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Red Bay Oil Stone

My understanding was it appears they just stopped in 1970 and everything just sat as is since then. These came directly from one of the buildings.
 
Thank you for this detailed report Greg, very interesting. And even if it's not the best stone in the world, you do at least have something different and unusual!


I wonder if the Red bay was something they were just about to start selling when they shutdown in 1970 and so they sat unknown

This FWIW is my hunch. Can't have been around for very long if there were basically no examples coming up before these stones. I also suspect the Dalmore Yellow wasn't sold for that long compared to the others.

(Or perhaps everyone who ever bought them just chucked em in the bin immediately... ;))
 
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So wanted to follow up about how it performs versus other stones. It is certainly the most like a Queer Creek, but it has some different qualities to it. It is harder and finer than the Queer Creek, less fine than a Dalmore Blue or Berea and cuts slower than both. It will however cut for about x3 longer than the Queer Creek and about the same length as the Dalmore Blue or Berea before the surface gets exhausted. As stated before, it's burnishing doesn't really bring much to the table. I do think these stones only hope is the use of oil, but I'm not sure I am ready to pull the trigger on that as it will certainly be no going back.
 

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Thank you for this detailed report Greg, very interesting. And even if it's not the best stone in the world, you do at least have something different and unusual!




This FWIW is my hunch. Can't have been around for very long if there were basically no examples coming up before these stones. I also suspect the Dalmore Yellow wasn't sold for that long compared to the others.

(Or perhaps everyone who ever bought them just chucked em in the bin immediately... ;))
I need to play with my Dalmores I've recently aquired. I've been hesitant because I've been so busy. I really like the edge I get on knives from queer creek sandstones but you must put in the work, as is most things worth having in life. I never considered slurrying my qc but this yellow Dalmore slurry stone makes me wonder if it actually could be a game changer, as far as sandstone goes.
 
I'd be curious to try Dalmore Yellow as a bevel setter for straight razor. Have any of you tried it?
Some guy on Facebook tried it a couple days ago. No bueno. It's not a stone to use on razors. He said it left his edge mangled. Stick with the Dalmore Blue for setting bevels if you have to have a Scottish progression; the yellow is only good for knives, and at that, still sucks.

Edit: I believe he used water.
 
Some guy on Facebook tried it a couple days ago. No bueno. It's not a stone to use on razors. He said it left his edge mangled. Stick with the Dalmore Blue for setting bevels if you have to have a Scottish progression; the yellow is only good for knives, and at that, still sucks.

Edit: I believe he used water.

I tried it, not a razor stone. That was probably me that posted it
 
Hi all.
I saw this stone on sale. I asked the seller a question, but I didn't get an answer from him. Do I understand correctly that this Red Bay Oil Stone is not suitable for the initial stage of sharpening a straight razor to form a cutting edge?
 
Hi all.
I saw this stone on sale. I asked the seller a question, but I didn't get an answer from him. Do I understand correctly that this Red Bay Oil Stone is not suitable for the initial stage of sharpening a straight razor to form a cutting edge?
I would keep any razor away from this stone.

This stones best use is to prop a door open.

Being less morose, it could probably set a bevel. I think it would be a slow and poor experience though. Too many other fantastic options out there to saddle your experience with this stone.
 
I'd be curious to try Dalmore Yellow as a bevel setter for straight razor. Have any of you tried it?

I ordered one of the NOS Dalmore Yellows from the recent estate seller. Sadly it is a pretty horrible stone for everything. It cuts very slowly and is sandy, I do not recommend them for anything.

The best natural razor bevel setter I've used is a freshly SiC lapped washita or a Washita with coarser diamond plate slurry. The lower the sG the washita the better, sub 2.2 ideally. A little "convexness" to the stone works even faster imo.
 
I ordered one of the NOS Dalmore Yellows from the recent estate seller. Sadly it is a pretty horrible stone for everything. It cuts very slowly and is sandy, I do not recommend them for anything.

The best natural razor bevel setter I've used is a freshly SiC lapped washita or a Washita with coarser diamond plate slurry. The lower the sG the washita the better, sub 2.2 ideally. A little "convexness" to the stone works even faster imo.
I've got a little charnley stick that's like 1¼" x 6½" x 1" that's a coarse one and it's cuts and finished exactly like my pike no.1. It's a effective as washita for bevel sets(or thinning knives). Im with you on washitas for bevel set though. Those, coarse Charnleys and fine India stones are my go to bevel setters, but I will say I've been impressed with the Dalmore blues I've gotten recently.
 
I've got a little charnley stick that's like 1¼" x 6½" x 1" that's a coarse one and it's cuts and finished exactly like my pike no.1. It's a effective as washita for bevel sets(or thinning knives). Im with you on washitas for bevel set though. Those, coarse Charnleys and fine India stones are my go to bevel setters, but I will say I've been impressed with the Dalmore blues I've gotten recently.
Have you tried Dalmore Blue to set the bevel?
 
Have you tried Dalmore Blue to set the bevel?
Yeah they'll set a bevel. I prefer a coarser coticule with heavy slurry for seeing a bevel on a razor. The Dalmore blue really shines when you can use pressure like for thinning a knife or removing small chips. I like freshly lapped washitas for bevel setting too. The saurat side of the AC Pyrenees combo is also a really good one for bevel setting too.
 
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