Thread: Anyone up for name that hone?

Hello Everyone,

I just received these hones as a gift from a dear friend who is no longer using them. The gift is personally meaningful but would be even more so if I knew more about them. Any ideas about the make, vintage, type, proper use and care, and anything else of interest would be much appreciated. p.s. The closeup shots pertain to the stones that precede these pictures.

While I know the story of how you have come by those hones and how much they mean to you, I can't offer any information about them. I'm sure that those with years of working with naturals and barber hones will be coming to the rescue.

I do believe that they will need lapped and now that you have arms built up to the size of Hurdles that shouldn't be to hard on you

Looks like some kindof Ark knife hone at top? An Apart barber's hone is supposedly quite fine. Bottom one is oily-looking. Might be an India?
Gotta get thru the crud to tell!

Well, the brown imprinted barber hone is an Apart hone. It is a very good quality barber hone used for the maintenance of straight razors with just 4 to 6 strokes.

Photo # 4 is a Pike strop hone,,,, like this one in the Library,,,

Barber Hones - Straight Razor Place Library

... thanks for the replies so far. Just learned some more info on the hones. The previous owner can't remember which hones he applied oil to. Likely all of them at one point or another. Does that mean I should thoroughly wash them all out first before using? Or is there some test I can employ to determine how oily they are for starters?

Also, can anyone give me a (very rough) approximation of the grit equivalents of these hones? Want to get a sense of which to use when.

Also, also.... if a hone is designated as an "oil hone" does that mean you can't use it as a water hone? And with the naturals, do you soak them in water, or just apply moisture to the top surface? (I assume with the barber hones, it's just surface, no?)

There are a dozen different ways to clean them,,,,
The most important thing to remember is to always start simple,,,ie,, a little dish soap & a medium/soft nylon brush,,,,toothbrush, nail brush,,,, then re-evaluate the condition of the hone. Proceed to a more aggressive cleaning if needed. If you get to this level, then come back on this thread with a particular hone, showing its condition after the light cleaning & we will show you what to use next.

Don't worry about the prior use of oil right now,

So, how many hones are there?

The last photo is that a separate stone or is it a close up of the one that is mounted in the wood case.
That one looks interesting.

As far as grits go, no not really, Barber hones run a medium range of 4-8K depending on the hone and naturals are all different. The barber hones look to be good hones for razors and in good condition.
The first looks to be a low grit Arkansas hone.

The last one may be the finest, depending on some better photos of the sides and edges looking for saw marks. Dimensions also help to ID some natural stones.

Many hones were used with oil, but can be used with water. As said clean with dish soap, Dawn liquid works well for degreasing, as does degreasers like Simple Green and 409. Keep Oven cleaners away from the barber hones.

What did the friend say about them? They do look like a nice collection.

The top one is most likely an Arkansas. Good for knives, i've never tried one on razors.

Hi Euclid,

There are 4 hones total. 2 are barber hones. 2 are naturals. One of the 2 naturals is probably an Ark (the previous owner wasn't sure). Yes, the last picture is a closeup of the preceding stone (pictured from afar). The dimensions of the first stone are about 2" wide by 6" long. The last stone is about 3" wide by maybe 7 or 8" long. The friend didn't say much about them except that he used them for straights and other tools many years ago.