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I am visiting an antique store about hours' drive away where I have seen straight razors and barber hones. I would like to pick up a barber hone if the price is right. Is there anything I should be on the lookout for concerning physical characteristics of the hones?
There are so many types,,,, just look for one in good condition, with as few chips on the edges as possible, no divits on the surfaces front & rear if possible. If the hone is "two-tone" , different grits on front & back,,, it is probably a top end barber hone,,,& especially if there is writting in ink on the sides or decals on the sides,,, they are probably top end.
Condition is always a concern...as far as barber hones are concerned they vary widely on grits. Modine has run tests on many of them and posted the results on razorandstone.com
Do take the time to read Modines results,he put alot of work into some great testings.
As far as condition, make sure and watch for cupping of the hone and any breakdown of the binder (can get a kind of "ashy" grey look). Besides that, most of em can be lapped back to servicable condition.
There were three barber hones at the antique store and I chose the one in the best condition. No chips and a box with instructions. I have been looking through Modine's reviews and didn't see a review for A Keen Kutter.
Attachment 171075
Anyone have any experience with this hone?
Nice looking hone.looks like a lakeside Blue.
Pixelfixed, I did a search of Lakeside Blue because I am not familiar with the brand. I saw a picture of your Lakeside Blue in an old thread. The directions in the pic read exactly the same, minus the first sentence.
The underside of the Keen Kutter box has direction in German so I am wondering if this hone was imported from Germany like Keen Kutter razors.
Looks like a nice hone! What other brands did they have?
Lakeside Blues are Highley sought after,I sold mine,could not turn down 20 times what I paid for it.Is in a nice collection now.Quote:
Originally Posted by Leatherstockiings
Dennis, The store had another Simmons hone that was green. I think it was a Keen Kutter Kombination hone. The other was a Wonder brand hone. The Wonder was light brown. Both had some damage and I am not sure they were usable.
Shoulda asked Simon.
I see the Keen Cutter for sale in a fairly regular bass, but have never seen a review of them. Let us know what you think.
The wording and translation was used on several BH, they used it on the Toledo Blade, Velvet Edge, Lakeside and some more....up to date i found no source that these were made in Germany....Quote:
Originally Posted by Leatherstockiings
I cleaned the hone today and used it to touch up the edge on my Ralf Aust. The cleaned hone is blackish in color, but has an underlying brown tint. There were a couple of tiny pock marks revealed on the surface of the label side. There was no obvious humps or dishing.
I did 5 laps on the hone with the Aust using the X-stroke. The razor had been tugging and It has not seen much use since December. The touched-up edge provided a improved shave with no tugging.
After soaking in water
Attachment 171294
Shaving cream on surface
Attachment 171295
Drying off
Attachment 171296
Some further use and observations. Not meant to be a guide or review-these are my initial forays into honing.
I used the K15 again to touch up a Red Imp today. I shaved with the Red Imp last week. It was tugging so badly that I had to stop shaving at the mustache area and finish the shave with a DE. Last week I PMd a member asking for any info on the hone and he said it was in the 8k range and suggested 6-8 laps. This afternoon I applied some lather to the hone and did 6 laps of x-strokes. Afterwards I stropped the Imp 150 laps on leather.
Attachment 172816
The Red Imp and a Ralf Aust that I touched up last weekend (5 laps hone/150 laps leather) were used for an afternoon shave today. It was a 2 pass shave with a touch up around the chin and mustache. The Imp was used on the right side of the face, Aust on the left. Both felt keener than before and neither tugged. But, neither edge was came close to the keenness and smoothness the razors had when honed by pros previously. There were no nicks or cuts during the shave but the post shave alum stung a little.
Attachment 172817
When I started cleaning the stone last week it was initially tacky and totally smooth. Afterwards tiny pock marks were visible and no longer tacky. I used D.R. Harris soap to make my lather this week. The stone felt tacky again after being rinsed and some of the pock marks on the surface were filling in with soap residue.
That hone appears to be in very nice condition,,,,,
Yeah, no gouges or chips. Compared to the other two I saw that day it was mint. The seller is a Keen Kutter collector, so I think I paid more because the logo and box and not the condition of the stone.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hirlau
If it came with a logo & box,,, then you should have paid more & it will retain better value with a box & sharp logo,,,
Yes, of course. The seller just places a premium on Keen Kutter merchandise.
