I have a purple one that's cut exactly like one, on the right, I got randomly at some point(also from Europe). Is it pretty fast? Leave an aggressive edge? From my long trek of research and buying a newer version(the newly mined la lune) I've come to the conclusion that it is indeed a "la lune" but it's just marginally slower than my new one. Feel, density, slurry, everything matches for a la lune. If I had to guess, I would guess yours is that or a Welsh slate. Either way fantastic finishing stones. A Welsh slate will give a smoother shave, la lune leaves a pretty aggressive edge, but are good on slurry and smoking fast. The other could actually be the same. Ironically mine came with a black slate 1" x 1" x 5" that behaves exactly the same but is actually a little faster than my la lune.
Mystery hones... Let's see what you have
- Thread starter kcb5150
- Start date
@HoneThis The one on the right I agree with Empire Straights is in fact a La Lune, and a nice chunk of it. Some feel they can leave an aggressive edge. I have used them successfully with Glycerin to help tame the aggression. I personally like their edges. Let us know how she hones. The other one, I have no idea.
Do purple vintage La lunes appear to have sorta 3 dimensional looking patterns on the surface? It’s hard to describe and the pictures from my camera don’t do it justice really, but looking closely at it reveals a sort of cool looking 3d marbling pattern. Something about the composition gives it depth visually.
Yes La Lune have that 3D effect. It has the heavy chanfer too. I would call it a La Lune more likely than a Welsh slate.
The thin stone kind of reminds me of a Special stone, Only for good razors. I am not 100% but it kind of looks like one.
Can you take daylight pics with and without slurry it will give a better idea if it is one or not.
The thin stone kind of reminds me of a Special stone, Only for good razors. I am not 100% but it kind of looks like one.
Can you take daylight pics with and without slurry it will give a better idea if it is one or not.
I would say the thicker one looks more like Belgian Blue Whetstone than the thinner one. Or an old La Luna/SSofGR.
The thinner one looks like slate. Do you see purple or red garnets in the thicker stone? That would be a dead giveaway for BBW.
Edit: that's what I get for not reading other people's replies.
Here's a crazy stone I got this week. it is in a well fitted box, narrow and was dished about 1-2mm. It is primarily sparkling blue grey but has this crazy swirl feature on the side of green, yellow and red. The swirl colors are very hard while the main stone is pretty soft. I think it is a BBW but have never seen these colors on one. Oh and it is an amazing knife stone, just ridiculously quick and fine. I took a few nicks out of my pocket knife from cutting fish bones and made the bevel almost pure mirror at the same time. Swarf just pouring off the stone and knife.
So BBW?
So BBW?
I've got one that's got those greenish pearlescent spots o think they're manganese. Description sounds right too. It's one of my favorite knife and razor stones. The yellow coticule on it isn't as fond as the bbw but it's probably tied at first for finest coticule I own. I wish I could find a 10" x 2.5" piece of the same bbw with a matching slurry stone. I'd pay a pretty penny for it if I could find one but even pictures from other people collection do match it very often. If that is indeed what it is cherish that stone because it's the type of bbw that bbw fans are talking about a lot of times. They are few and far in-between, even more so than to shelf coticules.
This one came from the UK - looking at the poor quality sellers pic, took a punt hoping it was a long old Coti.
Pic's do lie, this is what she looked like on arrival.
And after a quick wipe down to get rid of the sludge.
Stone is about 10" x 1.5" x 1.5" deep and would say olive green in colour. Dished about 2 mm in the middle, so might take a while to flatten.
Any idea what this one is?
Pic's do lie, this is what she looked like on arrival.
And after a quick wipe down to get rid of the sludge.
Stone is about 10" x 1.5" x 1.5" deep and would say olive green in colour. Dished about 2 mm in the middle, so might take a while to flatten.
Any idea what this one is?
Charnley Forrest, I think. Or an Idwal.
My vote is for a Llyn Idwal. If any of those brownish streaks are actually in the stone though maybe a Charnley.
Interesting one. It's certainly one of the two; some things say CF, some say Idwal.
I'd be leaning Charnley from those pics.
Is that maybe one of those black Tsushima stones? Never owned one myself but the inky color kind of makes me think of them.
After about an hour scrapping off all the white glue that had this one stuck in the old box and hitting it with an Atoma 140 to flatten, she came up quite nice.
This was the dished side that had done all the work, the other 3 sides were quite flat.
and this was the side of the stone, came up really nice. Have to work out now which side will give better results. Quickly rubbed my banger Blue Nakiri over it and it quickly turned it into a razor (another bald spot on my arm).
I've never held one but that might be a pdso friend. Good find.
That pattern sure looks Idwal like to me, the color is a bit different however.
What throws me off is the pores/ small inclusions on the surface. I've not seen that in any of my llyn Idwals. If it is its a unique one and pretty much assuredly a great stone for something. I've yet to find one I didn't love, I've got all different grits and each one is amazing at what it's good at and all, but the second finest one, are fast.
Edit: the patterning on the second picture looks very much like one I have and one Oli has.
I think the pores/inclusions ( if you are referring to the black streaks ) on the face ( first pic ) are actually the black dots side-on that you see on the side ( 2nd pic ).
The side that was used and dished would appear to be the side that is normally the unused side of a stone, not the top or bottom.
The stone is relatively square, 45 mm previous face and 40 mm side, so will probably try both options and see if there is discernible difference in performance. At a guess, would think that previously used side will be quicker.
It wasn't that difficult to lap on the 140, reasonably soft, maybe on par with a Coti or BB.
I’ve developed an interest in slates lately. They seem to have good finishing potential and are normally go pretty cheap. This one was sold as a “ Vintage English Welsh Slate barber hone”. Whatever that is. Its appearance and dimensions led me to believe that it might be another fine type Yellow Lake.
If I didn’t know better I would have called it a Thuri. It is very similar in almost every way. It even smells like a Thuri. Water also tends to bead on the surface without slurry or soap. But it lacks any blue or green colour. Side by side with the boxed Yellow Lake it’s a close match. This one does seem to be fossilized inclusions which are absent from the YL. A list of the stones properties is below. It looks like it was cut down at some stage from it original length.
Size: 160.4 x 44.2 x 12.3 mm
SG: 2.73
Vinegar: Strong reaction
Hardness: Easy to lap. Quite soft.
Grit: Very fine finisher. Higher than 10k SG HR
If I didn’t know better I would have called it a Thuri. It is very similar in almost every way. It even smells like a Thuri. Water also tends to bead on the surface without slurry or soap. But it lacks any blue or green colour. Side by side with the boxed Yellow Lake it’s a close match. This one does seem to be fossilized inclusions which are absent from the YL. A list of the stones properties is below. It looks like it was cut down at some stage from it original length.
Size: 160.4 x 44.2 x 12.3 mm
SG: 2.73
Vinegar: Strong reaction
Hardness: Easy to lap. Quite soft.
Grit: Very fine finisher. Higher than 10k SG HR
Attachments
With oil.
Similar threads
