Yes, it is green with some darker green spots. Small red spots on the surface and a red blush over much of the stone that doesn't really show up until it is whetted in good light.
Charnley Forest show off your Charnwood
- Thread starter rideon66
- Start date
Maybe some better or closer pics showing the color a little better. But even without that, you can see quite a few prime examples posted before yours with that classic green and red banding and splotches. If it is like those then it is charnwood.
They are often cut like they are made to be set in wood block or paddle. Sort of flat canoe like tapering to a smaller base.
They are often cut like they are made to be set in wood block or paddle. Sort of flat canoe like tapering to a smaller base.
timwcic
"Look what I found"
It was one year ago this weekend I scored my first Charn. To celebrate I scored my second. A 10x2 inch stone in a fitted bottom case. Just played with a few times but feels to have finishing potential
I have three Charnleys, though all were recent acquisitions, so I’m still quite new to them.
This little one is cut a bit like a slip, though it doesn’t have much taper. 115x42.
Larger, and I assume quite old. 210x40.
I’ve never tried either of those stones with a razor, as they just didn’t strike me that they’d be finishers, though perhaps I’ll give the second a spin at some point.
This big one that clocks in at 270x48, is very hard and fine. It’s a terrible sharpening stone; wildly difficult to freehand on, and leaving stupidly polished edges. It does seem though that it’ll be a *great* razor stone, I’ve only tried once (yesterday) but got a very impressive result.
All of those stones err massively on the side of edge refinement over actually cutting, they leave incredibly polished edges for the grit level. Which is unsurprising tbh; it correlates pretty directly with how slow they are, they seem to work a little bit like a burnished hard ark does.
Which is probably what makes them very good razor finishers - if Charnleys were any faster, they probably wouldn’t be fine enough, I suspect.
This little one is cut a bit like a slip, though it doesn’t have much taper. 115x42.
Larger, and I assume quite old. 210x40.
I’ve never tried either of those stones with a razor, as they just didn’t strike me that they’d be finishers, though perhaps I’ll give the second a spin at some point.
This big one that clocks in at 270x48, is very hard and fine. It’s a terrible sharpening stone; wildly difficult to freehand on, and leaving stupidly polished edges. It does seem though that it’ll be a *great* razor stone, I’ve only tried once (yesterday) but got a very impressive result.
All of those stones err massively on the side of edge refinement over actually cutting, they leave incredibly polished edges for the grit level. Which is unsurprising tbh; it correlates pretty directly with how slow they are, they seem to work a little bit like a burnished hard ark does.
Which is probably what makes them very good razor finishers - if Charnleys were any faster, they probably wouldn’t be fine enough, I suspect.
- Thread starter
- #285
I don't do it much and don't usually recommend since most don't have multiple CF or a small one. You can and it is stated in the Grinding and Honing part3 that Both types can be used with a small rub stone from the same material to accelerate the grinding, which is quite slow. Due to the slurry a dull cutting edge results. Make the last strokes with plain water, which then ensures a polished edge. First if you haven't read G&H pt 3 just google it and read. Lots on many different stones. G&H pt 4 is specific on Belgian stones. If you decide to use the smaller stone for a slurry stone to speed things up, I would not recommend on you hardest finest best stone once it is broken in as they seem to get better with use, but the slurry stone can also help break them in to a point. Just be careful not to scratch the surface. Which is why I don't use it on my best one. I have used it on my others though and it does speed it up. Just finish without the CF slurry as before. Just something else you can try since you have those options.
Ah interesting, ta! I have indeed read G&H, but clearly need to revisit the CF section as I didn’t remember that recommendation. It would never really have struck me to slurry a novaculite with another novaculite, probably because of the scratching thing, but I could see it working here, will have to give a go...
I’m looking forward to trying out different slurry stones / nagura on them. Have you tried a coti on one? That’s my no.1 favourite thing atm to turbo charge any stone...
- Thread starter
- #287
It has been sometime, but yes I have tried a coticule on a CF, but seem to remember preferring the Thuri and Tam more.
I've used hard Arks to slurry really soft vintage Washitas at work to speed up chisel sharpening when im buried at work and need a really sharp edge quickly. Grind with the slurry, cut in half, plain water. All in about 30 laps. A little side to side deburring and my chisels will hht. Sometimes I'll do small, fast circles with a chisel all over the stone then just deburr both sides.
Have you found if you start with a coticule slurry on a really hard stone to go through the progression but use a fine bbw to build a slurry and dilute through? I think the bbw on my lpb slurry stones imparts a finer edge on top of those hard base stones than the yellow side does.
Wife got me this one for Christmas I really like it so far. I can only imagine when I start throwing slurries on it. It's a much softer stone than I anticipated and the feedback feels like dragging a fingernail across damp silk.
I’ve posted it elsewhere, but I suppose I should add mine to the compendium for posterity.
When I bought it
Cleaned and lapped.
Cleaned and lapped.
Oh yeah. With oil no worries.
I’ve not found too many novaculites I’ve rated with just water.
Ditto. Though have you tried water + glycerin? There are lots of people here who rate that quite highly I think...
I haven’t tried that specifically yet, but would make sense to me. Will give it a go.
I have some bbws that are every bit as fine as the coti side, if not finer. It’s quite easy to see this because I often use them for bevel polishing, which is on soft steel and shows scratch patterns very noticeably. Bbw is just markedly slower.
The fact that it's less aggressive with a shallow scratch pattern is the reason I think it comes out finer.
I've been getting to know this Charnley for a couple of weeks now. Surprised by how slow the stone is and also how fine. All preconceived notions out the window.
It had a crowned sharpening face that took some time to lap with wet dry paper. I learned that the lapping went much faster with full body weight on the stone.
Earlier this evening I tidied up a little stone I got recently. Originally I thought it was a very fine Idwal because it was grey-green with some black lines and specks, but I wasn't certain as some of them looked kinda red too. After a bit more lapping it's a now obviously a (very hard and fine) CF, and the same type as yours.
Interesting because it's quite small, like your one looks (?), and has clearly been cut as a razor stone. Part of the underside of the stone has even been shaped I'm pretty sure to fit the ball of your thumb for in-hand honing.
Looks very similar. Mine is 8" long but is narrow at 1 1/2" to 1 3/4".
I don't have that many finishers but I do have the usual suspects, I would put the stone up there with the best of them.
It might even be my favorite.
Ah yours is a bit bigger then, mine’s just a cutesy 5.5 x 1.5 or a bit under.
Colour and surface patterns are basically identical though. I’ve only had 4 CFs but this is the hardest, and feels at least as fine as a very large razor-finishing type one that I really like.
Going to give a proper try out in a bit...
Mine is a fine as my old Norton slip stones, both translucent and a black one, but the edge it imparts is much smoother. It may be a tiny bit less keen feeling but definitely takes off whiskers like nobodies business.
New to me. Came without a lid to the box. I tried 200 laps on 10:1 ballistol with a test razor and darned if it wasn't a close and comfortable shave.
