Thread: The History of the Hone

I have a question that's been on my mind since I first started learning about honing and the different stones out there for us to use. AFAIK, the really fine grit hones and, of course, diamond sprays and pastes are a relatively new phenomenon. That up until a handful of years ago, even the honemeisters only went up to the Norton 8K, or maybe a coticule. A quick search of the internet shows that Belgian Blues and cotis have been mined for centuries, so they've been in existence for that long at least, even if not widely used.

So here's my question: What were razor edges like throughout history, from Ancient Greece up until the cowboys and indians? I imagine the sharpening tool was invented hand-in-hand with the sharpened tool, so shouldn't we have razor hones for as long as we've had razors? Wikipedia says early razors date back to the Bronze Age. (Looks like this one could use a few laps on some CrOx.)

So, any experts out there willing to share?

Do an advanced search for posts by A_S . Alex is a hone historian and has posted much about obscure sharpening stones the world over. These are by and large hones written about in the last couple of hundred years but he knows the history as few do. Old barbers in their seventies that I knew in NJ were coticule guys back then. I bought one from the son of a barber who used his from the 1920s into the '80s.

Basically it is my understanding that everything (stones) used for edged weapons was used for razors too...

Pastes as we know them are not all that new first off, but the other types of "pastes" have been around as long as steel weapons...

Thge earlies edges were basically made by napping or the action of one stone against the other. Even some animals use a stone as tool to break other stones. So I would say hones are some of the earliest human tools.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Thge earlies edges were basically made by napping or the action of one stone against the other. Even some animals use a stone as tool to break other stones. So I would say hones are some of the earliest human tools.

Just reminded me of a post a guy made a year or so ago. A youtube vid of a guy who flaked obsidian to make a shaving implement. I don't know that it was near bbs but he did scrape his face with it.

Originally Posted by BingoBango

So here's my question: What were razor edges like throughout history, from Ancient Greece up until the cowboys and indians? I imagine the sharpening tool was invented hand-in-hand with the sharpened tool, so shouldn't we have razor hones for as long as we've had razors? Wikipedia says early razors date back to the Bronze Age. (Looks like this one could use a few laps on some CrOx.)

So, any experts out there willing to share?

From my understanding, there was a pretty decent hone from the Greece area. I forget the name of it right now, but I do remember there was a thread on it at some point since I joined.

Also, here are several Japanese hones that I'm sure range in the "very fine" grits that were used to put edges on knives and swords. I imagine they date back several hundred years...

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Do an advanced search for posts by A_S . Alex is a hone historian and has posted much about obscure sharpening stones the world over. These are by and large hones written about in the last couple of hundred years but he knows the history as few do. Old barbers in their seventies that I knew in NJ were coticule guys back then. I bought one from the son of a barber who used his from the 1920s into the '80s.

+1 to this! A_S is a true historian when it comes to hones. Please let us know if you find anything interesting from him

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Just reminded me of a post a guy made a year or so ago. A youtube vid of a guy who flaked obsidian to make a shaving implement. I don't know that it was near bbs but he did scrape his face with it.

I remember that video Jimmy! Yes, obsidian can be used to shave with, but because it has to be knapped to produce that edge, it's not a straight smooth edge. It ends up jagged like an arrowhead...not particularly safe to shave your face with, but I guess with practice...

I had actually thought about getting some obsidian from a friend, but my understanding is that honing it like a normal straight would not work.

If there is anyone out western US that has access to obsidian that would be willing to knapp a piece off and then try to hone the edge to a straight razor edge and post the results, I'm sure many of us would be grateful! Either that or send me a piece and I'll try it myself Having an obsidian straight would be awesome