Thread: Shapton's & Charnley Forrest=Amazing

Originally Posted by adrspach

Interesting size. Do you have positive ID that it is CF?

I'm not 100%, but it is labeled as such by the store the problem is that it is worn to 1/8" in the center, but not worn on either end. I believe no matter what it is the past owner(s) did not know how to use it. If it were a razor I would say it had a frown.

-G

To me it looks to thin even on those ends. The wear in the middle is quite normal. A lot of stones I get are badly dished. If I was you I would save your money.

you can find them on ebay sometimes but be ready to use your credit card, although they ARE cheaper than Eschers usually.

Originally Posted by deighaingeal

I agree. I have found one as of yet. A local antique store has one that is so bad that the ends are almost a half inch thick and the center is about 1/8" thick, and its soaked in what looks like motor oil. But "it's a rare hone" and "you'll never see another one". I'm starting to believe her.
I must say though that I'm not actively looking until I collect more fundage.

-G

My question would be, what are the OTHER dimensions? If it were a large enough stone, I would cut it in half, lap both halves down, and have 2 wedge shaped, but very usable stones.
As long as they are large enough to BE useful that is!

Originally Posted by deighaingeal

I'm not 100%, but it is labeled as such by the store the problem is that it is worn to 1/8" in the center, but not worn on either end. I believe no matter what it is the past owner(s) did not know how to use it. If it were a razor I would say it had a frown.

-G

Unfortunately you cannot trust a label from just any seller. I've already bought some kind of green slate and 3 ToS which were all labeled as Charnley Forests. I also bought one that doesn't look like the usual Charnley but still may be one or something similar. I've also seen a Dalmore Blue labeled as a Charnley. It's the same at Ebay, only some are real.

Charnley Forests are popular by sellers because they're sought after and there for valuable and they will label anything remotely greenish as such. So make sure you know what a Charnley looks like before you buy one.

Btw one stone labeled as a Charnley did turn out to be one and I'm not hating the ToS

Actually I had no intentions of purchasing it as it looked like more of a pain than its worth. The price was at or around $150, even if I could afford it I wouldn't have spent so much on that bad of a stone.
I never thought about making wedge shaped stones, but it was small about 5-6 in long and 2 in or under in width.
I wouldn't care if it were a CF only that I was getting a nice natural stone. Up until a few days ago I had never owned a natural stone. I now own a BBW thanks to one of the nicest guys I've ever met. One of these days I'll be able to afford the more expensive hones, but for now I have a couple of ceramic stones and they will work. If I come across a nice hone while antiquing I don't really know if I'll keep it; I fear that I would never get the full benefit from a stone such as a CF.

-G

I have purchased quite a few stones off ebay to only find out they weren't what I was hoping for or as described. The one I got in the other day was supposed to be a thuringian and it's carborundum. Quite a difference, I was hoping for another finishing stone and ended up with a bevel setting stone.

This section is from the book "Turning And Mechanical Manipulation", by Charles Holtzapffel. Also available from Amazon: Turning and Mechanical Manipulation.

"Charnley Forest stone is one of the best substitutes for the turkey oilstone, and much in request by joiners and others, for giving a fine edge to various tools and also penknives. It is hitherto been found only in Charnwood Forest, near Mount Sorrel, Leicestershire. The best Charnley Forest stone, is by some considered to come only from the Whittle Hill Quarry, the other stones for the neighborhood are pinny, or present hard places." (All citations are from Holzapffel.)

That's some cool info, thanks!

Unfortunately Charnleys are not labelled, so no one knows which come from the Whittle Hill quarry and which do not. I have some Charnelys which are perfectly oblong, while others are irregularly shaped. I have a suspicion that the perfectly oblong ones may be from Whittle Hill, however I've no way of knowing...