Thread: Interesting Barber Hone

I was given this hone by the builder who is renovating my bathroom, along with a handful(!) of Boker King Cutters. It has chipped edges, and is dark brown, probably having been stored for decades in a drawer with well-oiled tools:



So I decided to lap it, using a Norton 220, then the Shapton DGLP, and found to my surprise that the interior is a gorgeous honeycomb colour. Here is one surface lapped and chamfered:



Ain't it pretty? Anybody recognise it?

Chris

It is a pretty stone -- what does the surface feel like? The picture makes it look gritty. What does it cut like?

At first glance I thought it might be a coticule. It also is sort of similar to this Norton. hi_bud_gl started an excellent thread on barber hones that has pages and pages of photos here. You might see it in there.

it looks either narrow or very tall; is it possibly a tool hone and not a barber's hone?

The builder believes his father used it on the Bokers he favoured (though he had so many of them I wonder if he simply bought a new one when he found he couldn't hone the old one!) It isn't a natural stone, and feels very smooth on the surface, much like the barber hone that Tilly used to sell as a 'Peaches & Cream'. I haven't tried it yet, but I'll report when I do. I think I might have one or two old razors lying around that might safely be used for the job!

Chris

I just used it on an old Kropp that I keep around for experimental purposes. Very quick cutting (even took out a couple of tiny - visible with microscope only - chips with about 40 round trips) and left a scratch pattern that would lead me to guess it is about 8k grit. In other words, just the kind of hone a guy would need if he wanted to maintain his own razor and shave only with the grain. I do like the colour though - it is like looking at the cinder toffee in the middle of a Crunchie bar.

Chris