I love these stones. I resurfaced my WoA today so I'll give it another shot on a razor. From the edge it put on my pocket knife in sure it will do fine. It made a pretty noticeable change to the edge within 10 laps, and I remembered it being slow. To be fair, I didn't REALLY give it the old college try, I wrote it off pretty quickly. I think since I finished it down to 1k it should be much better. I didn't remember it having tiny pores either. They're similar to the ones that my vintage blue la lune(more of a silver/black) has but they're much smaller.
Water of Ayr, Tam O'Shanter, and the Scotch hone
- Thread starter LJS
- Start date
Measured to SG on the three I own today. For a stone that essentially feels much the same, they to vary in SG a bit.
5x1= 2.49
Safety razor hone= 2.56
Blue one that looks kind of half WoA= 2.60
5x1= 2.49
Safety razor hone= 2.56
Blue one that looks kind of half WoA= 2.60
I just put a straight on the back of the safety razor hone. Apart from being a bit fiddly (like swimming laps in a small backyard pool) the shave was... just OK. I prefer the edge off the dark one.
That top one is the one that feels like a real old soft ark to me(I have a pike soft ark and it kinda similar to that in feel and effect)... but once I serviced the WoA it seemed much better than my initial impressions. The bottom one looks like the ones o shave off of, but my darkest is similar in finish, feed back is bumpy, but it seems as fine as I remember. The white ones are slick on water.
It is interesting with the TOS stones the variability seem to go with color. The WTOS and those WTOS sticks seem to be around 2.49 same with some Labeled WTOS I have seen. My Bout and black one are very different the bout being more in line with a WTOS SG and the black being more toward the dark blue. The bout is very fine razor grade. The black is not. I can't do SG on the monster. It is kind of hard to hold 5LBS of rock in a tube of water suspended by thread. My finest is mounted in a custom carved wood box like a JNAT and then sealed in there tight. So no measuring that one either. I think the rest are dual hones so no point in measuring those.
TOS bout 2.51
TOS super dark almost Black 2.58
Could be anything. I'd lean towards maybe a Lynn Idwal / Grecian if it were for sure something I know. Otherwise, mystery stone maybe.
Some stones alleged to be TOS have similar banded patterning. So do a lot of other stones though. I have a small TOS with banded/striping like that in the middle and it is definitely TOS.
Someone in the razor world has a remarkable 'alleged' TOS example of that type of patterning, I haven't seen it in years but it is visually stunning.
Where that one was sourced from and how it feels and acts when sharpening steel should shed more light. If it laps and feels Tam-ish, it might just be one.
Someone in the razor world has a remarkable 'alleged' TOS example of that type of patterning, I haven't seen it in years but it is visually stunning.
Where that one was sourced from and how it feels and acts when sharpening steel should shed more light. If it laps and feels Tam-ish, it might just be one.
I would guess Welsh in origin
Thank you for your answers
I don't buy any stone if i don't have more information about it. Thanks for your help again.
These stone is quite beautiful but unfortunately i don't know which stone it is. I truly believe it is a llyn idwal/greek stone family but i have doubts. It seems a charnley as well.
I don't buy any stone if i don't have more information about it. Thanks for your help again.
These stone is quite beautiful but unfortunately i don't know which stone it is. I truly believe it is a llyn idwal/greek stone family but i have doubts. It seems a charnley as well.
Picked up my first TOS. First test edge off it was good enough to complete the shave but not on point. I’m looking forward to spending some time figuring it out & seeing how far I can take it.
I picked up a gunk covered mystery stone in a lot. After a soak it looks to be a TOS, though an unusual looking one. Not a bad size for razors either.
Griffith Shaving Goods has some swirly Tams listed that look a lot like that, what are the dimensions?
19x4cm
Sounds about right, I forgot to include a link earlier (I think that's ok, since they're a B&B vendor now). The first couple on here are close to that size: Gray Tam O Shanter Natural Scottish Sharpening & Honing Stone - Large Sizes - CHOOSE YOUR HONE - https://www.griffithshavinggoods.com/products/white-tam-o-shanter-natural-scottish-sharpening-honing-stone-large-sizes-choose-your-hone-1
I was surprised no one else bid on this 9 inch Tam. It gives an amazing shaving edge, I had expected it to be more knife grade.
Similar threads
