Originally Posted by
DaveW
Call me a cynic, but I'm not seeing anything that would categorize an unknown hone with no history as being a $400 razor hone (based on the price comment on the page - it looks like the ones for sale are a bill or so less than that).
Especially when dans often sells an 8x2 black or translucent stone for $100-$125 in their seconds bin. Koppa of known japanese mines, and of great quality are less. Jasper is almost free.
I've been approached a couple of times (not by the seller of these stones) about unlabeled stones that someone would like $500 for, and all I can say is you'd better like them, because if the seller sells them, there will be no benchmark for price and you may be stuck with them unless you want to take a big loss.
I don't know who Keith V is or if he's a member on this forum, if he is, I guess I'll burn a few bridges. I had a long drawn-out discussion with him on youtube where he implied there was something special about a black arkansas stone because it was "a surgical black, and not just a black". There is no difference, it is just a marketing term. Beware of fancy names of things and self-appointed experts. And beware of the marketing model for this stuff. Dig up a stone, polish it, send it to an expert, and then post it on your page when they say they like the stone. It's not as if any of these stones do anything new compared to what's already available.
There are GOBS of super finishing stones in the $100 range, and if I were going to pay big money for a stone, I'd want a long history of them costing a lot and having been used for razors.