Thread: What stone is this?

I basically got this thing for free, but don't know what it is. I'm thinking it's a Barber's Hone, but I know little about them anyway. You can see the markings on the hone and box below. It has what looks to be a piece of leather on the bottom. On the bottom of the box is actually a mailing type label with a bunch of 2 cent stamps all over it. There is a guy's name filled out kinda hard to read.

Anyway, anyone know
-grit,
-name,
-usefulness,
-quality,
-if it can be easily lapped with a D8C or do you even need to lap it at all,
-and when in a progression I would use it?

Thanks!

Yes, it's a barber's hone. I don't know the grit and unless someone has exactly this hone, they won't either. You'll just have to experiment and see. Barber's hones rarely have known grit sizes.

Same deal with progression. Most barber's hones are finishers, but not all. Try seeing what kind of shaving edge you get from it after a Norton 8K, and look at the scratches it makes under magnification, and go from there.

Several makes of barber hone have a leather strip affixed to them, for use as a travel strop. I suppose that's probably an indication that it's a finishing/touch-up hone. Hard to see the sense of a medium or low-grit hone having a strop attached to it.

Yes, you can lap it on a D8C, and yes you probably should, but no it won't be particularly easy. It'll take a while.

Good luck with it,

Don't get the leather wet when you lap it. A challenge, I know.

Chris L

Electrical tape over all the leather when lapping? That should work I'd guess.

You'll probably damage the surface of the leather with the adhesive. If you wanted to clean it up with a pumice stone, this would be ok. Instead, why don't you cut a piece out of a plastic baggie and tape that over the leather?

Originally Posted by shotwell1234

You'll probably damage the surface of the leather with the adhesive. If you wanted to clean it up with a pumice stone, this would be ok. Instead, why don't you cut a piece out of a plastic baggie and tape that over the leather?

I'm going to try something similar since I want to lap a Tam O' Shanter stone and I don't want to mess with the red paper label on one side of the stone, I want to keep that label intact since the Tams are so rare.

Chris L

Why not put the lapping stone face up on the table and when you lap the hone ??? That way you will have the leather side up and keep it dry.

Originally Posted by Kees

Why not put the lapping stone face up on the table and when you lap the hone ??? That way you will have the leather side up and keep it dry.

The voice of reason Kees

PuFF

Originally Posted by Kees

Why not put the lapping stone face up on the table and when you lap the hone ??? That way you will have the leather side up and keep it dry.

I usually lap under running water...

I lapped a leather-faced hone with my DMTs without any trouble and without getting the leather wet. Get a wide, shallow container and set the DMT in the bottom. Fill it with just enough water to cover the surface of the DMT hone. Lap away.

The water will wash over the surface of the hone and keep it from clogging.

I agree with dylandog's assessment. It's probably a finishing hone, as the strop is a good clue. Most barber hones seem to be in the 6-8K range, although I don't think they really compare to a grit scale very well. The barber hones that I have don't seem as fine as a Norton 8K, but I like the edge they produce better than the Norton 8K edge. It's a little smoother.

Josh