Thread: MST Finishing Hones from Woj?

http://cgi.ebay.com/MST-water-stone-...QQcmdZViewItem

Are these any good? I have heard they contain some pyrite - What does that mean to me? Are they worth the money and what is the comparable stone? Blue or Yellow Coticule?

Thanks

I have one, and I like it very much. I believe it is around the grit of a coticule, but it cuts faster (because of the pyrite?) and is perhaps a tick less smooth of a shave. I got some superb shaving edges using this hone in combination with some of wotj's other hones. Someone with more knowledge on this subject should chime in soon though.

Mine didn't come with the rubbing stone thought FWIW. That would have been nice...

Cheers,
Landis

Thanks Landis,
I wondered how you were getting on with the hone - I saw some of your earlier posts. So, do you use a slurry now or just water or dry? How do you raise the slurry with no rubbing stone? Do you use a Nagura stone?
Did you end up lapping this stone?

My first breakthrough was when I went to lap the stone. I laid out a grid with pencil, swirled in a figure 8 on some 660 grit sandpaper, and the grid lines disappeared all over the stone. It was dead flat... So I rolled over some of the sharper edges on the stone, creating rounded corners to reduce the chances of screwing up a honing job if the razor was less than flat on the hone.

I've been using the stone both wet and dry... occassionally I'll use the slate hone I got from Woj a long while back to raise a slurry, simply by rubbing the two stones together with some water. This does cut more quickly, possibly due to the mixed grits and stones in the slurry.

This hone seems to work great dry too. It produces what seems like a smoother edge this way, but cuts considerably slower.

The edges that have come off this hone can pass the HHT more easily than my coticule I've been playing with... Why I don't know! If you don't have a finishing hone to go after a norton or other quicker cutter, I think this one is a pretty good deal. My experience however, is quite limited. Really just learning myself.

Pyrite or, fools gold, is iron sulfide. It's fairly soft and it shouldn't have any effect on steel.

Thanks, Howard. Have you tried these hones? I know he's a competitor but I also know you have one amazingly vast collection. Any thoughts?