Thread: Info wanted for old barber hone and natural stone

Originally Posted by Utopian

You're not helping.


I used two barber hones exclusively for the first 5 years that I used a straight razor. A barber hone alone is sufficient to maintain a razor for the rest of your life.

What brand were these two? Out of curiosity I ask.

The climax stone has a similar shape to my keen kutter and the tiger hone. I'm thinking that has nothing to do with this stone but the shapes are similar. Could it be a "cookie cutter" stone that was made for different hardware companies by the same hone company?

Originally Posted by S0LITARYS0LDIER

What brand were these two?

They were a Swaty and a Carborundum 102. I happened to luck out by starting with two of the best barber hones. I maintained a 7 day set of razors with nothing but those two hones for nearly 10 years.

Originally Posted by Utopian

They were a Swaty and a Carborundum 102. I happened to luck out by starting with two of the best barber hones. I maintained a 7 day set of razors with nothing but those two hones for nearly 10 years.

You sir, are one bad a** man. I have the upmost respect for you. 10 years with nothing but a barber hone and you survived and shaved happily I'll bet. No crying about an Escher or jnat! Content with what you had. I am getting to that stage, content with my stones.

Really humbling to know you don't need $1000 worth of stones to shave happily. It's what you can do with what you've got.

Originally Posted by S0LITARYS0LDIER

You sir, are one bad a** man. I have the upmost respect for you. 10 years with nothing but a barber hone and you survived and shaved happily I'll bet. No crying about an Escher or jnat! Content with what you had. I am getting to that stage, content with my stones.

Really humbling to know you don't need $1000 worth of stones to shave happily. It's what you can do with what you've got.

Nope, you've got it completely wrong. I started with razors that I honed and maintained with just barber hones for about 5 years THEN I found SRP and learned of the existence of the other hones and I wanted to try them all. (Seriously, if you saw my honing lair, I mean pretty much all!) I was far from "content." I started trying other hones and razors but chose to leave my 7 day set, that I kept in a locker at a University gym, pure and untainted by all of the newer hones. That way I had a control set to be able to compare my old method with all of the new stuff I was trying. As my honing improved, I could tell that my edges were better with all my fancy Eschers and jnats etc. but my old set still continued right on shaving just fine.

Originally Posted by Utopian

Nope, you've got it completely wrong. I started with razors that I honed and maintained with just barber hones for about 5 years THEN I found SRP and learned of the existence of the other hones and I wanted to try them all. (Seriously, if you saw my honing lair, I mean pretty much all!) I was far from "content." I started trying other hones and razors but chose to leave my 7 day set, that I kept in a locker at a University gym, pure and untainted by all of the newer hones. That way I had a control set to be able to compare my old method with all of the new stuff I was trying. As my honing improved, I could tell that my edges were better with all my fancy Eschers and jnats etc. but my old set still continued right on shaving just fine.

( sorry I deleted what was here utopian)
Some of us are never content
Perception is a funny thing isn't it. What one reads and interprets in words another interprets completely different. I got from the post that you enjoyed your edges for 10 years and were happy. Either way. It shows barber hones are effective for keeping a shave ready edge shave ready.

Sorry OP,

At Least you know a barber hone can work

No, I would not NEED them. However, I have had a lot of fun playing with them and serving as a bad example for other people on the forum!

Originally Posted by Utopian

Is this your first barber hone?

Yes, in fact I must say I am a real freshman when it comes to straight edge shaving. Purchased a vintage blade, supposedly recently honed... tried it and felt it needed to be sharper.

Therefore, I bought a barber stone with a great brand name wanting sharpen and maintain an already honed blade.

You are going to want to clean it up before using it, I would anyways.

Also just because it says climax doesn't necessarily mean it's going to be a good hone. There are many different names on barber hones and really the only way to know if it's good is trying it on a razor that's pulling. Some barber hones are lower grit and some are higher. They are not really measured in grits though. Some just are better then others. This one isn't seen often so it's not like many people have been using it to give a good review on its properties like a Swaty or similar hone.

I'm sure you will enjoy it and if you don't there is always someone, somewhere who would want it


Nice Henckels, I would ask the seller if he honed with tape on or no tape and how many layers he used (if used) because you will need to know his when touching your razor up.

Originally Posted by djamm

Yes, in fact I must say I am a real freshman when it comes to straight edge shaving. Purchased a vintage blade, supposedly recently honed... tried it and felt it needed to be sharper. Therefore, I bought a barber stone with a great brand name wanting sharpen and maintain an already honed blade.

Originally Posted by djamm

Yes, in fact I must say I am a real freshman when it comes to straight edge shaving. Purchased a vintage blade, supposedly recently honed... tried it and felt it needed to be sharper. Therefore, I bought a barber stone with a great brand name wanting sharpen and maintain an already honed blade.

OK, in that case some issues come up. A barber hone is best used to maintain a previously sharpened razor. Now, that is not the way that I did it but I was monitoring my progress with a microscope to help me figure out what I was doing. A jeweler's loupe is a cheap alternative. Regardless, it really would be helpful if you started out with a properly honed razor in order to learn how to shave. That's because it's harder to learn how to hone and shave as you have no proper means to assess both ends of the process. It would be like learning how to drive a manual transmission car while learning how to replace the clutch in that car.

As a novelty, yes, you have barber hone with a great brand name, but it is an unknown brand of barber hone as far as I know. It is unlikely that you will be able to get much more information about that specific hone.

Only after you have gotten a sense of a decent shave from a properly honed razor will you be in a position to be able to shave to assess your own job of honing.

Where is North Van? If someone else is near you they might be able to help you assess your hone and also to help you learn how to hone.

Originally Posted by Utopian

Where is North Van? If someone else is near you they might be able to help you assess your hone and also to help you learn how to hone.

NORTH VANCOUVER

Vancouver's North Shore Tourism | Official Travel Website