Thread: Thank you very much DZEC

Today (on a Sunday) I received a brand new Barbers Hone.

I am constantly amazed at the incredible generosity shown by the members here at SRP.

This hone was sent to me at no charge by Dave (DZEC).

I am really grateful and thank DZEC so much.

If I can ever do anything for you Dave, just let me know.

I am really looking forward to having the experience and stock to be able to pay it forward and help someone myself as both DZEC and Outback have done for me.

One side is plain (greyish) and the other side is painted (redish). Any one have any idea which side I should use. Both sides are lovely and smooth.

Steve

Originally Posted by STF

Any one have any idea which side I should use. Both sides are lovely and smooth.

I'd recommend asking Dave (unless someone here is able to identify it from the photos first; I have no idea what kind of stone that might be).

Originally Posted by holli4pirating

I'd recommend asking Dave (unless someone here is able to identify it from the photos first; I have no idea what kind of stone that might be).

Hi, the stone is a pocket sized Barbers Hone, Dave suggested I ask which side to use.

I'm guessing that unless the two sides are a different grit that I should use the painted side.

They must have painted it for a reason!

Steve

Originally Posted by holli4pirating

I'd recommend asking Dave (unless someone here is able to identify it from the photos first; I have no idea what kind of stone that might be).

I have no idea of the difference between the two sides. The hone was sitting in a drawer unused and I figured it could use a good home with someone who might use it.

I’m not actually sure the one side is painted or if it is just a different grit bonded to the gray side during manufacture.

That hone was found in the wild with no packaging or documentation of any sort.

In that case, you'll probably have to experiment to figure it out. There were so many different barber hones that it's unlikely someone will just recognize it (without markings). You could take a random piece of metal and check the scratch pattern the hone makes on it (if you have a razor with a wideish bevel, that can work), or try a few passes on a razor that's begun to pull (but if you are not confident in your honing stroke, this is probably not going to get you much info; if you are comfortable with your honing abilities, take a razor of an 8kish stone, give it a few passes, test, and repeat till you figure out what it can do).

Just hone a small knife on one side with straight strokes, then mark the half-way point of the blade with a sharpie and hone just the toe half keeping the middle mark on the edge of the stone. 10 or so laps should do it.

Then compare the two sets of stria, with magnification. One will be finer than the other, it is not paint. One grit is poured over the other in a mold to make a 2 -grit stone. The thinner red side is probably the finer side.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

Just hone a small knife on one side with straight strokes, then mark the half-way point of the blade with a sharpie and hone just the toe half keeping the middle mark on the edge of the stone. 10 or so laps should do it.

Then compare the two sets of stria, with magnification. One will be finer than the other, it is not paint. One grit is poured over the other in a mold to make a 2 -grit stone. The thinner red side is probably the finer side.

Hi, I did as you suggested this morning with my small Victorinox pen knife.

I wet the stone and passed the knife on it edge first 6 laps, I lifted the spine a bit because it doesn't have an edge that would touch with the spine flat.

I then marked the blade halfway along and honed the toe end for 6 laps on the other (red) side.

I looked at the edges with a 60X loupe and believe that the red side has the most (deepest) scratches so would guess thats the roughest side.

Steve

Hi all,

Well, I experimented with the Barbers Hone that DZEC kindly sent me.

It turns out that the dark (redish) side is the fine side after all.

My Dovo was tugging and scratchy so I had stopped using it until I sent it back to Phil at Classic Edge for a free re-hone.

As my Dovo is the only razor I have that needs attention I had no choice but to experiment with it.

I didn't know if it had been taped so I did as suggested by DR Mac on uTube.

I ran a sharpie carefully just along the bevel on both sides. If after 6 laps with water but without tape on the fine side the sharpie was gone I was obviously contacting the edge, if not apply tape and repeat. The sharpie disappeared without tape.

I wet the stone and lathered it, gave 6 laps without tape and then 10 on canvas and 40 on leather.

I wanted to see what I had done so I got a razor that I had bought from Bouschie and not used so knew it was still as sharp as the day it arrived.

I did 2 strokes with the unused razor and then switched to my refreshed Dovo to compare them.

OMG, they both felt pretty much the same, my Dovo is refreshed and shaves like new!

I am so happy!

My barbers hone is the business, thank you again Mark (DZEC).

Steve

Your now....fully infected.! You'll carry the disease for the rest of your life.

Enjoy.!

Originally Posted by outback

Your now....fully infected.! You'll carry the disease for the rest of your life.

Enjoy.!

Oh no! not another obsession.

I've got 6 razors, 2 more on the way a second brush for Crimbo ( Edwin Jagger) and a barbers hone.

I have been checking extensively and now I'm saving for an 8k Shapton or a Norton cos they have 4k on the other side, and an Imperial La Rocca.

I'm only 23 shaves in!

As I press submit for this post I am bracing myself for the tirade

Steve