have used slurry on a hard stone - a Japanese natural.

Works slow without the slurry, fast with it - as you yourself experienced. Results are good either way, it seems; just different razors may need one approach vs the other...

By the way, I also have a somewhat pearlescent white stone. Still haven't figured it out, but it's quite hard to get a slurry going.

It's very interesting to hear people using marble, toothpaste and whatnot... Would love more details - are these any better than the "normal" tools (and how / why) or are they just an economical way to get the job done with what's available

Cheers
Ivo

Hmmm, would this be worth trying on a translucent arkansas stone? I've been thinking about this for a little while as the arkansas cuts so slowly it's nearly useless.

Sounds like you may have actually stumbled upon the rare and extremely valuable Dorko-Puma Diamond Hone. Most scholars consider it merely a legend, a myth conjured up by a group of fanatical straight-shavers from the Far East. Congratulations! Now all you have to do is hide from the Secret Hone Police...

Originally Posted by izlat

I have used slurry on a hard stone - a Japanese natural.

Works slow without the slurry, fast with it - as you yourself experienced. Results are good either way, it seems; just different razors may need one approach vs the other...

By the way, I also have a somewhat pearlescent white stone. Still haven't figured it out, but it's quite hard to get a slurry going.

It's very interesting to hear people using marble, toothpaste and whatnot... Would love more details - are these any better than the "normal" tools (and how / why) or are they just an economical way to get the job done with what's available

Cheers
Ivo

And a serendipitous benefit from honing with toothpaste is that it helps prevent cavities...

Originally Posted by izlat

I have used slurry on a hard stone - a Japanese natural.

Works slow without the slurry, fast with it - as you yourself experienced. Results are good either way, it seems; just different razors may need one approach vs the other...

By the way, I also have a somewhat pearlescent white stone. Still haven't figured it out, but it's quite hard to get a slurry going.

It's very interesting to hear people using marble, toothpaste and whatnot... Would love more details - are these any better than the "normal" tools (and how / why) or are they just an economical way to get the job done with what's available

Cheers
Ivo

Ivo
If your stone is anything like mine then it will be hard to get a slurry. I didnt rub for long and it seemed there was no slurry till i started to hone then you could just make out a lite slurry present. Cut fast with only this small amount too.

PuFF

Originally Posted by PuFFaH

Ivo
If your stone is anything like mine then it will be hard to get a slurry. I didnt rub for long and it seemed there was no slurry till i started to hone then you could just make out a lite slurry present. Cut fast with only this small amount too.

PuFF

Hi Puff,

I was actually able to get some slurry going with a diamond hone It was still hard, though. Slurry was white - milky... Neet to play more with it

For reference, my stone came with several razors, some of which were top performers / *cult* brands and models, so it must have been decent for the guy who used it. A couple of the razors were passing HHT but not well enough for me to test them. I'll check them out again, though

Cheers
Ivo