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How to get outstanding results of the La Lune hones?

Well, it doesn't have the characteristic chamfers of the Lunes and that saw marking is pretty unique. Welsh tombstone spots are broader from what I've seen. Looks like it could be so-called "Vosgian" or a purple Vermont with a little green. I have a "vintage" Vermont purple piece with similar markings. I'll try to take a shot of it.
 
FWIW, here's a shot of some vintage Vermont purple slate. It came from the mantelpiece of a recently demolished home there, so my guess is between 1850-1910, as this was when slate would have been carved for decorative purposes. There is what appears to be some iron streaking. At closer look it does tend towards green though.

$Vintage Vermont Purple 1.jpg

Given that your stone was included with a coti and a Thuri, I might be inclined to think it too might have been from France (so-called Vosgian), but it is so crudely cut that I can't imagine it would have been part of a production line.
 
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David

B&B’s Champion Corn Shucker
Thanks for posting that. They do look similar.
I agree about the saw marks... They almost look hand sawn.
Thanks for everyone's help here. I think we can rule out purple lune, so maybe a Vosges or a Vermont slate. Whatever it is, it's worth spending some time with.
 
Good pieces of vermont tend to be really good. The bad ones tend to be a bit toxic with crystalline strangeness
 
David that stone looks an awful lot like the one I've got that I think is a Vosgienne or whatever they're calling them. Same holographic "figure", same type of saw marks too that look like it was cut with a handsaw. Mine gives pretty good edges, maybe a tick behind the established top-level stones in shave comfort, but still very good. I've only used mine with slurry dilution so far, haven't bothered to try oil yet.
 
I just received a stone from Kingston PA that seems similar to David's. You can see an elliptical greenish spot on the side It had big chamfers and end saw marks that seem typical of french la Lune. The sides have been ravaged, so no stamp. It is perhaps a strange size: 8 3/8" x 1 7/16" x 3/4".
$Purple Lune1 (2).jpg$Purple Lune2 (2).jpg$Purple Lune3 (2).jpg$Purple Lune4 (2).jpg

Thanks for posting that. They do look similar.
I agree about the saw marks... They almost look hand sawn.
Thanks for everyone's help here. I think we can rule out purple lune, so maybe a Vosges or a Vermont slate. Whatever it is, it's worth spending some time with.
 

David

B&B’s Champion Corn Shucker
Those end saw marks definitely look like a lune. Keith (Kcb) knows more about the purple lunes than I do...maybe he'll post his thoughts later.
 
Just from the structure i personally think that it really looks like the purple lunes....

Here some pics of sawmarks, actually from the blue metallic special stones / lunes:

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Some pics of the structure of the surface:

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Here is some outside slurry with one definite and two probable lunes. The picture was taken with the slurry stirred up like it looks as soon as you make it.
 

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David

B&B’s Champion Corn Shucker
I'm saying purple lune based on those end saw marks. Those saw marks are very unique to the La Lune stones....I've never seen them on anything else.
Now it's time to put a blade on it. Should be easy to tell since you already know what a lune edge is supposed to feel like.
 
Yeah, that's right ... put me to work. Crack the whip. Tomorrow's shave will be off the purple stone.
I'm saying purple lune based on those end saw marks. Those saw marks are very unique to the La Lune stones....I've never seen them on anything else.
Now it's time to put a blade on it. Should be easy to tell since you already know what a lune edge is supposed to feel like.
 
I refinished a razor that says "Swedish Steel" on the tang, but is otherwise unmarked. Very nice stone to hone on, what with the snazzy purple and green dot. Plus, being over 8 inches, it's a long runway. Seems to gobble up steel. Under my Leica microscope it seemed to straighten the edge authoritatively, while leaving what seem to be deeper scratches on the bevels. If it shaves nice -- wow, it'll be quite the hone. I might go back to it and hone a Solingen on it in case the "Swedish Steel" happens to stand for "BS".
 
The "Swedish Steel" shave was good. I probably went too long and with too much pressure for best results. Narrower stones tend to encourage more pressure for me. But the shave probably emphasized more sharp than smooth, and it was nice and close, with the keenness where you need it for ATG. The German razor I touched up had been finished with a really nice y/g Escher edge, and I'll try that next shave. I used a little more glycerin and as little pressure as possible, and fewer laps.
I'm saying purple lune based on those end saw marks. Those saw marks are very unique to the La Lune stones....I've never seen them on anything else.
Now it's time to put a blade on it. Should be easy to tell since you already know what a lune edge is supposed to feel like.
 
All sounds very good to me, after reading the results and the tests i would really go for Lune...

There are not too much possibilities left, i would have guessed a Purple Welsh Slate or a Vermont as already show here. But due the findings and the saw marks a Lune seems to be most realistic.
 
What were you looking for in the slurry?
All sounds very good to me, after reading the results and the tests i would really go for Lune...

There are not too much possibilities left, i would have guessed a Purple Welsh Slate or a Vermont as already show here. But due the findings and the saw marks a Lune seems to be most realistic.
 
It's funny, exact same location outside, and the overcast and spitting rain pics gave much better color. I need an overcast and raining switch on my camera.
The slurry pics were just for color identification the first pics were a bit off or too dark so i wasnt sure on the coloration talking about a purple stone...the others were much better...
 
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