A few things to move on. Prices quoted are in USD, not including shipping so give a shout with where you are and I can find out a postage quote, prices are hopefully pretty reasonable to account for this. Wise preferred, can do PP for +$5 per stone (yes it really is that much more expensive! )
As ever these are lapped and ready to roll, with my honest thoughts about each.
Yellow Lake - 8x2". 673g. $25
Big hunk of Aberllefeni slate, almost certainly a Yellow Lake. Relatively fine stone finishing around the 8k mark.
Pike No.1 Washita - 8x2". 536g. $80
Very nice old box stamped Pike stone, and quite typical old Washita on the faster side of medium. A couple of little surface pock marks that I've smoothed down a bit so as not to affect it. These stones were originally glued into the box, but this is now free so can be taken out. SG is 2.25.
Washita - 8x2". 536g. $50
Slightly more consistent stone than the above, this is probably a Norton era Lily White (might be No.1 though too). Quite similar to the Pike stone, perhaps a little finer. Bizarrely when I went to measure them; not only were they the same weight, they're also the same volume (!) so SG is 2.25 as well.
Llyn Idwal - 8x1.75. 759g. $55
This stone's a little faster and coarser than I thought at first. It could be used for razors if you conditioned the surface quite high and/or burnished it. But actually I think this is a really nice stone for fine knife edges. NB - Like Washitas, Idwals are novaculites; they are hard, and do not mud up, though you can raise an atoma slurry to turbo-charge it
Dalmore Blue - 6.75x1.75". 258g. $30
A very nice smaller Dalmore, with an unusual pattern, I really like the knife edges off these stones. This one's at the finer end of them, maybe around 5-6k. Good mid-progression razor stone too.
English-Welsh Razor Hone (?) - 7.75x1.75". 322g. $40
This is a Welsh slate, and it appears to be the same type as was sometimes sold as the 'English-Welsh Razor Hone', contradiction in terms though that is. A very fine, high quality stone for extremely sharp razor finishing. Not for anything but the finest of knife edges.
Purple Slate - 8x2". 770g. $35
A curious one. This is a relatively soft, very fine, very slow purple slate, and like the above it's probably Welsh. I don't think this stone is particularly good for sharpening at all, the 'patterns' on the surface are probably bedding planes from initial deposits and I think affect it for razor or yanagi edges, which is what would suit it otherwise. Where it probably does have potential is as a high level, and very easy to use, polishing stone (see vid below).
As ever these are lapped and ready to roll, with my honest thoughts about each.
Yellow Lake - 8x2". 673g. $25
Big hunk of Aberllefeni slate, almost certainly a Yellow Lake. Relatively fine stone finishing around the 8k mark.
Pike No.1 Washita - 8x2". 536g. $80
Very nice old box stamped Pike stone, and quite typical old Washita on the faster side of medium. A couple of little surface pock marks that I've smoothed down a bit so as not to affect it. These stones were originally glued into the box, but this is now free so can be taken out. SG is 2.25.
Washita - 8x2". 536g. $50
Slightly more consistent stone than the above, this is probably a Norton era Lily White (might be No.1 though too). Quite similar to the Pike stone, perhaps a little finer. Bizarrely when I went to measure them; not only were they the same weight, they're also the same volume (!) so SG is 2.25 as well.
Llyn Idwal - 8x1.75. 759g. $55
This stone's a little faster and coarser than I thought at first. It could be used for razors if you conditioned the surface quite high and/or burnished it. But actually I think this is a really nice stone for fine knife edges. NB - Like Washitas, Idwals are novaculites; they are hard, and do not mud up, though you can raise an atoma slurry to turbo-charge it
Dalmore Blue - 6.75x1.75". 258g. $30
A very nice smaller Dalmore, with an unusual pattern, I really like the knife edges off these stones. This one's at the finer end of them, maybe around 5-6k. Good mid-progression razor stone too.
English-Welsh Razor Hone (?) - 7.75x1.75". 322g. $40
This is a Welsh slate, and it appears to be the same type as was sometimes sold as the 'English-Welsh Razor Hone', contradiction in terms though that is. A very fine, high quality stone for extremely sharp razor finishing. Not for anything but the finest of knife edges.
Purple Slate - 8x2". 770g. $35
A curious one. This is a relatively soft, very fine, very slow purple slate, and like the above it's probably Welsh. I don't think this stone is particularly good for sharpening at all, the 'patterns' on the surface are probably bedding planes from initial deposits and I think affect it for razor or yanagi edges, which is what would suit it otherwise. Where it probably does have potential is as a high level, and very easy to use, polishing stone (see vid below).
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