Thread: Smith's Honing Solution for Oil Stones

+1 on the Charnley. It can be a really nice finishing stone. I usually go to mine after an 8K and use 10 NO PRESSURE X strokes on it. It actually hits first time on about 7 out of 10 razors. I like starting with 10 strokes on the finishers as it will build up a knowledge base of whether too much or too little that helps you gain consistency with that particular stone. You can always go up or down with 3-5 strokes and normally you will end up with a decent shave in just a few tries. On the hardest stones however, it can take a lot more strokes and fiddling.

I did try building a light slurry a couple times with the Charnley. What a mess!! My Charnley has a grainy feel to it to begin with and the slurry was just not needed and was a pain to get totally cleaned off with the oil on the stone.

Have fun.

Originally Posted by Lynn

+1 on the Charnley. It can be a really nice finishing stone. I usually go to mine after an 8K and use 10 NO PRESSURE X strokes on it. It actually hits first time on about 7 out of 10 razors. I like starting with 10 strokes on the finishers as it will build up a knowledge base of whether too much or too little that helps you gain consistency with that particular stone. You can always go up or down with 3-5 strokes and normally you will end up with a decent shave in just a few tries. On the hardest stones however, it can take a lot more strokes and fiddling.

I did try building a light slurry a couple times with the Charnley. What a mess!! My Charnley has a grainy feel to it to begin with and the slurry was just not needed and was a pain to get totally cleaned off with the oil on the stone.

Have fun.

Lynn,

Thanks for the advice. I've corresponded with several members and each has, let's say, mastered their stone, but each one is different. I'll follow your advice and after some attempts, I'll post my progress or lack thereof.

Thanks,

Howard

Originally Posted by gssixgun

I think you will find the CF to be a fine stone Howard, but they do IMHO, require a ton of tweaking until you get them really working right for you...
The only piece of advice I could give is get very light on this stone, I use I do believe the lightest touch out of all my finishers on my CF and the lap count you are just going to have to figure out Good luck

Glen,

I'll be following your advice also on light pressure. Thanks for the help!

Howard

[QUOTE=Lynn;897094I did try building a light slurry a couple times with the Charnley. What a mess!! My Charnley has a grainy feel to it to begin with and the slurry was just not needed and was a pain to get totally cleaned off with the oil on the stone.

Have fun.[/QUOTE]

+1
I tried the slurry using a DMT325 with a bit of lather and totally agree, way to grainy.. I of course heard that it worked well from another Honer but it must be a case of YMMV and it varied to the NoGo side for me too

Slurry on my CF...no way Jose'. My stone is a lot slower than yours Lynn, I'm in the 60x to start range. Slow & light strokes...

New oil is on the way...

I have had good success with straight glycerin diluted down to the consistency of light oil on the Nakayama Maruichi. Glycerin seems to refine the edge better than plain water on the Jnat finisher. I ahaven't tried it on the Escher yet but plan to directly.

Jerry

Originally Posted by Lynn

+1 on the Charnley. It can be a really nice finishing stone. I usually go to mine after an 8K and use 10 NO PRESSURE X strokes on it. It actually hits first time on about 7 out of 10 razors. I like starting with 10 strokes on the finishers as it will build up a knowledge base of whether too much or too little that helps you gain consistency with that particular stone. You can always go up or down with 3-5 strokes and normally you will end up with a decent shave in just a few tries. On the hardest stones however, it can take a lot more strokes and fiddling.

I did try building a light slurry a couple times with the Charnley. What a mess!! My Charnley has a grainy feel to it to begin with and the slurry was just not needed and was a pain to get totally cleaned off with the oil on the stone.

Have fun.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

I think you will find the CF to be a fine stone Howard, but they do IMHO, require a ton of tweaking until you get them really working right for you...
The only piece of advice I could give is get very light on this stone, I use I do believe the lightest touch out of all my finishers on my CF and the lap count you are just going to have to figure out Good luck

I finally got to use the Charnley, phew! I touched up a 7/8 Friodur INOX and love the results! Since I couldn't start with all the recommendations on oil/solutions, I started with the seller, nun2sharp's, suggestion - 3 in 1 oil. Besides that should be the thickest of recommendations. Used 4 or 5 small drops and smoothed it over the surface. Wiped excess oil from the blade on the first 3 or 4 laps and smoothed the remaining oil over the surface again. Completed 10 light laps, checked arm hair. Did another 10 light laps and arm test again. Made 5 light as I could achieve final laps. Hair fell over above the skin at the slightest touch. Test shaved and it was smooth and very comfortable. I think the stone was faster than the Naniwa 12k, and smoother (shave) than the Shapton 16k which I find can be a little harsh even after paste. Anyway, I'm lovin the Charnley, which is good, because my wife's not going for a 2nd mortgage to get an Escher. Oh yeah! Have the Smith's honing solution in the mail.

Thanks to all of you who gave advice. Kelly, Scott, Glen, and Lynn, and Jimmy who helped push me over the edge!!

Best Regards,

Howard

Has anyone tried the Medallion, paraffin free Lamp Oil? I have found it to be thinner than K-1 grade Kerosene but not as thin as water & soap.