Wild Whetstone Ancient Ocean Jasper

Gents,

I have been having some fun testing different finishers, and I have out the Zulu Grey, Purple Welsh, Arkansas Tanslucent, Arkansas Black, and the Charnley Forest through their paces.  Out of the pile of rocks, the Charnley Forest was my favorite finisher.  However, something told me that I should continue the search.

I decided I get a JNAT Nakayama something or other, but BBS Kirk sang the Ancient Ocean Jasper high praises.  I had heard good things about it before, and instead of going with a tried and true Nakayama JNAT...I went with a “translucent” Ancient Ocean Jasper.  That is what Gabe, the proprietor, of Wild Whetstones calls it, but it is really just brown butterscotch/grey in color.  This is a translucent Arkansas stone....


My 8x3x1 Butterscotch Ancient Ocean Jasper...not translucent!


However, it is a good looking stone, so no real complaint!


This is the hardest stone I have ever lapped, and it took me just over five hours with a nano plate and a DMT 325.  If you get one I highly recommend using a glass plate with SIC powder, and starting off with the 60-100 range, and then working up from there.

Once it was lapped flat on one side, I ran my Brian Brown beater razor on it for 50 laps.  This razor was freshly honed, and the bevel near the edge was a nice evenly consistent frosted/glazed/hazy appearance near the edge.  After 50 laps with just water on the stone a mirror appeared on the bevel near the edge...I did another 50 light laps, and the mirror on the bevel near the edge became even more refined.  I was floored, and pleasantly surprised to get this from a natural rock.  I looked at this under a 10x loupe, and the edge was pristine and was passing the HHT all along the cutting surface.  I thought to myself... “Yeah it’s a pretty novelty, but will it shave well?”  



So I shaved with it, and again...I was floored.  The shave was impeccable, and the edge felt like the perfect balance between sharp and smooth for my face.  It was better than the Charnley Forest edges that I had been getting.  The usual descriptors apply...butter...silky smooth...etc!

So I had a bunch of razors that I ran through a progression of natural stones, and I started putting the same jasper edge on them....mirror after mirror, and I can’t wait to use all six of them.

Yesterday, I received a Zwillingswerk 14 in the mail that has been in use for the last 85+ years and it shows. I suspect someone damaged the tip, and had the front ground down since it measures about 2.9 long, where my NOS Z14 is over three inches long. However, it had a nice bevel, nice hollow grind, and a straight spine...it also is just under 7/8 wide.

One of the things that the seller claims is that the Ancient Ocean Jasper replaces all stones after your bevel setter, including your finisher.  

I like using a multi stone progression, and again...I was skeptical, and so I tried it with the beater Z14.  I killed the edge, did some light bevel work on a Chosera 1k, then went to the Ancient Ocean Jasper...I slurried it, honed, slurried it again, honed, and continued to dilute with water from my spray bottle until i was just honing on the stone with water.  At that point I tested to see how it would do on arm hair, and the hair simply was wiped off my arm.  Then I honed on the jasper under a light and steady stream of water coming down in the middle of the stone.  I did this for just a few minutes until the razor was sucking down onto the stone, and I was really feeling the stiction.  At that point I Knew it was done, inspected the bevel near the edge with my eye, and it was a mirror...I looked under a 10x loupe, and it was beautiful!  I stropped, and shaved.  I was again floored...it behaved exactly as Gabe said it would, and the resultant edge was fantastic, and the shave even better.


In conclusion, my search for the ultimate finisher is over, and I don’t think I am going to bother going down the thuringian and JNAT rabbit holes.  I am 100% happy with the edges that I am getting from the Ancient Ocean Jasper!

My wallet can stop its crying!

Has anyone else had a lot of experience with these stones?  If so, how was it for you?

Thanks!

Vr

Matt

Excellent!!!!! I’m glad you love it as much as I do. Gabe is a good guy and helped me along the way. They are better than Jnats! If you have the $, I would seriously consider getting one. I am not connected to Gabe by the way. I am just a giddy customer!!!

After being woefully unprepared to lap this Jasper stone, and wasting hours with a DMT 325 and nano plate, and still not being 100% happy, I bought a 15x18, 1/2 inch thick, tempered glass plate, and SiC powders in an effort to get my stone EXACTLY where I wanted it to be for use.  I wish I had just gone this route when I first started learning to hone my razors.

The company I used is called Dulles Glass and Mirror, and I had my custom cut piece of glass within a few days.  Here are a few pictures of the glass plate.



I lapped both sides flat with 80 grit, and then went through the progression of 120, 220, 400, and 600.  The one side will be used to reclaim full edges, and the other will be used as the finishing side.  The last step before clean up was to use 800 grit SiC on the finishing side.  Here is a picture where you can see the finish, and slight reflective properties:



I think that the first razor I will hone on the newly finished stone will be the 1st gen Salamanca Filarmonica 14.  We’ll see how it goes!

Vr

Matt

So this Fili 14 needed honed, so I killed the edge on a bottle, set the bevel on my Chosera 1k, slurried the sharpening side, honed, slurried it again, honed, and then finished on the polishing side.

Two stones to sharpen a razor to a hair splitting edge with a stunning mirror finished on the bevel near the edge.  I was extremely skeptical, but I can tell you I am now a believer!

I will use this razor tomorrow, and I am looking forward to it!

Vr

Matt

Gents, 

I really want to master this Jasper stone, and so I got it out this morning along with my experimental BB razor above.  The Brian Brown only has one shave on it, but I wanted to see if I could improve upon the mirror along the bevel near the edge that is visible to the naked eye, and also to see if I could reduce the very minuscule scratch pattern under the 10x loupe.   

The initial shave was superb, but I had since lapped this stone, and wanted to see what’s what.

At any rate, I put the stone under a very gentle stream of water at my sink, and it only took 9 laps before I started to feel the slight stiction of the razor on the jasper.  At the 17th lap I had a very nice even stiction all along the edge on the down and back portions of the full lap.  I figured it was done.

So I dried it off with a tissue, and looked under the loupe.  I was very happy to see zero issues with the edge, and that there was no discernible scratch pattern to mention.  I have seen this before on a razor that Max Sprecher honed for me with synthetic stones, but never with a natural stone.

To the naked eye the mirror along the bevel near the edge appears perfect, and I was able to capture this with my cellphone.  In this first picture you can see the lens of my cellphone camera on the left near the heel.



I am wearing my favorite Hawaiian shirt today, and you can see it along the edge in these next photos.



Again, I realize that a shiny edge doesn’t necessarily equate to a world class shave.  However, if the last few efforts are an indicator of how the shave will go, it should be excellent!

I’ll give it a try later today!

Vr

Matt

Gents,

The edge approached the level of sharpness that I have obtained using CrOx, but maintained the majority of its smoothness (unlike CrOx edges on my face).

Very excellent!

Vr

Matt

Love to see the jasper is working out for you and keeping the honing fun! Edge looks nice just like the lather shots

Thanks Zack!  I am always looking to improve every aspect of the shave...part of the fun for sure!

Vr

Matt

Gents,

This first gen Fili 14 has not had the easiest life...it is 7/8+ which is nice, but it has been shortened to about 2.95, there is some oxidation here and there, and it has had some restoration work.

I killed the edge on a glass bottle, set the bevel with a chosera 1k, went to the side of the jasper that I slurry with the DMT 325, and finished on the finishing side under water.  Again, the bevel near the edge is a mirror, and this razor easily pass the HHT everywhere!

This Fili was down,  but clearly not out...it took a SCREAMING edge, and I will shave test it tomorrow.  Based off of the other edges, I know it’s going to be great!

Vr

Matt

Yes...this little Fili has found a home!  Spectacular shave!

Vr

Matt