Thread: Just shipped my last labeled Thuringian

Originally Posted by AljuwaiedAK

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( Two labeled Eschers were sold before taking this picture)

Today I have said goodbye to my last labeled Thuringian hone, I have collected Eschars for a good period of time, my aim was to study the differences between the different color designations and to compare the resulting edges. I concluded that the QC on the Escher stones was very tight; all the labeled Escher stones that I have owned and tested leave scratches in the 1~micron region, although the Blue Greens and the Yellow Greens tend to be on the finer side of that region, and they are a bit faster IMO, however all of my Eschers provide me with the most comfortable edge ever, my skin is yet to find a finisher capable of giving what an Escher has to offer of the perfect balance between comfort and sharpness.
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These stones were a specialized razor hones around 150 years ago, how great this is !!! The best statement to describe them is printed on their own labels.

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I kept only one unlabeled vintage Thuringian, it is maybe a Blue Green or a Green one I can’t really say for sure what it is the color, but from it performance I am sure it was an Escher. Also I still have a small Yellow Green too.

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and as always the funds form selling a stone are recycled into another


Happy honning,

Hi AljuwaiedAK,

very nice collection you had!
Since you are located in Saudi Arabia I would be interested in the following: Did you found the Escher stones also locally in your country? Were the stones only used from Barbers/ for honing razors?
I have spoken with a lot of descendants of the old mining and trading companies related to thuringian whetstones and they told me that up to today they got inquieries from muslims of the arabic area that use especially thuringian hones for the so-called kosher butchering. I also heard that beside the pure coticules the thuringian hones were the only sharpening stones considered as being kosher or halal themselfes.
Have you heard anything about this?

Regards Peter

Originally Posted by hatzicho

Hi AljuwaiedAK,

very nice collection you had!
Since you are located in Saudi Arabia I would be interested in the following: Did you found the Escher stones also locally in your country? Were the stones only used from Barbers/ for honing razors?
I have spoken with a lot of descendants of the old mining and trading companies related to thuringian whetstones and they told me that up to today they got inquieries from muslims of the arabic area that use especially thuringian hones for the so-called kosher butchering. I also heard that beside the pure coticules the thuringian hones were the only sharpening stones considered as being kosher or halal themselfes.
Have you heard anything about this?

Regards Peter

Hello Peter,

I Hope that you were not looking for a short answers to these questions 

Did you found the Escher stones also locally in your country?

No, but that does not necessarily mean the absence of Escher or thuringian stones in Saudi Arabia, in fact the most famous imported cutlery honing stone across Arabic countries is thuringian stone



And that is mainly due to the old political relations between Germany and the Ottomans Empire, but almost nobody call it thuringian or Escher, they have all sort of names, such as: the black hone, the soapy stone, barbers black hone, barbers fine hone, but the most famous name is The German Stone, although you very seldom find Coties they too called German Stones, they are highly regarded and appreciated. now days they are looked at as treasures nobody sells his, at least here in my country.


Were the stones only used from Barbers/ for honing razors?

My answer here will cover Saudi Arabia only. They were used for everything, Barbering, Medically, butchering etc.


(sold on ebay, photo of Othman’s Era thuringian stone, the language is Turkish written in Arabic Letters which what they used before the fallout of Othman’s Empire. The two highlighted words is what I could clearly read and understand without a doubt “Surgical Instruments & Cutting Tools” and I think the bold word at the end is Germany)



But, bear in mind that these stones as stated earlier are very precious things here in Arabia, and they almost found only in the Area that called Hijaz, very rarely seen on other places, that is because Hijaz is the most significant part Spiritually to Muslims, Makkah and Madina are both in Hijaz, other places were cared for by the Othman’s only if they have a strategical value sea, water, food, gateway etc.

Also you find a lot of these stones in Makkah especially, because we Muslims shave our heads after performing Hajj and Omrah, the Barbers everyday up until this day stand outside the doors Of the Holy Mosque waiting with their straight razors to shave your head even in the streets, these days they use one time straights




Now, the other Areas, Such as Najd the poorest at that time… shaving wasn’t a lovely thing at all, they simply shave to keep-out Louse and other nasty things and very rarely for good manner, almost never for fashion.
My father told me that when a barber cuts you while shaving the others will laugh that he just created a new creek on your head 



And they will sharpen their straights using whatever makes that blades cuts heir, no shop no chair nothing just a water and a razor, the fancy ones use lather.

Now about the Kosher thing, we are only instructed to use the sharpest blade possible when slaughtering, this to make it as merciful as possible to the slaughtered animals… we will cut the main blood veins in the animal neck accurately and very fast to allow the blood to get out of the body, to do this you need very shape blades that is why you find some are always looking for the very best stones to do so, but the majority use modern man made stone and sandpaper or the sharpening compounds, but some still prefer The mighty German stones also some are mining their own stones.

This is a collection of an old timer who has 1 Cotie, 1 Thuris and Saudi Slates, the others are man made





here is a thuri found with some razors in an old man bag after he passed away



Now I live in Najd and it is absolute desert, we have many dry valleys that have alluvius that makes a great sand stones, down the valley are the hard fine polishers and the hillside you find the large particles sand stones, I have made a razor hone out of some fine one and they polish like a true hard ark, in fact I have sent one to a respected member in the shaving community in the US and he had a good shaves out of it.


And I currently have some unlapped stones to try whenever I find the time for that.




i hope this answers some of your quistion here Peter.

Regards,
Abdulmajeed

Thanks a lot for this very informative and great answer!

Originally Posted by AljuwaiedAK

Now I live in Najd and it is absolute desert, we have many dry valleys that have alluvius that makes a great sand stones, down the valley are the hard fine polishers and the hillside you find the large particles sand stones, I have made a razor hone out of some fine one and they polish like a true hard ark, in fact I have sent one to a respected member in the shaving community in the US and he had a good shaves out of it.

Isn't Qassim province, famous for it's swordsmen? I wonder if they use synthetics or thuringians.

Abdulmajeed, thank you for the great write up and pics.




Glad to see you back from your trip Hatzicho/Peter.

Thanks Abdulmajeed for the big amount of information!

By the way, "blue" is with me ;-)

Abdulmajeed - thanks again, mine is still untouched and NOS stored safely away in my razor chest, I see it every time I open it up....

Originally Posted by Badgister

Isn't Qassim province, famous for it's swordsmen? I wonder if they use synthetics or thuringians.

Hi there,

Well, you won't get I short answer too
I know very little about Arabic swords, the most famous comes from Yamman, Iraq, Syria and Najran (an area in the southern part on Saudi Arabia). Qassim province is part of Najd Plateau too, Najd weather is very hot and dry, it environment is almost all desert, and only basic blacksmithing is known there, no famous bladsmithing took place there as far as I know. However all Najd people are known for their traditional dance which called Ardah, which includes dancing with the swords unsheathed and pointed to the sky is before and after the battles back then.



Now Najran Swords are really something to talk about, they are among the best swords in the world and the most expensive ones too, some can reach 130k$, the bladsmiths forge the blades exceptionaly balanced to a point that the whole sword can stands on a pin head, also the sword has a very unique character that it can't be layed flat on the hand, it always tilt itself back to stand virtical again, the old and most expensive ones has their handles made form African unihornes hornes and they engrave it with gold and seliver... Sounds mythical hah







https://youtu.be/JUk4kHjqAOQ

https://youtu.be/qYM4KZorhOk

https://youtu.be/7TbRMWRbGp4

Now Najran people live an mountains and they have lots an lots of stones to sharpen and polish their swords and daggers, their area is also very famously known for it high quality flooring granite too. But now days they don't sharpen their blades as they still carry it on their sides everyday for display, and you don't need the sharpness for displaying and tradition.


I know that a lot of western swords collectors come to Najran to buy Jambiyas.

Originally Posted by hatzicho

Thanks a lot for this very informative and great answer!

You are welcome Peter, I knew that you like historical information especially if it includes Thuringians

Originally Posted by FAL

Abdulmajeed, thank you for the great write up and pics.




Glad to see you back from your trip Hatzicho/Peter.

Thank you too.