Charnley Forest Stone!

Gents,

Happy Fathers Day! When I purchased this stone I was excited, but it was during the very nascent stages of my honing efforts.

I quickly realized my honing skills were not developed enough to do sufficient x-strokes on a two inch wide stone. I placed it in a drawer, and pretty much forgot about it. However, as I have honed more and more and experimented with strokes and lightness of touch, I have gotten better. I saw this in my drawer this morning, and decided to give it a whirl.

I finished this razor just the other day on a Zulu Grey stone, and I did approximately 200 very light laps on this stone. I simply sprayed it with water, and put a drop of dish soap on it.

I am really glad that I got this out!  The edge was wonderfully smooth, and sharp!  One of the smoothest I have used!


Vr

Matt

Ever since that shave I have wondered if the Charnley Forest stone was the real deal, or if the edge produced was a fluke.  So I took one of my favorite razors, and finished it with 100 laps on this rock followed by stropping of 20 laps on flax linen, 20 laps on rough leather paddle strop, and 50 laps on TM Norween strop.  It’s passing the HHT from heel to toe, and I am REALLY looking forward to my next shave!

Vr

Matt

Did you reset the bevel? What is the grit on this stone?

Kirk,

Nope...the bevel had already been set on my Chosera 1K after I killed the edge on a beer bottle.  I then took this razor through the next four natural stones from Zulu Grey...a black one, a silkvein, a stout green one, and finally the Zulu Grey.  

I had not used it since re-honing it, and I just felt like doing a hundred laps on the Charnley Forest to see what impact it would have on the shave.

I have no clue what the grit equivalent is...I don’t pay too much to that for natural stones.  I will report back the next time I shave...sometime over the next few days!

Vr

Matt

Sounds great Matt!

Gents, 

The second edge I tried off of the Charnley Forest is also one of the smoothest I have used as well.  

This stone is a winner, and this Wacker is one of my favorites.

Great shave!

Vr

Matt

Funny how my story with this stone has been essentially the same!



My first serious finisher, but such tiny width was quite challenging to manage for a newbie.
After few years I can say that it’s now one of my absolute favorite and a fundamental step through my learning process, actually thanks to its narrow shape.
I enjoy it on plain water too, when I want to take it zen like today:

How do these compare to good jnats?

Depends. By the jnat and by the Charnley Forest - and by the hand, of course.
If I’d to name one objective thing where my CF falls behind is probably speed. Gap is shorter if used with oil or glycerin, but still there. They also tend to soften the crispy edge that usually comes out from water, more evident on stainless blades to me. Nevertheless, I love to keep mine on water.
Keep in mind that finding a good Charnley can be as difficult - and expensive - as finding a good jnat.