Had a look in my stone drawer and I have two vintage boxed ones. A tam o'shanter in a box in great shape and a lily white washita where the label is very worn.
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Printable View
Had a look in my stone drawer and I have two vintage boxed ones. A tam o'shanter in a box in great shape and a lily white washita where the label is very worn.
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A couple here:
Swedenstein and strop on a razor box
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Pike Strop-Hone:
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~Richard
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f3...psysxnjrv5.jpg
This little thing sure is heavy for its size. I guess they all are?
Oldies but goodies ........ long gone now ;
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More long gone ........ ;
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Arks ain't going nowhere ...... :) ;
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Beautiful Arkansas stones Jimmy!
The fact you have the whole collection is awesome.
Here's a pic of two of the other boxed Eschers I have...sorry for the crappy pic:
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Here are some vintage boxed stones I still have ;
Escher with BlauGrun (blue/green) end label
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Natural coticule in a box marked 'Genuine Belgian Razor Hone'
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BT&Co Escher with GelbGrun (yellow/green) end label
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Natural coticule in fitted wood case. Probably from a laboratory.
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Greatest stone ever was ....... and I just happen to have one that would fit your budget ......... :deal:
Not really :) Those in that photo were kind of small. They were average run of the mill coticules. Not that they weren't good, but they weren't anything to write home about. Every now and then you run across one that is really outstanding, but those two weren't it. :shrug:
For me this is the hardest thing in using vintage coticules and assessing the quality of a stone. I've never been comfortable using thin hones. I've also got one of the small boxed thurries which I know gives the best edge out of all my stones but I've given up using it. Just can't reliably do 20 fine strokes on it. Does anyone have any advice on how to be able to avoid hitting edges on these stones? Normally I hone with stones in non dominant hand but maybe I should put them on the table?
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Have another washita and can get it to finish an edge but not the smoothest shave.There is a box and label...
I had the same problem with the small boxed hones & ended up selling mine...wish I had kept it for a slurry stone now. It was the width that I had problems with. On the table I did more oops than I can recall...and a razor normally needs more than 20x strokes on escher.
Well with small stones I always hold them in my non dominant hand. Making sure that the corners/edges are rounded with the lapping plate. I do most honing on a table, but for me it is easier to hone with a small stone in my hand.
Thing is, my minimum for honing is a 5" stone. Width is not that big a deal, but more is better than less IME. I think practice with whatever we have will lead close to perfect, but if I have a longer/wider stone, I generally use it rather than the smaller one.
+1...I'm with Jimmy on this. My favorite Escher finisher is my blue-green 'Barber's Gem', which is 5 inches long and 2 1/2 inches wide. I find this perfect. Usually hold it in my hand but I also have a wooden stand that I made and glued a piece of hard rubber on top of it. I wet the bottom of any hone and press it on the rubber and forms a pretty air tight bond so the hone doesn't move. Works well so I can use a table top instead of holding the hone in my hand. I find that about 40-50 laps on this particular hone works great!
Funny thing is I think this may be the one I got outbid on and then I got the droescher right after. Mine has wavy bans of darker and light through it. Sometimes it looks just like both of these pics banded together. In some light though it looks more yellow green. No matter what it gives a great edge for a nice shave.
Here's three NOS arks, two washitas and a Norton India/Black hard combo
Here's a few more
I know it isnt even in the same playing field as the others in this thread but this one isnt in to bad a shape. Attachment 218133Attachment 218134Attachment 218135
I love arkansas stones. Like Jimmy said above, a good trans edge is like a super charged coti edge. Not quite as smooth as a coti, but has the same characteristic of wanting to cut whiskers and not skin. Some people say they're messy, but on a trans or black you only need a few drops of oil.
Washitas are one of my favorite stones, but I don't use them on razors, just tools and knives.
I guess the only downside to a trans other than the initial lapping/burnishing process is that they're painfully slow, but I'm not in a hurry and I enjoy honing so that doesn't bother me.
I have shaved with an 20" Khukuri after an translucent edge was put on, scary sharp and cuts like a Lazer.
A nailed trans or sb ark edge is one of the ultimate shaving edges. Wedges finished with them are just amazing.
Here is my addition, 10x2 Boxed Escher Blue Green with full label on stone and inside box lid.
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Haven't used it yet, deciding on how to preserve the label. It's wrapped all the way over both ends gotta decide soon lol I am wanting to put some steel on it!!
Matt...
I used "Artist Gloss/Varnish" to seal all my labels, small model paintbrush and a couple of coats and your good to go.
Hopefully Razorfeld will chime in, he's our resident artist and has lots of experience and methods to properly seal stones, he instructed me on the process.
Good luck.
Awesome thanks for the tip, I have sealed a couple other stones but didn't think of using a small brush. I just lathered it on with a bigger brush, duh too over zealous haha. The frayed edge of the label was why I hadn't done it yet.. I'll be checking it out this weekend...
Thanks again
Matt...
Krylon or Archival varnish spray will work as well. Have used both. It doesn't create a thick layer or anything but it does penetrate the label and it repels water.