Shaving off Washita

[global_dev]

Been trying to understand most of the washita information.

One of my washitas i am using feels kind of hard and a fine like a hard ark, not easily friable that i can tell.

Definitely cuts the steel on my knive examples, but the razor cutting seems really slow. Maybe not enough pressure being used. Its not killing a fine edge, which i assumed it would. Maybe i need to finish it lower on w/d.

 

[cotedupy]

I've just done a little bit of edge repair on a Washita and tried stropping it after to see where it was. I could probably shave off it, just, but the HHT wasn't good enough to make me want to try. Though I do think it would be possible to get a better, finer, edge with patience...

In general Washitas are quite hard and non-friable; you can burnish a Washita surface and make it finer, like other Arkansas stones the effective grit level don't bear any relation really to the particle size, but unlike other Arkansas stones they depend hugely on pressure applied. Meaning that for a razor you're usually going to be working at the finer end of what a Washita can do - you're not going to get that raw speed and aggression that you can get from them with knives.

This hints at something that I think is quite interesting about Washitas, which is the quite unique way in which they cut. Compare them to a Turkish stone, which are also novaculite, similarly aggressive, and similar grit level. The Turkish stone gets its aggression because of its friability, which tend to make stones faster, yet the Washita has aggression despite its hardness. How...? My suspicion it that it comes from the porosity and heterogeneity in the structure of a Washita in comparison to other novaculites. The general composition of a Washita involves all sorts of different things set into a matrix that's almost like a very fine sponge. Meaning that even when burnished you can reveal quite a lot of cutting power when used with significant pressure, even though the stone is not releasing a significant number of particles / mud.

As I say - that's just a kinda hunch. But they're very versatile and interesting stones, and I would be very surprised if someone decent at razor honing couldn't get a very good shave off a typical example.

 

[global_dev]

I just refinished this specific washita at 320 and it began to cut (w/ smiths honing solution) razor steel pretty decently compared to the much finer surface prep it had previously which was super slow and no sward seen.

 

[Empire straights]

Been trying to understand most of the washita information.

One of my washitas i am using feels kind of hard and a fine like a hard ark, not easily friable that i can tell.

Definitely cuts the steel on my knive examples, but the razor cutting seems really slow. Maybe not enough pressure being used. Its not killing a fine edge, which i assumed it would. Maybe i need to finish it lower on w/d.

Try thin lather or water on it. Sometimes that helps, and even fine stones got to be refreshed sometimes. I've recently started using lather on an old black norton hard ark(just shaved off of it) and it's been pretty spectacular.

 

[Empire straights]

I just refinished this specific washita at 320 and it began to cut (w/ smiths honing solution) razor steel pretty decently compared to the much finer surface prep it had previously which was super slow and no sward seen.

Yeah that's about the max I'd prep them to, they cut great right there and they'll settle in quickly.

 

[Wid]

I really need to refresh the Lily White have. It’s like using a hard ark right now with very cutting of steel.

Tried it with my pocket knife and got no where fast.

 

[Wid]

So I went and lapped the Washita with 320 sic. Now it’s acting like I expected. Cuts nice but not to fast and with decreased pressure it put a nice edge on my carry knife.

 

[SliceOfLife]

Yeah, the hard washita's will clog REAL bad if someone doesn't properly lubricate and clean them. Easy to refresh, exactly as you did.

 

[Empire straights]

So I went and lapped the Washita with 320 sic. Now it’s acting like I expected. Cuts nice but not to fast and with decreased pressure it put a nice edge on my carry knife. View attachment 1366182View attachment 1366183

Once you get it settled in it could be used on razors . Fresh washita is simply fantastic for knives and chisels, way too aggressive for razors, but still my favorite general stones.

 

[Wid]

Once you get it settled in it could be used on razors . Fresh washita is simply fantastic for knives and chisels, way too aggressive for razors, but still my favorite general stones.

I left the top side alone. It can still be used on a razor.

 

[Empire straights]

I left the top side alone. It can still be used on a razor.

That's what I usually do as well. If the bottom of the stone was unused(and not broken from being glued) time and fine dirt, dust, and sand that gets into the boxes imparts a pretty delicate finish. The other side is usually dished so I let that be the aggressive side. Even so once the aggressive side *firsts* settles in and doesn't feel like it's gritty at all they do killer bevel work on razors and with that feather light hand and pure mineral oil you can still get that rough side to make that bevel pretty dang fine.