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Imperia La Roccia

Clemson Tiger

Clemson Tiger

Jr. Shave Member
So- I’ve seen mixed reviews and there seems to be a solid polarizing split objectively regarding this stone. Half the reviews I see “ka-ka” this stone saying it chips blades, there’s people with microscopes showing the damage the ILR causes. Another guy will use it - wait til the blade sticks- increase the flow of running water- strop the blade- then once more on the stone under running water.

I guess the question I’m asking is are these stones being misused or are the stones garbage? I have zero experience but I’ve been eyeballing ILR’s in the process of window-shopping for A-NAT’s 😉 and I’ve never seen anything so polarizing in terms of honing- Tabac and Veg are polarizing, but it’s subjective- stones leave a tangible visible result which either is or isn’t.

I was just wondering if anyone else has any experience with these stones- or knowledge as to whether bad slabs were cut & ILR is over that hump? I’m just curious what y’all’s take on them would be. As a cautious buyer, on a 50/50 split of yea or nay, I tend to err on the side of caution and think that ILR’s are inconsistent in terms of a product. It’s also possible people are slurring a stone that doesn’t need to be slurried.

Thanks for any insight folks! Happy honing!
 
In my experience with one stone, they are a pretty great pre-finisher and can work just fine as a finisher as well. My preferred method is to use the ILR after my Naniwa 8K and then do my final finishing on my Escher Thüringian. It can create a crisp clean edge under running water and does just fine on its own. I don't think I've ever researched so far as to hear that people were receiving chips on their blades or that there was a 50/50 split in likes and dislikes. I've never slurred this stone and cannot speak to this, but as a finisher under water, it does produce nice edges.
 
Dr Matt has a YouTube video showing how he uses it. I have one, but haven’t gotten into it yet. I am still working with my Surgical Black Ark. Sorry I can’t be of much help.
 
Luecke3262 said:
In my experience with one stone, they are a pretty great pre-finisher and can work just fine as a finisher as well. My preferred method is to use the ILR after my Naniwa 8K and then do my final finishing on my Escher Thüringian. It can create a crisp clean edge under running water and does just fine on its own. I don't think I've ever researched so far as to hear that people were receiving chips on their blades or that there was a 50/50 split in likes and dislikes. I've never slurred this stone and cannot speak to this, but as a finisher under water, it does produce nice edges.
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Yeah- I’ve never seen anything like it- just look it up on YouTube- there’s a guy- Kieth- who is more or less a honing guru- intuitively figures out with the aid of a microscope- that ILR’s work better without slurry, despite coming with a slurry stone- and he also showed consistent damage. There seems to be a 50/50 split from what I’ve seen in reviews. People are either shaving off them or chipping their blades. If you have the ample free time I’ve had to veg out on YouTube, give it a gander.
 
MilkCrate said:
Dr Matt has a YouTube video showing how he uses it. I have one, but haven’t gotten into it yet. I am still working with my Surgical Black Ark. Sorry I can’t be of much help.
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My fantasy stone. I’ve been coveting Dan’s for the longest time- how do you like it? Is your ark a finisher?
 
Clemson Tiger said:
My fantasy stone. I’ve been coveting Dan’s for the longest time- how do you like it? Is your ark a finisher?
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I do like it and yes it’s a finisher. You can either finish on a surgical black or a translucent.

To keep the costs down, I went with the 8x3x1/2 and I believe I caught it on sale.

Check these out:

 
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Another point: just my opinion that I offer to new shavers, different people come to the hobby at different levels, especially financially. Some come trying to get by on the cheap. Stay with the tried and true products that have a long and good history. I’m not going to comment on the ILR because I don’t own one or have any experience with them. What I do know is there’s a long history with Arkansas stones, Coticules, eschers, and others. They can be very expensive, but for me I’d rather spend the money and be very happy… and I am.
 
Longhaultanker said:
Another point: just my opinion that I offer to new shavers, different people come to the hobby at different levels, especially financially. Some come trying to get by on the cheap. Stay with the tried and true products that have a long and good history. I’m not going to comment on the ILR because I don’t own one or have any experience with them. What I do know is there’s a long history with Arkansas stones, Coticules, eschers, and others. They can be very expensive, but for me I’d rather spend the money and be very happy… and I am.
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This, I might also suggest watching eBay, loads of vintage arks show up there. If you can flatten it, you may find a real treasure at a discount there.
 
i have a 3" x 12" ILR i bought when i decided i needed to be able to hone my own blades after i had about 30 SR shaves under my belt and i've always used it as a finisher after a Naniwa 12k. At the time i considered it a budget friendly entry into natural stones and i never had an issue with it. It's widely accepted that it is some kind of slate, but ILR has always been coy about where it comes from. However, there's not a great deal of evidence of slate stones elsewhere chipping razors, so i'm not sure why this would. In the same manner, i've seen it claimed that Shapton glass stones can chip them. My guess is you need to lap them all.

My ILR was lapped with an Atoma diamond plate and i never use a slurry - i'm not looking to do a full progression on one stone. That stone and my Norton 4/8k and Naniwas kept my edges on par for a few (three or so) years and i still use them all. It just seems to me that a stone of any kind is a little more civilized than a granite tile and sandpaper and longer lasting than lapping film.

More recently i also have a strop ILR make and the English bridle leather is fabulous quality, so they don't strike me as a place trying to sell cheap crap for the sake of it.

My advice is if you think you'll like a certain edge, see if you can find someone to sharpen on one for you. My flat finishers now are a surgical black Ark or a Coticule and they can be small and cheap because it just doesn't take much to polish a razor's edge. All the heavy lifting is done setting the bevel.

T
 
supertrunker said:
In the same manner, i've seen it claimed that Shapton glass stones can chip them. My guess is you need to lap them all.

T
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I want to be gentle and kind, but in my experience and study of honing, no one has claimed the Shapton Glass series (as a whole) tends to chip edges. The only such reference comes from Dr. Matt for the SG 16k. Link below. Shapton Glass series serves as the foundation for all my honing. I have the 500, 1k, 2k, 4k, 8k, 16k, 30k. I took Dr. Matt’s advice and ceased using the 16k, but frankly, never noticed any difference. Dr. Matt uses the big microscopes and showed the chips from the 16k. That was good enough for me. The rest of the series, however, no one I’ve read, watched makes a blanket claim about the Shapton Glass series.

I just re-watched Dr. Matt’s video on the SG16k. What I said above is accurate. His video is quite interesting.

 
Gents there are tons of ways to skin a cat and all are right to the person doing the skinning. Let’s respect varied opinions and play nice

Also remember per the TOU the posting of video or links that duplicate content here on the TSC or that refer to non member videos is a no-no

Thanks in advance
 
Clemson Tiger said:
So- I’ve seen mixed reviews and there seems to be a solid polarizing split objectively regarding this stone. Half the reviews I see “ka-ka” this stone saying it chips blades, there’s people with microscopes showing the damage the ILR causes. Another guy will use it - wait til the blade sticks- increase the flow of running water- strop the blade- then once more on the stone under running water.

I guess the question I’m asking is are these stones being misused or are the stones garbage? I have zero experience but I’ve been eyeballing ILR’s in the process of window-shopping for A-NAT’s 😉 and I’ve never seen anything so polarizing in terms of honing- Tabac and Veg are polarizing, but it’s subjective- stones leave a tangible visible result which either is or isn’t.

I was just wondering if anyone else has any experience with these stones- or knowledge as to whether bad slabs were cut & ILR is over that hump? I’m just curious what y’all’s take on them would be. As a cautious buyer, on a 50/50 split of yea or nay, I tend to err on the side of caution and think that ILR’s are inconsistent in terms of a product. It’s also possible people are slurring a stone that doesn’t need to be slurried.

Thanks for any insight folks! Happy honing!
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Yeah I see a lot ppl using Dr Matt’s technique. I like soft smooth stones , don’t think I’d like the sticky part too much
 
Before I switched to a dilucot/ arkucot to stick method I used Shaptons exclusively to 30k and 100 laps on linen and leather and have never had an issue at all. Now I should mention I do not go hog wild on microscopes, HHT etc etc. again it is rubbing metal against a rock or synths. All the matters is how it shaves on your face
 
BarberDave said:
Before I switched to a dilucot/ arkucot to stick method I used Shaptons exclusively to 30k and 100 laps on linen and leather and have never had an issue at all. Now I should mention I do not go hog wild on microscopes, HHT etc etc. again it is rubbing metal against a rock or synths. All the matters is how it shaves on your face
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This +1.
 
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