The Norton razor hone in outstanding condition razors axes sharpening stone | eBay
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Nice price, could be an axe guy that bought it. For that money, though, I'd get a 10" escher or a nice Jnat and have leftover money for a few nice razors.
That was JamesT's if you look at the username. I'd have sold it faster than he did if I had it. People obviously love those norton hones. they make a frictionite look cheap, and I have to admit that a frictionite with some water is like a slice of heaven in terms of the feel.
I sold a super punjab last week, and it went to a user in australia who had "stihl" in his name, I get the sense that the competitive axe men have decided these hones are a handy size?
There are many other stones that can be had at similar size or cut to size. I wonder what qualities do those Nortons have that make them so desirable?Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveW
Perhaps not as many qualities as you might think. Every group or niche have their "fashions" or "lore" that gets developed. I'm in no way saying the Escher is a bad stone, but take that as an example for us. It's OK, quite a nice stone in fact and it serves its purpose, but it has reached almost mythical proportions in terms of price. We used to laugh 6 years ago at someone wanting $400 for a fully labelled y/g of good size. How long would that last at that price now? And there are just as good, if not better, stones for our purposes out there at a fraction of the cost.
No, I suspect these axe fellows are just as susceptible as us to word of mouth, fashion, and creating legend. There's probably some bloke on an axe forum right now showing this off and getting envious congratulations from the members.
James.
OK. What IS the deal with these. They are manmade Nortons. Are they the best hone ever, or what? What is up with the "Axe Man" moniker? Can you sharpen an axe with them? Looks like an old 2 sided barber's hone to me. Do they finish like, better than Eschers? Since I shall obviously never have one to find out, what's the deal? I am looking at the pics of it. Shoot, the lighter side looks like a ringer for a Norton India stone. I Dunno.......
I would just like to know.......:confused:
Oh, and PS: I am running downstairs right now to put mine in bubblewrap with a "do not sell until retirement" sticker on it... :D
James.
The Eschers have improved considerably in the last 6 years though ........ :pQuote:
Originally Posted by Jimbo
I wouldn't be surprised if a couple of the guys who won competitions used them, or if someone put together an instructional video and gave a few hones they thought were nice to have for an axe.
That'd just about do it. Same thing happens in the world of woodworking, but thankfully most of the stuff mentioned is out there in greater numbers.
I've never seen one go for that much. For awhile $500 seemed to be the going rate. Sham snagged one a long time ago and said it was very good for razors .... listed it on ebay and got a lot for it IIRC..... so it was better for raising $ than for razors LOL. The only way I'll ever find out is if I find one in a flea market for $2.00. :shrug:
I bought one a year or two ago.
It is a nice barber hone, finer than any other I have.
As Sham will be able to confirm, the thing that makes this one a bit special is that it will take an already shave ready Edge, like off of a Y/G Escher finished Edge, and actually improve on it's sharpness.
Weird, I know, but it actually does...
It can be argued that it actually takes the edge too far.
Either way, I will keep mine as part of my retirement plan;)
Quote:
Originally Posted by JimmyHAD
Same here.
I would go as high as 20.00 at a flea market. Actually, I would probably drop a hundred on it if I could find one, and the same day it would be on eBay. My hones do everything I need.Quote:
Originally Posted by JimmyHAD
Quote:
Originally Posted by robellison01
One of the things I miss most about the USA is Flea Markets.
--james
Me too, and auctions. Can't wait to get out of Japan!Quote:
Originally Posted by jgkeegan
Quote:
Originally Posted by robellison01
Despite no flea markets here in Taiwan, I love it here. I am here for the duration.
I haven't sorted out the best way to get shaving supplies here yet. I carried quite a bit with me a year and a half ago. The only thing I ran out of is Cella, but I have a lot of Vitos Supreme and the infamous P.160 Tipo Morbido.
--james
That was my stone. It is going to Australia. I got a number of questions about the stone from competition axemen and one told me that it was just the best for touching up axes DURING competition. It was the fastest, he said, requiring 5-10 strokes to refresh the edge, where all other stones needed 20-30. This is a big deal in the middle of a contest i gather.
He also told me that one Norton stone will last an axeman his entire life, and some have been passed down for generations.
He listed a couple other barber hones, like frictionite, and told me that nowadays most guys use DMT diasharp if they cant get ahold of a Norton.
It was a fun stone to have, but didnt do anything that my other nice stones couldnt do, granted it was very fast. I was amazed how fast it was, and how "sharp" the grit felt, I could hear a very high pitched cutting sound when using it.
Still, the edge didnt feel much better (to this rookie) than an 8k norton if you know how to finesse the 8k, and i dont have to handle the water stone like its a faberge egg. So now it has been turned into gas money for a cross country trip, and a nice chisel set. And maybe a 12k waterstone.
Yep, those Aussie Axe men are a breed unto themselves, that's for sure.
Almost every local annual show in Australia used to have a woodchopping competition where the woodchips would fly and the beer guts would swing in concert with the flashing of the axe heads. In ever-decreasing cadence, I might add, like a $20 sessional drummer. Fond memories of youth.
James.