Stones that were let downs

[Oilstone]

I had one with an absolutely pristine binder and some less so over the years. By barber hone standards, that well-preserved Norton was excellent for a barber hone but not a patch on any modern high grit synth finisher. I like the Brackett's but that really isn't a barber hone in spirit because it just isn't fast enough. The 00 is ok, the tonsorial gem is ok, deluxe no 500 is ok. I never tried super punjab so idk what the edge characteristics are like with that one for the things to go for norton money. Honestly, the ones I have found most enjoyable to shave off of have been really good examples of swaty-style b hones but they are so inconsistent even like for like.

Swaty hones for me were hit or miss too. Esp if the guy before lapped them and didn't condition or lapped them and the surface was wrecked bc the binder was toast.

 

[SliceOfLife]

I used them on the bench. I'd say too big to hold... 12x4" if memory serves. I mean it's nice having that much area... but I didn't ever really care for the hones much. They tended to leave a pretty wiry-feeling edge for me. Not a very good shave in my book.


Best/most consistent Barbers I've found are the fake coti's with the coti dust synth top and weird very thin slate-ish back. They're probably the only barbers synth stone I'd trust to drop $50 on and EXPECT I'm getting a good razor finisher. Panama's are good, but my sample was small (Think I've had three, and each one was good, but different from the others)... and most others I've had that excelled were unstamped/unid'ed.

 

[Tomo]

Mostly Coticules and Jnats. There’s an element of pot luck with these stones.