Welsh Hone?

[Acmemfg]

I have the opportunity to pick up a Welsh -LLYN-MELYNLLYN or YELLOWLAKE stone for what seems to be a reasonable price. I know nothing about these. My current stone catalog consists of a Belgian Coticule, a King 1k, Norton 4k/8k, and a Naniwa 12k. Question is do I really need this stone or will my current crop of hones do essentially the same thing as this Welsh rock? I'm not a collector and don't really want two or more stones that basically do the same thing, but just slightly different (does that make sense?)

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[Gamma]

You gotta try the stone out - see what you can do with it.

 

[tomjr]

not needed IMO.

 

[Brooksie967]

I own it and like it and prefer the edge it imparts over the naniwa 12k stone but its absolutely unnecessary to buy this stone with your current setup.

 

[Acmemfg]

"I own it and like it and prefer the edge it imparts over the naniwa 12k stone but its absolutely unnecessary to buy this stone with your current setup"

"not needed IMO."

What I needed to know...........thanks.

 

[Gamma]

Some, not I, might even argue that the 12k or the Coti are superfluous on your lineup; that you don't need one or the other.

Need is a fuuny word - it can really only be determined by the person asking.
From where I sit, you don't own a slate hone, and you have 4 stones, 3 of which are synthetic.
The welsh is a natural slate, and it may provide a completely different spin on things that you prefer - or not.
The welsh slate will be a markedly different stone in all regards, and you probably won't be able to mimick its action with what you already own. Time and time again Ive seen where person A says this/that stone is good/bad/etc - and it turned out that they were less than accirate.

A lot of people love Welsh slates - some do not. You may find one to be indispensable - you may not.

What you need, or find necessary - is your call. Determining what you need, based on the opinions of others, ESP those that haven't seen or touched the exact stone you're considering - seems prohibitive to success or advancement.

Essentially - all hones do basically the same thing. At that common denominator level no one needs another anything after they get a shaving edge.

Here, many of us strive for another level of understanding and proficiency; but everyone gets to choose where they stand on this topic and there is no right/wrong way. If someone is happy with what they have - then they may not need anything else.

Bottom line - Sometimes you won't know what you need until you try it, and Its beyond me to understand how anyone other than yourself can decide what you need.

But -when someone asks for opinions, I suppose theyre going to get some.

 

[Brooksie967]

To keep your setup as minimalistic as possible, I think that's what you're trying to do here, there's no need for it. It gives wonderful edges and it's been proven time and time again. People that don't like it probably don't spend the right amount of time with it to figure it out. Don't worry about what it could do, how much you might like it, you can get excellent results with the setup you have. The naniwa 12k is a very prefferred stone and is really the benchmark finisher that most compare their hones to. You can and will get great smooth edges out of it.

If what you are looking for is something drastically better, look into the new 20k stone people are talking about or spend the money on a JNAT and nagura progression.

A cheap alternative to getting the most out of your edges are pastes and sprays on stropping medium. Another super cheap way to go is the film route, don't count it out as it is seemingly a growing trend here.

 

[BakerAndBadger]

ask the missus if you need it, that's often a better gauge than asking the resident enablers here! Or don't ask her if you really want one, you might not like her answer
i have one and have probably used it three or four times when I first got it. I find the edge was harsher than I like but I got it early on in my honing "career" and so should probably think about giving it another crack of the whip.