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Help, what is this stone good for?

Fantastic gift! This should be an excellent straight razor finisher! This was likely a woodworker or barbers stone. It doesn't look like it has much wear and should last several lifetimes. I'd suggest you use it with a diamond plate, so you can create a medium slurry which should then be diluted and eventually finished with just a super light trace slurry. It should produce a comfortable and very keen edge.

I own an Escher Barbers Delight Thuringian and for a long time it was my best and preferred finisher. I have been off using other stones like Jasper, JNATs, and Arks in the last year or two, but recently made a few edges with it and I'm so glad I did! They are really very good and just as good as a JNAT edge in my opinion.
 
Fantastic gift! This should be an excellent straight razor finisher! This was likely a woodworker or barbers stone. It doesn't look like it has much wear and should last several lifetimes. I'd suggest you use it with a diamond plate, so you can create a medium slurry which should then be diluted and eventually finished with just a super light trace slurry. It should produce a comfortable and very keen edge.
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I own an Escher Barbers Delight Thuringian and for a long time it was my best and preferred finisher. I have been off using other stones like Jasper, JNATs, and Arks in the last year or two, but recently made a few edges with it and I'm so glad I did! They are really very good and just as good as a JNAT edge in my opinion.
Hey Matt, thank you for the info, I can't wait to give it a go. Hope you and the family are well.
 
Yes, it does need a good lapping. You “should” lap every stone when you first receive it, to ensure it’s flat and that you are not working on an old loaded up surface. I’d do the pencil marks and make sure you don’t have any deep gouges and don’t forget to chamfer your edges. The lapping should go QUICK! It’s made up of a mild slate made up of a very fine quartz with a chalk binder.
 
Yes, it does need a good lapping. You “should” lap every stone when you first receive it, to ensure it’s flat and that you are not working on an old loaded up surface. I’d do the pencil marks and make sure you don’t have any deep gouges and don’t forget to chamfer your edges. The lapping should go QUICK! It’s made up of a mild slate made up of a very fine quartz with a chalk binder.
As always Matt, thank you for your help and support, much appreciated. I will definitely lap this when I use it then. Being such a narrow stone and being a novice at honing, I'm guessing only x strokes on this, start from heel to toe.
 
As always Matt, thank you for your help and support, much appreciated. I will definitely lap this when I use it then. Being such a narrow stone and being a novice at honing, I'm guessing only x strokes on this, start from heel to toe.
Yes x strokes will be the way to go, but if you’d like to speed up finishing the heel, you may consider doing some heel leading circles and half strokes too. Best of luck, this stone in my opinion is and was for me very intuitive and easy to learn.
 
Thanks Tony, I'm definitely no expert, but I have a lot of love for my little Escher Thuringian and would pick up another if I happened across one in my travels. NOT THAT I NEED ANYMORE STONES!!!!
Your guidance is always so clear and confident and free of the inane dogmatic zealotry that seems to plague most straight shaver communities. It’s nice to see that.

As we say here, “That Dude has a lotta stones!”
 
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Your guidance is always so clear and confident and free of the inane dogmatic zealotry that seems to plague most straight shaver communities. It’s nice to see that.

As we say here, “That Dude has a lotta stones!”
Thanks brother, I'm definitely no zealot and believe that a man can do whatever he likes with his stones and steel. Seriously, whatever makes a a guy happy! The only thing I suggest is that you try out loads of different techniques and find a way to test your results. At the end of the day, the edge you produce is going to shave your face(likely not someone else's), so make it a good one and if its not try again and again and again.

After saying this, I think I sound a lot like Doc Brown... lol
 
Thanks brother, I'm definitely no zealot and believe that a man can do whatever he likes with his stones and steel. Seriously, whatever makes a a guy happy! The only thing I suggest is that you try out loads of different techniques and find a way to test your results. At the end of the day, the edge you produce is going to shave your face(likely not someone else's), so make it a good one and if its not try again and again and again.

After saying this, I think I sound a lot like Doc Brown... lol
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