I haven't worked on it yet, I have too many stones, and I don't sharpen often)))
Escher/Thuringian love. show of your rocks
- Thread starter raccoonandbrush
- Start date
Gents,
I don’t really know anything about Eschers, except for their reputation, and that they are very expensive.
This one is 5.5x2.5x.9, and I just purchased it for what I believe was a reasonable price. Is this a yellow-green?
Since it isn’t coming with a rub stone, what is the next best way to raise a slurry or should I just finish on water?
what is the best way to seal the bottom to preserve what is left of the sticker?
Any more information would be greatly appreciated! I think it will clean up very nicely!
Thanks!
Vr
Matt
Perhaps since this is 5.5x2.5 is what’s called a Barbers Gem?
I don’t really know anything about Eschers, except for their reputation, and that they are very expensive.
This one is 5.5x2.5x.9, and I just purchased it for what I believe was a reasonable price. Is this a yellow-green?
Since it isn’t coming with a rub stone, what is the next best way to raise a slurry or should I just finish on water?
what is the best way to seal the bottom to preserve what is left of the sticker?
Any more information would be greatly appreciated! I think it will clean up very nicely!
Thanks!
Vr
Matt
Perhaps since this is 5.5x2.5 is what’s called a Barbers Gem?
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Honestly, I can take or leave slurry on a thuringian... You really won't lose much if anything on just water
Looks lg or maybe bg to me, but lighting is everything. Lap it and take some pictures of it outside in daylight.
Usually BG and BD are two toned. Almost always YG/B.
Does anyone have a barely used or almost NOS 10" Escher they can weigh for me? I've sold all but one of mine, it has a good bit of wear and I'm trying to estimate what a full 10x2x1" one should weigh.
This one isn’t NOS but it’s the best I can do.
Thank you sir, I emailed you a link the stone I bought... just shy of 2lb not quite a perfect 10x2... 9.75x2.125x1” and someone lapped all the sides, but I’m hopeful it’ll be a good surprise.
Was a little scared that the weight was a bit high to be a thuri, but given how thick it is, maybe even a little fatter than an inch, I think it’s right on the money
Was a little scared that the weight was a bit high to be a thuri, but given how thick it is, maybe even a little fatter than an inch, I think it’s right on the money
timwcic
"Look what I found"
I have a beat up but low mileage 9”. Grams/inch is about 810 for a ten inch
Thanks, that assuming exactly 10x2x1”?
I looked at a couple of these Eschers but jiminy crickets they want an arm and leg for them. Are they considered that much better than everything else or just have a long track record of just giving a quality edge?
Unlabeled Thuris (not counting obvious YG's) have actually dipped a bit lately. You can snag a dark blue relatively easily under $100 these days.
Labeled Eschers, Fox/Fuchs, Hohollenzern, etc have always been kind of crazy.
They're a perfectly good shave, though most of the really crazy stone and hone guys have something they prefer over them... typically a good Jnat or a really fine coticule. They're not absolute bleeding edge top tier, but they're really really close to the extent that most shavers probably can't tell a good Escher edge from a good Jnat (or whatever they prefer) edge... and they're consistently excellent and one of the easiest finishers to use (probably tied with a top-quality Jnat for that).
Back in the days when guys were trying to claim that Charnleys, Nortons, Frictionites and CNAT's gave a top tier finish or that BBW finished just as well as Yellow Coticule... Eschers were shockingly good. Now when half the Honing forum on this site has a $10,000+ Jnat collection... they're just really good.
Personally, I wouldn't recommend dropping more than $250 on one unless you're interested in the collector value. You can easily get a Jnat that performs just as well as they do in that price range if you buy from a good vendor. Maaaaaybe get a bit more spendy for a 10x2"... just because they're pretty special. But collector value props up a lot of them... like the boxed/labeled examples that sell for $1000-1600. No one's spending that on a stone JUST because it finishes their razor well.
Labeled Eschers, Fox/Fuchs, Hohollenzern, etc have always been kind of crazy.
They're a perfectly good shave, though most of the really crazy stone and hone guys have something they prefer over them... typically a good Jnat or a really fine coticule. They're not absolute bleeding edge top tier, but they're really really close to the extent that most shavers probably can't tell a good Escher edge from a good Jnat (or whatever they prefer) edge... and they're consistently excellent and one of the easiest finishers to use (probably tied with a top-quality Jnat for that).
Back in the days when guys were trying to claim that Charnleys, Nortons, Frictionites and CNAT's gave a top tier finish or that BBW finished just as well as Yellow Coticule... Eschers were shockingly good. Now when half the Honing forum on this site has a $10,000+ Jnat collection... they're just really good.
Personally, I wouldn't recommend dropping more than $250 on one unless you're interested in the collector value. You can easily get a Jnat that performs just as well as they do in that price range if you buy from a good vendor. Maaaaaybe get a bit more spendy for a 10x2"... just because they're pretty special. But collector value props up a lot of them... like the boxed/labeled examples that sell for $1000-1600. No one's spending that on a stone JUST because it finishes their razor well.
And let's not forget the 145 dollar slurry stone of 2013....
I honestly considered cutting down a bunch of my 7 and 10" stones after that and listing the pieces for $100 each. Turn a $250 labeled 7" into $600 or $700 with a few minutes and a saw?
Only resisted it because I figured that was just one crazy guy and one jerk bidding him up who was planning to just retract once he got him to his max and wouldn't be repeated.
That slurry (It wasn't even YG, right, it was LG iirc), the $1700 escher, and a few other shockers won't be soon forgotten...
Then there was that 10+5" Labeled Surgeons set I got for <$400 at bid. Blew my mind. Think I had something like $1100 as my max and No one challenged me on it once it broke ~$300. Sometimes eBay can be crazy.
Only resisted it because I figured that was just one crazy guy and one jerk bidding him up who was planning to just retract once he got him to his max and wouldn't be repeated.
That slurry (It wasn't even YG, right, it was LG iirc), the $1700 escher, and a few other shockers won't be soon forgotten...
Then there was that 10+5" Labeled Surgeons set I got for <$400 at bid. Blew my mind. Think I had something like $1100 as my max and No one challenged me on it once it broke ~$300. Sometimes eBay can be crazy.
Slice do you have any advice on the Muller natural stone? Are they considered a lower grade of Escher?
They do seem reasonably priced just wondering if it's worth the time to give them a try?
Here is their claim they post
MST Müller Water Hone Ultra-fine natural blue water hone in high quality
for the final hone of straight razors,
scalpels, knives, edge tools, butcher knives.
Meanwhile, from nearby in the same Thuringian quarry as the Original EscherStone
comes a new supply of black to grey-blue colored raw material.
Like the Original Escher Hone, the new MST Müller material is composed of pure powder-like quartz, embedded in chalk.
8000 Grit
for the final hone of straight razors,
scalpels, knives, edge tools, butcher knives.
Meanwhile, from nearby in the same Thuringian quarry as the Original EscherStone
comes a new supply of black to grey-blue colored raw material.
Like the Original Escher Hone, the new MST Müller material is composed of pure powder-like quartz, embedded in chalk.
8000 Grit
Yeah just a solid LG and a small piece at that. I believe it was 3/4 thick and 1 1/2 long.
Mueller/MST natural water hone is a really soft muddy stone I would say about 4000 maybe 5000 grit. Definitely not a finisher.
About 10 years ago Mueller still had a little bit of actual Thuringian material, mostly 4” x 1” pieces I imported about 30 of those little pieces along with one of their new material stones, The new material stones are really nothing like Thuringian. As a reference at the time an 8 x 2 x 1” piece of the new material cost me less than a 1 x 4 x 0.5” piece of the actual Thuringian.
Timber tools eventually bought out all the Thuringian material, They were selling the 4x1 inch pieces for about $150 last I saw.
About 10 years ago Mueller still had a little bit of actual Thuringian material, mostly 4” x 1” pieces I imported about 30 of those little pieces along with one of their new material stones, The new material stones are really nothing like Thuringian. As a reference at the time an 8 x 2 x 1” piece of the new material cost me less than a 1 x 4 x 0.5” piece of the actual Thuringian.
Timber tools eventually bought out all the Thuringian material, They were selling the 4x1 inch pieces for about $150 last I saw.
Very much not worth the price of admission, maybe years ago but not now.
Get one from Buhlmann if you want something budget friendly and legit Thuri.
