Thread: Iwasaki Hone

About a year or so ago I was corresponding with my friend in Japan who usually obtains Japan edition watches for me and he had previously obtained several Tosuke's which I sold quite a while ago. So I've pretty much introduced him to straights though he's afraid to try one. At any rate I had asked him to check the Japan Yahoo Site to see if there was anything interesting in both Hones and razors-japanese Style. He actually came up with several things so I had a choice. This hone which is the Subject of this review I bought because its history was so well documented. Unfortunately all the documents which were displayed on the site were not included with the hone. There was a picture of the crew who mined the stuff including Iwasaki as a very young man. Also several certificates that came with the stone when it was originally sold. One of the guys here who reads japanese had looked at the original stuff and that post is around here somewhere and we were able to determine the hone came from iwasaki's personal quarry.

I really don't know much of the specifics of the hone. We were able to tell it is a finishing hone of the type a japanese barber would have in his shop. Its at the top of the heap in terms of finishing quality and in terms of grade its almost at the top.

I have found it to be just that, a very fine finisher putting a finer edge on a razor over the coticule. Its really the ultimate and is really silky smooth. Its not a garnet type hone, more a clay-alumina type. Its about 8 inches long and 3 inches wide

To my knowledge this is a rare find and probably another can't be had. Or maybe it can if you check the japan yahoo site and are lucky.

Thank you for sharing the pictures and information. It looks like you got a real special one there!

Oh you post this to try and spark Jimbo's HAD again.

Looks good, perhaps you could dig up your old post for us?

Originally Posted by OLD_SCHOOL

Oh you post this to try and spark Jimbo's HAD again.

Looks good, perhaps you could dig up your old post for us?

No, I am a rock! (asagi, actually )

Well, at the very least the colour of that stone would make it highly prized, from my understanding. Looks great Bigspendur. Thanks for the review.

James.

[Edit: Actually, it looks, in terms of colour and the rusty-coloured spots, a little like the Oozuku Suita I have. But that's just in looks, I'm sure they are not similar in terms of quality (mine's an el-cheapo)]