Fluffy’s Curmudgeon Corner

"Talk to the hand"

Now this is just plain creeping me out!
Creepy goat or lama on Paul's journal, and creepy hands here!

How am I supposed to have nice dreams nw?!

Well folks there was a surprise for me today in the mailbox. The USPS had not projected this package to be in my box until Monday. So imagine my shock when I reached in and found this hunk of Guangxi stone waiting for me. I will have to get some silicon carbide from work to flatten one at least one side. From a cursory examination. It is a very dense stone. Fine "grain" structure to it. Almost slate like feel. Without the "layers" effect in it. A few years ago the honing sections were full of people getting these and trying them. Most people saying that they worked. Some really liking them.  Not much chatter about them these days. 
They seem to be by most accounts to be of 10-12K range. Many people have the Naniwa 12K super stones as finishers. 
Looking forward to playing with it and seeing what it is capable of.

I know nothing of the stones but is that a couple of cracks I see. If no concern congratulations !

Yea Dave one side has a few shallow cracks. That will be the “back”. It was reflected in the price of the stone. Shouldn’t be an issue.

Yea Dave one side has a few shallow cracks. That will be the “back”. It was reflected in the price of the stone. Shouldn’t be an issue.

I figure as I know you know what you're doing. Was just curious

"Talk to the hand"

Now this is just plain creeping me out!
Creepy goat or lama on Paul's journal, and creepy hands here!

How am I supposed to have nice dreams nw?!

I was wondering if anyone saw the “hands” in those handle reflections

Thank you for giving me waaaay too much credit Dave in KY .  Don't really know what the heck I'm doing getting another hone.

Saturday shave.


Genco Pyramid Razor
PAA Hotel Cecil Soap
Yaqui Badger
Nivea Deep Bourbon & Vanilla AS

Decent shave. But the old Genco was a bit tuggy. So of course it shall be touched up. And as luck would have it. My new Guangxi Hone is lapped and ready to go. 
Stay tuned for my thoughts on the efficacy of the Guangxi Hone on the first run. 
Fluffy

GUANGXI HONE

Much anticipated, long awaited first hone.

It took about 30 minutes to flatten the Guangxi stone and remove the saw marks. After that I prepped the surface with 1K grit wet sandpaper. The resulting "feel" on my fingers to the stone is similar to a Norton 8K. The size is almost identical to my Gokumyo 20K. So it fits right in the rubber holder which is a bonus.  
The Genco Pyramid razor was a bit tuggy yesterday during my shave. So this was a touch up for the razor. I have found that the best way to use natural hones is to use them without taping the spine. With tape on at least for me, I cannot feel when the blade starts to "stick" to the surface. Which indicates that the edge has been refined to the point where it's flat on the hone. The absence of a gap creates suction. 
The stone has a little more gritty feel to it than a Norton 8K. But because the particles may cut differently so that is not a sure thing that it will polish like a more course stone. 
After about 30 minutes of experimenting with the stone. The Genco began to "stick" to the stone. I did a bit more weight of the blade strokes to finish. HHT test felt ok. After stropping it improved to what my test after my Arkansas and Gokumyo feel like. You will hear my thoughts about how we got along after tonight's shave. 

Fluffy

     Very cool Ken.  You are a shaver, a sharpener, a showman, and accomplished at all three.

I don't know if it's the stone thing or what - see Stubble Daddy' s journal - but the drama is going around (in a good way).




...  Staying tuned.