And one under the scope at 205 x magnification.
Apache Strata
- Thread starter Bayamontate
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just enjoyed a dfs from a wade and butcher wedge. set bevel on 1.2k then a few coti laps followed by the apache, 100x hemp and 100 leather. lovely, enjoyable shave. its a very crisp and keen edge. might call mine the krispy- keen hone. no nicks, weepers or irritation whatsoever. I love this stone, very many thanks to terry
Honed my first AS edge this afternoon. I started by doing a standard dulicot on my LV coti. This produced an edge that I have every confidence in and shaved with edges off of this stone many times. Without stropping it was HHT 3 over the entire edge and hair dependent was nearly reaching a 4. I did not strop and instead went to my AS stone running through some half X's and then some full X strokes. Prestropping the gain in HHT was minimal, but it had improved. It was reaching HHT4. The real shocker came after using my Neil Miller linen and cordovan leather. It tests right up there among the keenest Les Lat edges I have produced! The feedback feels strange to me as I have so little experience with this stone, but I can't fault the results! This rock is a bonafide finisher for not much money!! I have about three days worth of hair on my face and after I go get a little workout in I will give it the shave test and report back.
I need to guard myself or I will gush over this hone! The shave was superb! Excellent level of sharpness and quite nearly all the smoothness of a coticule edge. BBS and very very little irritation! I went into this fully expecting to be underwhelmed. Told myself that it was being over hyped because it is a new find. I was wrong. This hone is the real deal. I am looking forward to trying many more blades on this hone. It isn't a replacement for my beloved coticules, but as a last finishing step it is superb. I did not have any of the water beading issues. The feedback, for lack of a better term, seems to have more draw than I am used to. Many coticules feel creamy to me under the blade. This hone feels like the change from going from a cordovan strop to a latigo strop. Not wrong, just more draw. This may well be because the hone is fresh from lapping. By the end of the session I could already feel it smoothing slightly. My advice would be to lay hands on one of these rocks before they are widely discovered.
Over the last two days, I honed two other razors with the same progression as the one I finished with the Apache. C1k, Norton 4/8k. Instead of finishing with the AS, however, I used another finishing stone--a French "special stone". While the HHT was comparable, almost, the shave was nowhere near as comfortable. To be fair, I don't know what I'm doing with the French stone, but then again, I don't know what I'm doing with the Apache either. Nonetheless, I got better results with the Apache
Thanks, Terry for finding these rocks.
That was a big part of my shock at achieving such good results. This was my very first honing session on this stone and I got wonderful results! I promise you I did not get good results my first time on a coti! Not even my first ten times! I am looking forward to seeing what I can do with more experience on this rock!
Special stone should be used with a thin oil for a low number of laps.
Has anyone used slurry with this stone? Maybe raise with a dmt? Wonder if it could do more than finish....
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- #250
It doesn't need it really, it's a finisher.
kcb5150 is speaking of marks French special hone not the apache. apache works well on water alone
I was referring to oakeshott and his issues with the special stone only for good razors.
I honed two more razors today: Two C-Mons both 5/8s.
I used the same progression I normally use (Chosera 1k, norton 4/8k) but used the Apache as the finisher. Water only, no slurry as I had done with previous honings. 30 laps & x-strokes (total). a half-dozen laps on a ChromOx bench strop; 50 linen/100 leather.
a VERY sticky edge (TPT); popping arm hairs across the entire edge. I shaved with one of the CMons tonight (the one pictured below) and found the edge to be velvety smooth. So far I've been getting very satisfying results with this Apache stone. Its neary the same width as my Escher so I'm accustomed to the 'long & narrow' stone. If these results continue to be as consistent as the past several days though, I may consider looking at getting one a bit wider.
I used the same progression I normally use (Chosera 1k, norton 4/8k) but used the Apache as the finisher. Water only, no slurry as I had done with previous honings. 30 laps & x-strokes (total). a half-dozen laps on a ChromOx bench strop; 50 linen/100 leather.
a VERY sticky edge (TPT); popping arm hairs across the entire edge. I shaved with one of the CMons tonight (the one pictured below) and found the edge to be velvety smooth. So far I've been getting very satisfying results with this Apache stone. Its neary the same width as my Escher so I'm accustomed to the 'long & narrow' stone. If these results continue to be as consistent as the past several days though, I may consider looking at getting one a bit wider.
I honed two more razors today: Two C-Mons— both 5/8s.
I used the same progression I normally use (Chosera 1k, norton 4/8k) but used the Apache as the finisher. Water only, no slurry as I had done with previous honings. 30 laps & x-strokes (total). a half-dozen laps on a ChromOx bench strop; 50 linen/100 leather.
a VERY sticky edge (TPT); popping arm hairs across the entire edge. I shaved with one of the CMons tonight (the one pictured below) and found the edge to be velvety smooth. So far I've been getting very satisfying results with this Apache stone. Its neary the same width as my Escher so I'm accustomed to the 'long & narrow' stone. If these results continue to be as consistent as the past several days though, I may consider looking at getting one a bit wider.
You're killing me with this stone Kevin...my A.H.A.D. clock is ticking...
- Thread starter
- #256
This is the progression I settled on (contained in the OP) after testing a few different things and it works great. It's simple and yields the most consistent results across many different razors. I figure any three hones in that same grit range (1K, 3/4/5K and 8K) in any of the systems (Naniwa, Stapton, Chosera etc.) followed by the AS will work.
- Thread starter
- #259
I got a 7x2 but get something you're comfortable honing on.
So if all we have is a Chosera 1K, and then a JNAT, what is the method we'd want to follow to get to the AS. Can someone who uses JNATs try out the method to use.
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