Thread: Charnley Forest hone

Item for review:

... is a Charnley Forest hone. These are no longer in production so they are becoming increasingly rare. I was lucky enough to snag one on eBay however, so this is what I've found after trying it out!

This is a long stone (10" x 2.5") and is mounted securely to a heavy wooden base (practically a railway sleeper!) that has been treated with pitch for water resistance. Which smells great by the way..! The stone itself is a dark green colour with the red flecks that are typical of Charnley Forest stones. I'll get some pics to attach to the review soon.

The stone needed lapping when I got it, which I did with a 325 grit DMT. Weirdly, despite the stone being green, the slurry that comes off it actually looks pink. Must be the red flecks!

This is a HARD stone and it took a while to get the pencil grid fully removed. However once done the colour of the stone lightened slightly and it was ready for use.

Procedure:

I have a W&B silversteel 6/8" hollow ground that I had honed on a 1/4/8/16k set of Shaptons, but had not been finished so I figured that would be a good razor to use.

I taped the spine of the razor (which I always do), wet the hone with some water and started my X patterns. In the end I did about 40 X strokes with virtually no pressure, just the weight of the blade.

As I said, this stone is hard, and doesnt have the same satiny feedback of my Maruichi. It felt quite similar to running the razor over a 16k Shapton, although there was a little more glide to the stroke.

Under a loupe the edge is somewhere between the almost mirror polish of the 16k Shapton and the satin look of the Maruichi.

I didnt want to alter the edge any with pastes, so I just stropped the razor ready for the test shave.

Results:

In a word, excellent! The stone had totally smoothed out the slight harshness I get from the Shaptons and somehow made the razor feel even sharper.

I find Shaptons give a very sharp edge, but it can be a little harsh, to me at least. Naniwas seem to impart a slightly softer feeling edge, so I'll be keen to see how this stone performs when paired with my new Naniwa stones.

The shave was truly one of those velvet squeegee moments where the hairs are just wiped away with no fuss, no bother and no pulling.

I'd guesstimate the hone at around 20k grit level, it feels smoother than the 16k Shapton thats for sure, but thats a real guess. Whatever the grit is, its high and makes this stone an excellent finisher.

The stone is a slow cutter, so you can do a reasonable number of strokes on it to get that really polished edge. Since the W&B I've tried it out with a couple of razors, varying the stroke between 20 and 50 and I seemed to get a better result with more strokes on this stone. Others may be different of course!

Overall:

These stones arent the cheapest, but if you can get a hold of one, grab it! They are excellent finishers, and will last ages due to their hardness. This is one I'll be handing down to the grandkids..!

Having now tried a few natural finishers, I'd rate this one very highly and its one I'll be using for a long time to come.

Light sewing machine oil works the best on these hones. Try it, it will improve your results.

no pictures yet? Dang!

Pics are up.

Sorry about the wait..! :D

I have been toying around with my CF and do know one thing. 3-n-1 oil is just too dang thick. I've been getting only fair results from my CF until I actually ordered some real, honest to goodness, sewing machine oil. The CF came alive. I had the feedback you would expect and after 50 x strokes I quit. I had honed several razors on a Shapton Glasstone progression, only 10 strokes on the 16K, then finished on the CF. My results were exactly as Stu reported above, only a squeegee effect on the Wade & Butcher 1/4 wedge.