Thread: Need help identifying ~50 year old combo hone

India hone

Put a kitchen knife to it and look at the stria?

That it was in a handmade box says it was prized by someone, but you have to remember, a 800, 1K edge is a fine thing for plane blade or chisel and 200-400 stone for removing chips is great and the combo could keep a guy working for a long time.

It is synthetic, and folks have been making good synthetic stones for a long time, look at all the barber hones out there still.

You might get better results if you posted the photos in the thread and took some better lit photos and some close ups.

Soon as I get home this morning I will

Coarse side


Fine side

Best one I could get of the color fading on the fine side since I've been cleaning it

Still India IMO. They can be anywhere from red to almost yellow, as well as white or blue and probably any number of other colors. The red-orange is just a customary color that's often seen. Get a knife on it and you'll know for sure.

I grabbed an old knife from a thrift store the other day... What am i looking for in the striations?

Fine scratch pattern and straight, chip free edge under magnification.

Compare it to a synthetic stone of known grit.

Just to show some other India stones - one of these looks virtually identical to yours and one gives an idea of the different shades available.