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Cretan Hone

Just wondering if anyone has used one and if so what are your thoughts? Also how much does these cost ?
 
yes i have one and there pritty damm quik. they don't slurry dull at all. i used mine with thick slurry and i removed some chips from s/s dovo . the hone leaves a nice sandblasted scratch pattern no deep scratches , i was able to shave arm hair easily and move to coticule.. cost aprox 40 euro's

regards gary
 
I got mine early on before he was selling em on the Artisanshaving forum so not sure what current prices are. I know Emmanuel is very good people. I love mine, it is my first hone followed by a coit and I'm done fast. I have lots of other hones to play with but that has become my fav setup. its pita to get slurry. They have some very good trips n tricks listed to get em to slurry more. I haven't even tired to get a heavy slurry yet. Just a little has gotten the job done for me. But I haven't tired to remove chips n such yet. I have a few project razors with chips. I just haven't gotten around to getting em yet. That will be the final test for me with the Cretan hone.
 
8" stone runs about 60.
Should be lapped dry, not wet, start on 50 or 100x.
Stone worked best for me after soaking. There were many distractions in the surface, cracks and what appeared to be inclusions, but they did not have a negative affect.
Not fast and not painfully slow either. I didnt enjoy the feel/feedback so I sold it.
Good stone though - worth the wait for one and the price is good.
 
i have a high density cretan hone my estimation is between 12-18k. Grece has sent these kind of stones to swiss. it is wonderful as a finishing hone.
 
I got mine early on before he was selling em on the Artisanshaving forum so not sure what current prices are. I know Emmanuel is very good people. I love mine, it is my first hone followed by a coit and I'm done fast. I have lots of other hones to play with but that has become my fav setup. its pita to get slurry. They have some very good trips n tricks listed to get em to slurry more. I haven't even tired to get a heavy slurry yet. Just a little has gotten the job done for me. But I haven't tired to remove chips n such yet. I have a few project razors with chips. I just haven't gotten around to getting em yet. That will be the final test for me with the Cretan hone.

Now I first have to say I am a novice when it comes to honing so I'm no expert whatsoever but I think the Cretan hone is a great addittion to anyones setup especially if you already have a good finisher. I got mine from Emmanuel who very kindly sent me one all the way from Greece for a nominal fee. Setting a bevel on this stone is quick and pretty easy. However like Hammertime1 I find it very difficult to create a slurry on my stone using the slurry stone, maybe my slurry stone is not coarse enough but what I did was to use some sandpaper when lapping the stone dry and kept the dust that came off to use as slurry. When I want to use the stone I toss some of the slurry dust onto the wet stone and work it into a slurry with the slurry stone, this works better for me. I know the slurry issue I have is not typical of these stones as I have watched a video of AlaskaRicks setting a bevel using a cretan and he created a nice heavy slurry in about 30 secs. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ijNEdKG9kU&feature=player_embedded).
 
Hello.
I got a Cretan hone recently and i must say i'm impressed with this stone.
I have only used syntetic stones like Naniwa pro, shapton pro and suehiro cerax.
The Cretan can replace much of what i have from the synthetics. It can perform from 1.500 grits up to aprox 10-13.000. I bought a big brick of a stone weighing in at 4,5 kg. This means that i can use all four sides of the stone.
I chose to sand each side with different grits, 100, 400, 800, 1200.
The 100 side acts as a bevelsetter for knifes and stright razors, the 400 to 800 for refinement and minor repairs, the 1200 for polishing. Yesterday i got an old and beatup Eric Anton Berg razor with silver steel that i had the opportunity to use on the stone, no damage done if the cretan wouldn't deliver. I must say it did deliver, it was the only stone i used for all work except stropping that was done on leather. I used only water and slurry with dust that i collected from the sanding, dust from each side in separate jars that i saved. The small 3/8 razor popped hair in the air, did a test shave and that was smooth.
Today i polished some knives on the 1200 side of the cretan and that did bring up a glossy finish on the stone, the knife got a semi mirror semi kasumi finish. I tested to hone my dovo to see if anything changed after polishing the knifes, to my surprise it seems that it got even closer to a mirror finish.
I have ordered a Vermio hone to test out aswell but the cretan delivers solid results. I just love the respons this stone gives.
 
Hello.
I got a Cretan hone recently and i must say i'm impressed with this stone.
I have only used syntetic stones like Naniwa pro, shapton pro and suehiro cerax.
The Cretan can replace much of what i have from the synthetics. It can perform from 1.500 grits up to aprox 10-13.000. I bought a big brick of a stone weighing in at 4,5 kg. This means that i can use all four sides of the stone.
I chose to sand each side with different grits, 100, 400, 800, 1200.
The 100 side acts as a bevelsetter for knifes and stright razors, the 400 to 800 for refinement and minor repairs, the 1200 for polishing. Yesterday i got an old and beatup Eric Anton Berg razor with silver steel that i had the opportunity to use on the stone, no damage done if the cretan wouldn't deliver. I must say it did deliver, it was the only stone i used for all work except stropping that was done on leather. I used only water and slurry with dust that i collected from the sanding, dust from each side in separate jars that i saved. The small 3/8 razor popped hair in the air, did a test shave and that was smooth.
Today i polished some knives on the 1200 side of the cretan and that did bring up a glossy finish on the stone, the knife got a semi mirror semi kasumi finish. I tested to hone my dovo to see if anything changed after polishing the knifes, to my surprise it seems that it got even closer to a mirror finish.
I have ordered a Vermio hone to test out aswell but the cretan delivers solid results. I just love the respons this stone gives.
Very interesting. I have one on order .
 
If I recall it correctly the bright grey versions of creatan hones behave coarser but faster, the darker the stone the finer the results.

They can be used on water or on oil.

My version is white-grey when dry and medium grey when whet.
Using with water, ceate slurry by another small piece of cretan hone.
My version is one of my fastest stones I have. When sharpening woodworking chisel with higher pressure the aslurry turns black after 1-3 strokes.

With razor (much less pressure) still slurry darkens very quick.

Dilution to water produces quite refined edge around 8k equivalent...

Philipp
 
If I recall it correctly the bright grey versions of creatan hones behave coarser but faster, the darker the stone the finer the results.

They can be used on water or on oil.

My version is white-grey when dry and medium grey when whet.
Using with water, ceate slurry by another small piece of cretan hone.
My version is one of my fastest stones I have. When sharpening woodworking chisel with higher pressure the aslurry turns black after 1-3 strokes.

With razor (much less pressure) still slurry darkens very quick.

Dilution to water produces quite refined edge around 8k equivalent...

Philipp
Thanks - very useful.

Have you ever set a bevel with yours?
 
Thanks - very useful.

Have you ever set a bevel with yours?

Yes, if the bevel does not require a heavy correction work, Cretan hone can be used to set the bevel. For razors in my rotation which have had their bevel already set in past I do reset the bevel on Cretan Hone. Also for removing of microchips.

Anyhow I would not say that my Cretan hone can replace my 1k king stone. For setting an „unknown“ bevel I would go first to a 1k.

Regards
Philipp
 
Hello, as i have a big stone, the different sides is flattened with different grit, so they behave differently. I have set bevels on mine but it is a slower process than my synthetic naniwa professional 1000, but i find it useful when it comes to razors as i'm not an experienced honer. For knifes on the other hand faster is better for razors the opposite for my part as the possible damage can be minimized. My cretan is a big brick of 4,5 kg so i use all 4 long sides with different grit finish. i would say the rough behaves like a 2k grit and the fine of up to in the span of 7k-8k with only water.
 
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