Thread: Need help with hone identification, please!!!

The stone measures 8 1/2 L x 1 1/2 H x 2 1/4 W. Stone is a brownish color very smooth and flat. I have had it for over 20 years but never used it. Think I got it at a garage sale for a few dollars. Cleaned it up recently but know nothing about it. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks!

Looks like a line down the middle on the side - is it a combo stone or just a dirt line from the box? Might be a Carborundum. Have you ever tried it on a razor? What sort of result? Fine finish? Fast or slow cutter?

The line is from the homemade wood holder it was in. Have never used it. Didn't know if it was good for a razor to start or finish with.

If the dots and some layering are there as part of the stone, then possibly a Hindustan. Quite common and about 2-7K grit. From an area of Kansas.
~Richard

Indeed, it looks like a hindostan, or one of the Canadian stones. Depending from their hardness and porosity, it could be a finisher, or something coarser.

Richard
I looked and the dots appear to be staining. One is actually in a chip on the edge. I really appreciate your input. Guess I will just have to use it on my next razor project. Thanks!

Originally Posted by Geezer

If the dots and some layering are there as part of the stone, then possibly a Hindustan. Quite common and about 2-7K grit. From an area of Kansas.~Richard

Hey Richard my Dad has a beautiful finer grit (for the stone) hindostan he teases me with saying someday I will own it. He always told me they come from Indiana. Do they come from there as well as Kansas?The one he has is more tan/light brown than many I see. Many I see seem to have a yellowish color to them.

Hindostans only come from Indiana.

OP, can you give us some shots of the end of the stone with good lighting? And you can easily test for approximate fineness very quick and easy with a chisel if you have one. Another method (the late Henk Bos used this one) is to use the back of a spoon.

Originally Posted by eKretz

Hindostans only come from Indiana.

OP, can you give us some shots of the end of the stone with good lighting? And you can easily test for approximate fineness very quick and easy with a chisel if you have one. Another method (the late Henk Bos used this one) is to use the back of a spoon.

My bad! thank you for the correction.
""A history of the Hindostan from Indiana; thanks to and by Neil Miller:
http://www.strop-shop.co.uk/product/...n_Box_HINDO-01
A sedimentary sandstone type of hone, it may be best recognized by the side view looking like a bent wood with striations.""