Thread: Ebay unidentified hone!!

Originally Posted by Iceni

I think we have a winner

how did you find that stone in terms of razor finish and smoothness.

I found the stone very soft, but then again you have seen the rock I have been working! Compared to those HCF's and Diorites this is like talc!

The definition hard/dense was meant in comparison to other slate type stones but youre right probably i should think about to do a better description in this thinking....

As you said in comparison to that CF its very soft ;-)

I have a large beveled Joseph Elliot near wedge that I'll run on this stone today. I'll take it back to the 12K nani first and see where we end up.

I think youll be around between 10-12k the stones are quite fine...so let us know the results...

The feeling honing on the stones should be with quite a big feedback i described its a bit honing on rubber :-)

You can also check back Neils Page for another description:

http://www.strop-shop.co.uk/vintage-...n-box-17-p.asp

There is some earlier info I and others posted here around 2011. At that time I had only used 8 or so Silkstones - since then I have used many more and yes, I confirm that the edge is somewhat comparable to a thuringian on most occasions.

I think that one of the best and most reliable for sources on thuringian stones is a member here by the user name 'Hatzicho' - here is what he said:

October 3rd, 2013, 06:47 AM
There were some questions concerning on Silkstones and their appearance in different threads, so I think it might be a good idea to start a separate thread. Silkstones are very interesting hones, they somehow are comparable to thuringians in a lot of honing characteristics. When I got my first silkstone in a case with razors and a lot of other barber utilities I thougth I got a dark blue thuringian. And indeed the similarity in visual appearance is tremendous. Also from the honing capabilities the stones are somehow comparable, a little bit harder and not as smooth as a thuri. But act as very good finishers, giving a more crispy edge but good shaves.
The hones have a very typical slate like mottled pattern ( a bit more than blue thuris!): As far as I have found out these hones came in two sizes, the larger typical size is 8 x 2 x1 inch and was packed in a card box. There is also a smaller size that were sold in green tins. There is one in the RaS database [...] The hones can be used with water or oil (most of the old stones you get have been used with oil).

The full thread may be found here - you may notice our very own doorsch gets educated re Silkstones further down the page! Small world...

Most of this had been said before of course, by others and by me on my website, long before 2013. I know another erstwhile member here, A-S posted about the Cambrock Silkstone in 2009 and 2010.

In this thread from March 2010 there is a rather long post about the Silkstone from Alex (A_S). He is as good an authority as Hatzicho - being a trained Geologist with an interest in this field, he certainly knows his stuff. In case the thread moves, here is his report again:

"...Some time ago I was put in touch with a gentleman who was in the "business" in the 60's and 70's, he owned a general hardware store and we had a number of lengthy discussions about the straight razor scene and honestones. At one point he was retailing NOS Silkstones, and was very enthusiastic about their performance, although he still maintained that the German hones were the best finishers for razors. He couldn't provide me with any information about the origins of the stone, or the company retailing them, but he really knew his stuff when it came to hones so I trusted his opinion. Some time after, an SRP member, I think with the username Nerobot or some such, got one and said he thought they were only in the 5-6k range, which was at odds with what I'd been told previously, but qualitative experience is just as important as quantitive so I put the discrepancy down to natural variation. After months of struggling with the Devonshire Oilstone problem, I got some decent leads on other British hones, and was finally able to add three Silkstones to my collection. One in the green tin with the raised lettering and two in the grey cardboard sleeves with the wording, "A Cambrock Product. Made In England." Although whereabouts in England I'm afraid I'm still clueless, I've done a hell of a lot of reading on the subject of hones and I've never seen a reference to the Silkstone, nor have I seen it in any catalogues. Truth be told, in use it's just as much of an enigma; the one in the green tin is the best of the three and I've found it to be an excellent finisher on occasion, but my results with it have been rather inconsistent. It's a smooth stone, being hard there's little tactile or auditory feedback, but there is a distinct feeling of suction as you hone, which is more pronounced than most; this is also a good indicator of the progress of the edge as ultimately it feels like you are honing on honey. Personally, I much prefer harder stones to finish, but am willing to concede there is a steeper learning curve than with softer stones, and maybe this could be a factor in the differing opinions. I like the idea of using an English Hone with a Sheffield razor, no practical reason I just like the idea, but I've found that the Silkstone performs better for me with harder steel and thinner grinds. Although it's a hard stone, it isn't excessively slow, but it's strictly a finisher, and for me I go to it after a 12k or 16k synthetic. As far as the actual grit is concerned I wouldn't like to hazard a guess in this case, as I think the edge from the Silkstone has more to do with it's hardness and smooth polishing action, rather than the actual grit.

Petrologically, I want to say slate, but instinct tells me otherwise. Possibly, it is some type of indurated slate, but it performs differently than my Hestercombe Slate Hone, there is an X factor with the Silkstone that I can't put my finger on. I find it to be quite similiar to an ironstone/schist I have, but I've seen nothing to indicate the presence of iron in the hones makeup. Possibly, a slate/ schist of some sort. The stone is similiar to the Chinese 12k in hand, but not in performance, so I suppose it could be from a bed of similiar stone found in the UK.

Anyway, I like it but with reservations. I'm glad to have it as another representative of a UK hone in my collection, but that ebay price is seriously inflated based on my experience.

Kindest regards,
Alex...

You can also find reference to it on Bodgers Ask & Answer website from 2009.

Regards,
Neil

Has anybody Silkstone of 8x2" size which is only 0.5" thick?

Nope!

Had many, all thicker. They came in pretty standard sizes, providing they had not been damaged and lapped. I suppose it is in the bounds of posxibility that one could have split longitudinally...

Regards,
Neil

Originally Posted by adrspach

Has anybody Silkstone of 8x2" size which is only 0.5" thick?

No all about 2cm

Neither mine and this is reason why I think it is not Silkstone. Especially as it was in factory finish and unlapped.

The box is fitted to the stone, There is no chance that this was split later in life. It was made on purpose as a 1/2" stone, And there is no reason to suspect the box of been a later addition to protect the stone. It's well aged, And shows signs of been stored for some time.

Is there anywhere on box a sign that there was a small sticker attached before?