I thought we could have a thread regarding this stone, to see if people had any thoughts or opinions about it. I'll start with some background info...
The 'Cambrian Green' is often considered to be a type of Idwal stone, and with some justification. It was quarried around Llyn Idwal and is a similar type of fine novaculite, but I think different enough to warrant a distinction. Here's a stone I got recently which I initially thought was an Idwal, and then after using it I changed my mind to a Charnley, and have now done again... I'm pretty sure this is a Cambrian Green:
It's a bit difficult to see but the stone has some quite distinctive black lines patterning it, which don't look like the lines in normal Idwal stones. Stone is also softer than Idwals - it doesn't have the hard, slightly dead feedback, and feels more like a CF. At 2.71 the SG is bang in the middle of where Charnleys sit: slightly lower than Idwals are normally. And under a scope it looks like a Charnley too, which are slightly purer novaculites than Idwals are. You can understand why I thought this was a CF.
Idwal, Cambrian, Charnley:
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But as I say - after some research on Russian forums I've changed my mind again. And I'm now fairly confident this is the stone they call the Cambrian Green. The picture below I've screenshotted from a member on one of those forums (if this is a problem mods then please delete or give me a shout and I can ask permission).
The top stone is an Idwal the bottom a Cambrian, and the way those swirly black lines are is exactly the same as in my stone. Descriptions of its fineness differ slightly with some apparently prefinishers, others finishing stones, oldTor for instance uses the Idwal before the Cambrian. So it seems likely that the stones probably occupy a similar range to Idwals and Charnleys with some coarser examples, some finer. One thing that does seem generally agreed on is that the stone is quite soft in comparison to Idwals and slurries easier. Which makes it quite fast; my stone is a really lovely finishing stone, and surprisingly quick.
When I first got it I said to another member that it was right up there with the best whetstones I owned, which is something I'd stand by still; it has a remarkable combination of feeling gorgeous, finishing very fine, yet being really rather quick.
So... anyone else got a Cambrian Green? Or any thoughts on the above?
The 'Cambrian Green' is often considered to be a type of Idwal stone, and with some justification. It was quarried around Llyn Idwal and is a similar type of fine novaculite, but I think different enough to warrant a distinction. Here's a stone I got recently which I initially thought was an Idwal, and then after using it I changed my mind to a Charnley, and have now done again... I'm pretty sure this is a Cambrian Green:
It's a bit difficult to see but the stone has some quite distinctive black lines patterning it, which don't look like the lines in normal Idwal stones. Stone is also softer than Idwals - it doesn't have the hard, slightly dead feedback, and feels more like a CF. At 2.71 the SG is bang in the middle of where Charnleys sit: slightly lower than Idwals are normally. And under a scope it looks like a Charnley too, which are slightly purer novaculites than Idwals are. You can understand why I thought this was a CF.
Idwal, Cambrian, Charnley:
---
But as I say - after some research on Russian forums I've changed my mind again. And I'm now fairly confident this is the stone they call the Cambrian Green. The picture below I've screenshotted from a member on one of those forums (if this is a problem mods then please delete or give me a shout and I can ask permission).
The top stone is an Idwal the bottom a Cambrian, and the way those swirly black lines are is exactly the same as in my stone. Descriptions of its fineness differ slightly with some apparently prefinishers, others finishing stones, oldTor for instance uses the Idwal before the Cambrian. So it seems likely that the stones probably occupy a similar range to Idwals and Charnleys with some coarser examples, some finer. One thing that does seem generally agreed on is that the stone is quite soft in comparison to Idwals and slurries easier. Which makes it quite fast; my stone is a really lovely finishing stone, and surprisingly quick.
When I first got it I said to another member that it was right up there with the best whetstones I owned, which is something I'd stand by still; it has a remarkable combination of feeling gorgeous, finishing very fine, yet being really rather quick.
So... anyone else got a Cambrian Green? Or any thoughts on the above?
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