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  1. #1
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    Jan 2009
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    Australia
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    Default Straight Razor stone

    I bought this on the weekend. Sitting very lonely in an antique shop.
    I have tried googling etc to identify it.
    I think it is a CLFS Christian Luthard Fikken or (Luther Fickt) Sohn from Steinach???

    It is graded 'blue'.
    How would I identify the 'coarseness'? It feels very smooth to the touch.

    It also has a few tiny (not deep) scratches I'd like to remove. As a complete novice should I attempt to flatten them out as described in some of the threads here, eg glass plate, compound etc?

    The stone is glued into the box. If I use it as a water stone how will the water affect the box??
    Should it really be glued in???

    Any thoughts/suggestions/advice greatly appreciated as always.
    Lyle

    Sharpening stone2.jpgSharpening stone1.jpg
    Last edited by Lyle; 30th January 2017 at 12:58 PM. Reason: add info

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  3. #2
    Join Date
    May 2021
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    SA
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    Default

    Sorry to revive a very old thread here, but it just caught my eye as I was reading through things on the forum. As I've been experimenting using Willunga slates for sharpening and have developed a slightly geeky interest in the use and history of slates as whetstones.

    Do you use this stone now? What do you think of it? If you were right (and I think you very probably were) that it's an old German slate, then good examples are apparently pretty well thought of. Particularly, as you say - for honing razors, though I imagine would work as a super fine finishing stone for chisels too. I've never used one, but would be keen to hear your thoughts...

    (And on the off chance that you don't use it, and it's just sitting gathering dust somewhere, I'd be happy to give you some $ to take it off your hands!)

  4. #3
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    May 2021
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    SA
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    Default

    (Oh and - I'm sure you've found this out in the intervening years, but just in case - I think they're normally meant to be around 10k, give or take a few k either side. It'd be better if you can get the stone out of the box so it'll dry properly after use; *very* low heat in an oven for 5 or ten mins to soften the glue would help remove it. And a diamond plate or sandpaper on a flat surface would take scratches out quite easily, but there might not be a massive need for it from those pics.)

  5. #4
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    Jan 2009
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    Australia
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    Default

    Hello.
    Sorry not to reply straight away.
    Interestingly, I was going to try it out on a plane blade this weekend.
    You're thinking it might be 10k grit. That'll be great to finish a blade.
    I'll give it a try.
    Lyle

  6. #5
    Join Date
    May 2021
    Location
    SA
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    Default

    Ah nice! Would be very keen to hear your thoughts.

    As I say I've never used one, but from what I've read about this kind of thing, and from using other slates - it should be in the 8-12k range. And should be very good for finishing razors/chisels/plane blades.

    Hope it works nicely for you, cos if so that'll be a really good find! They haven't been mined in that particular area for a little while I don't think.

  7. #6
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    McBride BC Canada
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    3,543

    Default

    A straight razor should hot be expected to cut more than wet protein (whiskers).
    To old hands, that might mean no more than the long leather strop as seen in barber shops.
    To me, CrOx/AlOx honing compound on any sort of hard flat surface is the final step.
    Bevel angle maybe a couple of degrees each side.
    CrOx has a nominal particle size of 0.5 micron. AlOx is usually quoted as 0.25 micron nominal particle size.
    The surface looks very bright and shiny. Just that it's scratched so finely that the human eye doesn't have the resolution to see it.

  8. #7
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    May 2021
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    SA
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    Default

    That certainly does sound like super fine finishing with those compounds! I don't sharpen razors myself but have read quite a few people say they often finish on this kind of stone, or Welsh slates too. Especially the finer examples, which go up to 15k - 20k apparently.

    The metamorphic process in the formation of slate kind've compresses and rounds out the quartz in it. So even on coarser slate, say in the 3k range, you get an edge that comparatively refined, as they don't tend to do a huge amount of abrasion.

    I went to the Willunga Slate Museum recently (I was thrilled by the whole affair, my wife less so ) and they had this quite nice little picture showing about the formation of the stuff:

    IMG-3555.jpg
    Attached Images Attached Images

  9. #8
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    May 2021
    Location
    SA
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    Default

    Did you have any luck on your plane blade with this one btw...? I finished a Japanese plane blade on a local SA slate a little while back and it was very good. So I imagine your German one would be even better...

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