Thread: Anyone up for name that hone?

It's a PHIG !!!!!

Originally Posted by Hirlau

It's a PHIG !!!!!

I started washing the first stone with dishwashing detergent and Smith's. Still has blackish speckles after about 15-20mns of scrubbing. Is this the natural color of the stone or is it just really stubborn oil build up over many years?

Given that the distribution of black is not uniform, but rather is mainly in the middle third, I would speculate it is residual oil driven deeper into the hone by use. If the hone is slightly dished in the center that would also explain it.

If it's a Washita it's definitely old oil. Here is a before and after shot of an old Washita I bought a while back - second (after) shot shows this stone and another I cleaned up. This stone is on the bottom in the 2nd shot:



Cleanup method was Simple Green in a heated ultrasonic cleaner. Heated Simple Green works pretty good on its own too though.

Thanks. If it is a washita, what can I expect performance wise? What might the approximate grit be? Any peculiarities? Do you like them?

I love mine, but they really aren't a whole lot of use for razors unless you don't already have a 2kish synthetic stone. Even then they aren't quite as fast. They are exceedingly good on tools like chisels, knives or plane blades though, where you can use just a little more pressure. They cut pretty darn fast on oil but still leave a pretty good edge. For chisels you can pretty much use them as a one-stone solution if you keep your chisels in decent shape. I use the Washita and give a chisel a few quick licks on a CrOx strop after and go to work. Another nice thing is they stay quite flat for quite a long while.

The Special Stones that we talked about earlier, had that shiny metallic sheen, like yours and I think the size might match. Either way it is probably a nice slate finisher.
Be careful lapping on a Diamond plate, do in a pond under water, or they will eat your diamond plate.

A Hindo will have visible layers on the sides and end looking like wood grain. Did it come completely clean, and stop releasing oil?

Because it looks like a dirty Lilly White in the photo, but I am more concerned by the amount of slurry, Arks will not release that much slurry with out a lot of pressure and laps.