First off,

I'm a woman, I think shaving with straight Razors are very cool, and the sharpening hones even cooler. Yesterday I bought a couple of old razor hones. Stayed up till 3 AM reading all the blog posts and videos about the French Hones, wow what fascinating stones and history. Perhaps it's a Lorraine Rouge, gorgeous luster, dappled pattern with fine blueish streaks, and delicate flecks of fine mica looking material.
Amazing color!

Honing with water on the purple one did not generate much slurry with quick knife sharpening. Love the feel of this stone...


My plan is to use it for finishing my carving chisels after a surgical black Arkansas.

Pics to follow, if I'm able. Doesn't look like it worked. I'll post some pics on my flickr page in just a bit. Abrazier is my username on Flickr.