Let's play 'Guess the Layer'!!!

[yohannrjm]

I wanted a nice, long, narrow hone, and I picked one up recently.

It is a 'newly mined' hone, so perhaps the layer can be guessed by the amazing gentlemen on here.

Here are the pics (the second and third pics have the white balance mostly right):

It is a nice, slowish hone (in very limited use), that seems to really polish an edge.

 

[life2short1971]

I think its a La Dressante.

 

[yohannrjm]

That's what I thought too (especially as most of the stones from Ardennes these days seem to be La Dressante). I didn't trust my identification, though.

 

[danjared]

La Grise? It resembles my new baby. (Were they twins, and did you steal my other one? )

 

[yohannrjm]

I'm not sure, Jared. I didn't see your new hone. I thought you picked up a Les Latneuses from SS.

BTW, did you receive the hone I sent you?

 

[danjared]

Okay, looking at the side view, it's very clearly a La Grise (unless Maurice Celis is wrong). Notice the picture in my thread on La Grise sublayers.

 

[danjared]

I meant to tell you that I in fact received it today. I can't wait to play with it, along with my new La Grise. Tell me, doesn't your new hone smell absolutely wonderful?

 

[yohannrjm]

I haven't been sniffing it to find out if it smells nice. : I usually do notice, so I must have a cold.

What's your impression of your La Grise so far? I've only taken one razor to this one. It seems to be slow with water only, but the edge is polished like no other coticule I've used.

Oh! And I'm glad to hear that the hone got to you. Let me know what you think of it once you've had a chance to use it for a while.

 

[danjared]

I haven't tried this one yet, but I felt stupid after selling my previous one. I think this is my favorite layer. We will see once I give this one a spin. From my experience and from what I've heard from Bart, these are easy to dilucot on, i.e. very forgiving. My previous one wasn't as fast as the more popular veins (La Petite Blanche, La Veinette, Les Latneuses and the faster La Dressantes), but it excelled at being solid at everything. I'll let you know when I'm old how the next lowest sublayer is!

 

[garyhaywood]

It looks like my la grosse jaune. Number 21 in the vault. Having said that the lines across the face of the stone look like La drassante marking's. I'm not sure . As you say it seems like Ardanees have a lot of La drassante in stock. My guess is La drassante .

regards gary

 

[Bart]

If you see an overall pattern that resembles woodgrain, you have to think La Grise, unless the stone looks distinctly green, in which case it's a La Verte (not the case here). Or, if the hone turns from pale to deep yellow when moistened, it's a La Grosse Jaune. (very rare nowadays, but you never know when they start digging elsewhere they might turn up again)

There are other layers with woodgrain patterning, but seldom so uniform as a La Grise.

Sometimes there's a bit of a more reddish grain present as well.

If you see many blue hairlines in the side of a patterned Coticule, you're looking at a La Nouvelle Veine, but they have usually a more blotched surface look.

This one almost certainly compares to n°47 of the Vault. If you read my pencil writing on the surface of that one, you'll notice that I initially doubted (hoped, because I'd really like to get my hands on one) for a Le Grosse Jaune. But I had to qualify it as La Grise eventually.

Kind regards,
Bart.

 

[yohannrjm]

Thanks guys!!

Gary: Given Bart's statement in this and previous threads that La Grosse Jaune stones get very yellow when wet, I'd say this isn't LGJ. It stays the same colour as it is when dry.

It certainly is very slow on pure water, but it leaves a very fine edge. So, it does look like it may be a La Grise. The 'wood-grain' is consistent through the whole length of the hone. There are only a couple of what look like hairline cracks across it.

Either way, I'm very pleased with it. It feels great to hone on.