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GENUINE OLD ROCK ITILIAN RAZOR HONE AND COUSHIONED STROP – J. R. Torrey Razor Co
- Thread starter Smythe
- Start Date
Bart said:$16:thumbup:
Knowing something that most people don't know can be a big advantage on Ebay... You owe Smythe a beer for starting this thread, I think.
Well done, Caleb.:thumbup:
Bart.
Haha, I was just thinking the same thing. If Smythe posted on SRP about these, the prices would probably be 3-5 fold. Thanks for the info smythe! I will post a write up with pictures when it arrives!
Congrats for me! Thanks Smythe!
MrMaroon
Got the strop/hone today! The coticule looks exaclty like yours smythe. It has a VERY sandy cutting feel. It doesn't get black with water very quickly though. It is a hard stone, and has a bumpy feel. On my les latneuses after honing the steel on the surface of the hone is spread out in very fine amounts. On this hone it is only visible in little bumps. Probably where the garnets are sticking up higher. This could also explain the feedback.
I quickly Unicotted a razor with it and test shaved! The results were below par for me :thumbdown: My guess is that it is on the brisker side of the spectrum, but to my face it felt slightly harsh. So much for Old Rock! I am going to continue playing with it and will post some pics soon.
Oh, smythe, the thickness is 5-6mm on mine - I owe you a cold one!
have a good one,
MrMaroon
I quickly Unicotted a razor with it and test shaved! The results were below par for me :thumbdown: My guess is that it is on the brisker side of the spectrum, but to my face it felt slightly harsh. So much for Old Rock!
I am going to continue playing with it and will post some pics soon.Oh, smythe, the thickness is 5-6mm on mine - I owe you a cold one!
have a good one,
MrMaroon
Smythe
Well-Known Member
Hmmm… It would appear the “sandy” stones were favored in those days. On my stone the steel is also visible in sections, but the stone remains incredibly flat after many sharpened razors. BTW Did you lap the surface? That would remove any irregularities caused by misuse over the decades.
Yes please let us know how the detailed testing goes, there were also variations even in vintage hones so there will be differences...
Don't worry, that's exactly what happened when I first tried the stone... until I got to know it better, now the shaves are excellent.
I will drink a cold one to you my friend… have fun.
Yes please let us know how the detailed testing goes, there were also variations even in vintage hones so there will be differences...
Don't worry, that's exactly what happened when I first tried the stone... until I got to know it better, now the shaves are excellent.
I will drink a cold one to you my friend… have fun.
Bart
Well-Known Member
We are talking about a 4-sided paddle, right?
It appears to me that they would probably just use the Coticule part restoring bevel flatness, when the cushioned pasted strops stopped working because the edge became too convex after a prolonged time of use.
I don't think they intended the Coticule to be the finishing side of this honing tool.
Quite frankly, I believe Coticules in general were often more used for "bevel-setting" than for finishing, in the old days.
The traditional method is to use the stone with a "sharpening lather" (what we now call "slurry", and has, besides the resemblance, nothing to do with "shaving lather"), till the faces of the bevel are flat and the edge is nice and smooth. After that further refining is done on the pasted sides. The edge is stropped on clean leather daily and maintained with a few swipes on the finest paste at the earliest signs of deterioration.
All this doesn't mean the stone would not be able to deliver a great finish, just that it wasn't put there to do that. That Coticule became looked at as mere "finishing stones" is fairly recent development that sprouted on the US based internet forums. Probably because Coticule, when used with water have little trouble "improving" the edge left by a Norton 4K/8K, which has been the most recommended stone for sharpening razors, at least for the recent years of straight razor revival. If Coticules came after the Norton, they had to be finishers, right? The truth is slightly more complicated than that, I'm afraid.
A quick Unicot will give you a good idea of the actual finishing capabilities of this one.
Kind regards,
Bart.
It appears to me that they would probably just use the Coticule part restoring bevel flatness, when the cushioned pasted strops stopped working because the edge became too convex after a prolonged time of use.
I don't think they intended the Coticule to be the finishing side of this honing tool.
Quite frankly, I believe Coticules in general were often more used for "bevel-setting" than for finishing, in the old days.
The traditional method is to use the stone with a "sharpening lather" (what we now call "slurry", and has, besides the resemblance, nothing to do with "shaving lather"), till the faces of the bevel are flat and the edge is nice and smooth. After that further refining is done on the pasted sides. The edge is stropped on clean leather daily and maintained with a few swipes on the finest paste at the earliest signs of deterioration.
All this doesn't mean the stone would not be able to deliver a great finish, just that it wasn't put there to do that. That Coticule became looked at as mere "finishing stones" is fairly recent development that sprouted on the US based internet forums. Probably because Coticule, when used with water have little trouble "improving" the edge left by a Norton 4K/8K, which has been the most recommended stone for sharpening razors, at least for the recent years of straight razor revival. If Coticules came after the Norton, they had to be finishers, right?
The truth is slightly more complicated than that, I'm afraid.A quick Unicot will give you a good idea of the actual finishing capabilities of this one.
Kind regards,
Bart.
Ive played around with this stone some more. It doesn't seem like it will ever need lapping again! The interesting thing about this one is the ease of dilocot. I did two razors on it in relatively quick fashion and got better results than with any of my other coticules. The edge still isn't smooth enough for my liking though.
This hone does excell at sharpening knives! It cuts much faster than any of my others on that job. It also is hard enough to resist dishing to some degree.
Regards,
Mrmaroon
This hone does excell at sharpening knives! It cuts much faster than any of my others on that job. It also is hard enough to resist dishing to some degree.
Regards,
Mrmaroon