Thread: How do you use a Frankonian?

I wonder why there are certain hones where there is so much discrepancy in how people rate it.
It´s similar to the Chinese (which btw. looks and acts very similar to the Frankonian).
Noone ever claimed to have a ~8k Escher, or questioned their superiority ... *shrug*
I had both, Farnkonian and Chinese, and both lived up to all my expectations.
They where as fine, or finer than everything I had back then including my Shapton 16k.

I shaved from both and loved it. And I agree Jimmy who qouted Hi_bud correctly:
use it on a shaveready razor. I.e get to healthy finishing range like 8.000 and then hit the Frankonian

I've only played with three Chinese hones and one Frankonian. I don't consider them to be similar at all. Of course there will be stone to stone variations but my experience with that one Frankonian is that it is much more fine than the Chinese hones. It does seem to be able to impart a superior edge and I am quite surprised by the claims of it being of such low grit equivalents.

Oh well, I guess my rock's better than the other guys' rocks.

Originally Posted by Lesslemming

Noone ever claimed to have a ~8k Escher, or questioned their superiority ... *shrug*

While Thuringians are known to vary significantly, I have found Eschers to be fairly consistent, the greatest variable being not finish imparted, but polishing speed of the hone. Could it be that as a company who put their label on hones, they carefully selected tested specimens for sale, and this is why Eschers are celebrated?

Originally Posted by Lesslemming

I had both, Farnkonian and Chinese, and both lived up to all my expectations. They where as fine, or finer than everything I had back then including my Shapton 16k.

It is a shame others have been less fortunate.

Originally Posted by Utopian

I've only played with three Chinese hones and one Frankonian. I don't consider them to be similar at all. Of course there will be stone to stone variations but my experience with that one Frankonian is that it is much more fine than the Chinese hones. It does seem to be able to impart a superior edge and I am quite surprised by the claims of it being of such low grit equivalents.

Oh well, I guess my rock's better than the other guys' rocks.

I hope I get a rock just like yours.

I did get an e-mail from Olivia and she assured me that the stone would be lapped and ready to go,she said she uses 220 grit silcone carbide to lap it with.She also said she likes to use the Frankonian instead of a strop.I will have to experiment with that.


Paul

I have one of these and several Chinese stones. To me, both are can do stones like a Coticule only the Coticule is a little more consistent and to me, produces a nicer edge. The results are OK, but there are several stones that provide better results and are more consistent in my opinion, including the Shapton on glass 16K. It's interesting to see all the different experiences with all the stones that we discuss. Personally, I just do not like honing on little stones much either, although I would add that this little stone will also work with the one stone honing method too. I find myself lately judging all the finishing stones I try against the results from the Escher because it provides such nice results consistently.

Have fun,

Lynn

I tried mine after 12k SS,after Escher, after J-nat, after coticule, with few laps with many laps, all the time the edge was subpar to the edge from the other hones.
I have not given up on it yet, but so far I can't get good results with it.

If Lynn finds the coticule to be consistent in any definition of the word, this speaks volumes of the latter two! In my experience at least 'Coticule' is an umbrella term for any rock once mined at various sites across Belgium and now only Ardennes ranging from green to pink in colour, more commonly a shade of yellow...

Originally Posted by Lynn

I have one of these and several Chinese stones. To me, both are can do stones like a Coticule only the Coticule is a little more consistent and to me, produces a nicer edge. The results are OK, but there are several stones that provide better results and are more consistent in my opinion, including the Shapton on glass 16K. It's interesting to see all the different experiences with all the stones that we discuss. Personally, I just do not like honing on little stones much either, although I would add that this little stone will also work with the one stone honing method too. I find myself lately judging all the finishing stones I try against the results from the Escher because it provides such nice results consistently.

Have fun,

Lynn

One day I will own a Esher.Maybe my next Christmas bonus will go towards one.

Paul

Why not go for a vintage Thuringian? Some are available at Vintage Hone Stones & Abrasives for Sale and Neil personally tests them giving an approximate rating.

Originally Posted by Scipio

Why not go for a vintage Thuringian? Some are available at Vintage Hone Stones & Abrasives for Sale and Neil personally tests them giving an approximate rating.

I would agree on the vintage thuringian. I've owned several of both (eschers and thuri's) and find they are pretty much indistinguishable.