Thread: Identification on stones found today

Cruised over the antiques mall with the wife today and found a vender that had quite a bit of straight razor supplies. The vender wasn't currently there but he had these stones, a pike swaty stone which I searched and people were saying it's about a 15k hone (of course if you know more please let me know!) another stone with the satis factory co. Written on it. This stone feels a little more abrasive then the pike swaty. Then the last stone is what I would believe is a natural stone judging on the coloring, there was another stone that was there which I didn't purchase but it at least the box said Arkansas natural but I'm not sure if this is the same as this stone had no kind of writing on it but it almost feels as smooth as the pike swaty and my shapton 15k. Obviously I won't know for sure on these things for sure until I hone and check the progression under 100x magnification but if someone could give me a head start with some info I would appreciate it.

as always thanks for taking the time to read this and reply the communities help is always appreciated!

Fonz

The Pike Swaty is an imitation Swaty. It is a perfectly good maintenance hone, but it ain't no 15k. If I remember correctly, its scratch pattern is about equivalent to something less than an average 8k hone. Realize though that a barber hone, including this one, is more aggressive than an average 8k hone. Its cutting capacity is depending on more than its grit size, and it also depends on grit density and binder characteristics.

The Satis Factory looks to be in rougher condition but hopefully the back side is better. I would guess that it will be more coarse than the Pike.

I would guess that the larger hone is a Washita/Arkansas hone. It probably is more coarse than either of the barber hones.

Originally Posted by Utopian

The Pike Swaty is an imitation Swaty. It is a perfectly good maintenance hone, but it ain't no 15k.

The Satis Factory looks to be in rougher condition but hopefully the back side is better. I would guess that it will be more coarse than the Pike.

I would guess that the larger hone is a Washita/Arkansas hone. It probably is more coarse than either of the barber hones.

What makes you think it's an imitation? I thought it looked like these stones here, also I found it on another forum about this stone being a 15k...

PIKE American Swaty barber hone test

The back stone of the satis factory stone has some kind of glue that is on it but it can easily be removed...

So my feeling about the last stone being a natural, that's so awesome I'm pretty stoked I've always wanted to have a natural...

All in all I paid $15 for the swaty $10 for the satis factory and $20 on the natural

Also someone mentioned that the chipping on the bottom of the Arkansas is unusual for that type of stone

It's a real barber hone, but Swatys were made in Europe. Because of their popularity, other manufacturers made similar hones and imprinted them with "Swaty." That does not mean they are of lesser quality.

Originally Posted by Dafonz6987

Also someone mentioned that the chipping on the bottom of the Arkansas is unusual for that type of stone

Agreed. The chipping is more suggestive of a synthetic hone but the colorization makes me think it is natural.

I concur with Utopian on the Arkansas. Looks like a fair price on all.

Originally Posted by Utopian

It's a real barber hone, but Swatys were made in Europe. Because of their popularity, other manufacturers made similar hones and imprinted them with "Swaty." That does not mean they are of lesser quality.

That's crazy, I've been lapping with an atoma 400, can I lap these stones with the same?

What's crazy?
You'd be better off just cleaning the barber hones with a scotch-brite pad. If you do want to lap it, then the Atoma would be fine.

Nice Stones for a nice price. Gongrats