Water of Ayr, Tam O'Shanter, and the Scotch hone

[cotedupy]

But I still couldn't do a chef knife with a little razor hone.

Haha! Yeah perhaps 5x1 might be a little ambitious even for me. Might have a crack at it later for fun though...

You should have some beautifully done knives from this one.

Gave it a whirl last night on a friend's knife, and the little bit of extra height makes all the difference in terms of not having to faff around with a stone holder. This is a cracking finishing combi stone - Tams are really excellent for knives. This has got a pretty sweet HHT, but still with a load of teeth:

 

[Empire straights]

Haha! Yeah perhaps 5x1 might be a little ambitious even for me. Might have a crack at it later for fun though...



Gave it a whirl last night on a friend's knife, and the little bit of extra height makes all the difference in terms of not having to faff around with a stone holder. This is a cracking finishing combi stone - Tams are really excellent for knives. This has got a pretty sweet HHT, but still with a load of teeth:

View attachment 1397916

I've been doing the same. A quick, light, extensive amount of laps on a Tam after a bbw pick it up a ton. I don't get teeth like a washita but I have a light one and I have no idea what the grit is, I haven't played with it enough. I'd guess 6-7k+. It will put a very sharp, hair popping edge on my edc(s).

 

[Legion]

Haha! Yeah perhaps 5x1 might be a little ambitious even for me. Might have a crack at it later for fun though...



Gave it a whirl last night on a friend's knife, and the little bit of extra height makes all the difference in terms of not having to faff around with a stone holder. This is a cracking finishing combi stone - Tams are really excellent for knives. This has got a pretty sweet HHT, but still with a load of teeth:

View attachment 1397916

So do you do TOS, then BBW, or the other way around?

 

[Empire straights]

So do you do TOS, then BBW, or the other way around?

I would imagine the bbw first, that's how I've done mine anyway.

 

[Empire straights]

Haha! Yeah perhaps 5x1 might be a little ambitious even for me. Might have a crack at it later for fun though...



Gave it a whirl last night on a friend's knife, and the little bit of extra height makes all the difference in terms of not having to faff around with a stone holder. This is a cracking finishing combi stone - Tams are really excellent for knives. This has got a pretty sweet HHT, but still with a load of teeth:

View attachment 1397916

I wish I had one this size. Eventually I'll get a dual scotch hone with a Tam and dalmore. I've finished up a French knife with a 9" blade on this little 10cm x 1cm Tam O'shanter before and it did fine(just gotta be careful if you want to keep your fingers. Luckily for me I've already amputated half my thumb on my left hand so when I slip and would be cut badly for the most part it's the missing part of my thumb I'd hit.

 

[cotedupy]

This was a nice little find recently... an old box stamped, not labelled, Tam:

Most Tam labels read: 'Sharpen with Water or a Thin Oil. A change from the very old labels which said: 'Sharpen with Saliva or Water Don't Use Oil'.

This I assume predates labelling entirely, and advises: 'Sharpen with Spittle or Water Don't Use Oil':

So, do any of you TO'S experts know when they changed from stamps to labels, or from spittle to saliva to deciding that thin oil was actually alright after all...?

 

[cotedupy]

Did I have enough Tams already? Probably. What I didn't have until today though was an F.TOS...

This is a *really* sensational stone. It's probably rolling around the same kinda grit as a white Tam, though it's markedly softer, and faster. In fact it's quicker than any 'normal' Tam I have.

And although I just had really quite a nice shave off it, this one's not going to be for razors, cos it's a bit special... the F.TOS (at least mine) is an absolutely first rate polishing stone. So she's getting saved for yanagi .

 

[ables]

Did I have enough Tams already? Probably. What I didn't have until today though was an F.TOS...

View attachment 1434254


This is a *really* sensational stone. It's probably rolling around the same kinda grit as a white Tam, though it's markedly softer, and faster. In fact it's quicker than any 'normal' Tam I have.

And although I just had really quite a nice shave off it, this one's not going to be for razors, cos it's a bit special... the F.TOS (at least mine) is an absolutely first rate polishing stone. So she's getting saved for yanagi .

Grr! I think I was second highest on that one! Very nice stone!

I have a 3/4"x3/4"x6" TOS, my first, one of those machinest/watchmaker ones just to try out. And I actually have honed a razor on it carefully. It is faster and finer than I expected and really does have a fantastic slick drag feel. I was going to use it for slurry and cant wait to find a proper sized one sometime.

 

[cotedupy]

Grr! I think I was second highest on that one! Very nice stone!

I have a 3/4"x3/4"x6" TOS, my first, one of those machinest/watchmaker ones just to try out. And I actually have honed a razor on it carefully. It is faster and finer than I expected and really does have a fantastic slick drag feel. I was going to use it for slurry and cant wait to find a proper sized one sometime.

Ah sorry man! You were only one or two $ behind me too. If ever I decide to move it on you can have first call.

I have a suspicion that those small stick ones might be particularly fine examples of TOS as well - a lot of them look like White Tams to me. I certainly have other more normal-sized grey ones that wouldn't finish a razor, so I'd say look out for a White or Fine if that's what you're after.

(Tam Slurry on an Idwal could be cool btw . I must try that sometime, as it works a treat on CFs.)

 

[ables]

Ah sorry man! You were only one or two $ behind me too. If ever I decide to move it on you can have first call.

I have a suspicion that those small stick ones might be particularly fine examples of TOS as well - a lot of them look like White Tams to me. I certainly have other more normal-sized grey ones that wouldn't finish a razor, so I'd say look out for a White or Fine if that's what you're after.

(Tam Slurry on an Idwal could be cool btw . I must try that sometime, as it works a treat on CFs.)

Here's my TOS stick hone in all her glory!

I sprayed the label with acrylic spray which I've had good luck with to protect labels. It is kind of grey/green type I think but it really is fine, feels alot like a Thuringian to be honest. This razor is my trouble razor, a real PITA, that gets abused regularly. It is a newer Fromm razor and is surprisingly hard steel. It had a so/so barely shaving edge and I did full dilution progression with this TOS for about 15 minutes. Definitely improved the HHT and shave is better but needs more work. Probably gotta take it down a step.

My TOS stick a has a interesting grey circle that I'd never seen before in pictures, doesnt seem to have any different feel.

 

[cotedupy]

Here's my TOS stick hone in all her glory!

View attachment 1434647View attachment 1434648

I sprayed the label with acrylic spray which I've had good luck with to protect labels. It is kind of grey/green type I think but it really is fine, feels alot like a Thuringian to be honest. This razor is my trouble razor, a real PITA, that gets abused regularly. It is a newer Fromm razor and is surprisingly hard steel. It had a so/so barely shaving edge and I did full dilution progression with this TOS for about 15 minutes. Definitely improved the HHT and shave is better but needs more work. Probably gotta take it down a step.

My TOS stick a has a interesting grey circle that I'd never seen before in pictures, doesnt seem to have any different feel.

View attachment 1434649

Ah cool! Yeah that looks like quite White Tam-ish to me. Maybe not quite as white as mine, but they probably exist on a spectrum I imagine. It wouldn't surprise me if these funny shape jewellers stones were selected as being very fine.

Somewhere earlier in this thread I think - @timwcic had a Tam with a massive dark circle on it, that looked like someone had burnt the bottom of the stone. Perhaps a similar kind of inclusion...?

 

[timwcic]

Here's my TOS stick hone in all her glory!

View attachment 1434647View attachment 1434648

I sprayed the label with acrylic spray which I've had good luck with to protect labels. It is kind of grey/green type I think but it really is fine, feels alot like a Thuringian to be honest. This razor is my trouble razor, a real PITA, that gets abused regularly. It is a newer Fromm razor and is surprisingly hard steel. It had a so/so barely shaving edge and I did full dilution progression with this TOS for about 15 minutes. Definitely improved the HHT and shave is better but needs more work. Probably gotta take it down a step.

My TOS stick a has a interesting grey circle that I'd never seen before in pictures, doesnt seem to have any different feel.

View attachment 1434649

Ah cool! Yeah that looks like quite White Tam-ish to me. Maybe not quite as white as mine, but they probably exist on a spectrum I imagine. It wouldn't surprise me if these funny shape jewellers stones were selected as being very fine.

Somewhere earlier in this thread I think - @timwcic had a Tam with a massive dark circle on it, that looked like someone had burnt the bottom of the stone. Perhaps a similar kind of inclusion...?

It does have the same strange looking inclusion that is in my white Tam. Its on the bottom and has no effect on the business end

 

[ables]

It does have the same strange looking inclusion that is in my white Tam. Its on the bottom and has no effect on the business end

View attachment 1436565View attachment 1436566

Really cool, I searched every image of TOS I could find and had never seen these grey blobs. I was worried mine would be toxic but like yours it feels exactly the same. This TOS stone's slurry is the slickest slurry I've ever felt, I can see why it is often recommended.

 

[Empire straights]

Got this in today. It had saw marks on all sides so it's never been used. I lapped it and touched up a knife on it. It's softer than my skinny stick but about as fine, not quite but close. Nice little find I hadn't seen one that was 11/16th and I grabbed it for cheap.

 

[Empire straights]

This one is softer than my 6x 0.5 is, at least it slurries faster when used as a rub stone. The slurry from this one seems faster than my other but just as fine.

 

[rideon66]

Picked up an odd boxed 8”x 2” Tam O Shanter. It has an odd dark transition layer. When wet it just looks black. After soaking and lapping it. The back dry has a little bit of a tam look to it.

Wet

 

[rideon66]

Dry

 

[Wid]

Dry
View attachment 1464420View attachment 1464421View attachment 1464422View attachment 1464423View attachment 1464424

Beautiful stone

 

[cotedupy]

Dry
View attachment 1464420View attachment 1464421View attachment 1464422View attachment 1464423View attachment 1464424

Nice! That other side is actually the same kind of tint as my 'Blue' TO'S, though mine isn't quite as dark.

 

[rideon66]

Nice! That other side is actually the same kind of tint as my 'Blue' TO'S, though mine isn't quite as dark.

Thanks Oli.

Yeah before I soaked and lapped it. It was all black wet or dry. Which it needed a lot of lapping on that side. The seller apparently lapped it with concrete or something crazy. Deep nasty scratches and gouges. I think he was trying to figure out what it was. Since he thought originally it was two stones and not one. He originally listed it as a Scotch dual hone till I told him it appeared to be one stone and I didn't think they ever came that way. Then he lapped it some to see and agreed. I wish he had not done that.

Need to do some testing yet.