Thread: Antique barber hones

Originally Posted by DaveW

Yeah, they do, and some of them lose their surface treatment and reveal themselves to have quite large particles under the burnished surface that was put on them at the factory.

It's better for most to get a good hone in good shape that doesn't require any lapping or clean up of the corners. That often means paying twice as much, but it's worth twice as much if you want to sell it, too, and no risk.

+1 again... I never recommend lapping Barber hones unless they are in real bad shape...and then the effectiveness of the hone comes into play...or if they were made to be lapped or cleaned with a rub stone or pumice stone. Once again...to mention one hone...the Frictionite '00' came with a rough rub stone designed to clean or lightly 'slurry' the surface. There are a few others as well...BUT Always best to pay more for better condition/quality...IMHO!

Just for the record, Some of the higher grit barber hones are meant to be used dry! They are wiped off afterward with a damp cloth. Some Swaty's do better and finer with a dry honing upon them. The hone should be in good shape to begin with, meaning almost shiny. try both ways..a barber didn't wet the hone in his pocket but did put a bit of lather on the one he had on the bar top. I used my Marburg Swaty for 30 years for finishing machine cutting tools and always used it dry.
Now remember, YMMV.. Formulations changed over the years.
~Richard