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I got my great grandfather's barber hone fron a relative today. He have been using it to sharpen tools on, and when i got it it was coverd with a thick messy oil. Do you have any idea how to clean it?
Shaving lather is actually good to clean oily hands, i noticed by mistake once. So that might actually work. Do anyone have a better idea?
Attachment 230431
I'd let it sit in a bowl of Simple Green for a while, then remove & use a toothbrush to scrub it.
Then see what it looks like.
If no Simple green available,,, then a bowl of lemon dish soap.
If simple green or dish soap don't work brake cleaner might be good, if the hone isn't porous and the oil isn't soaked in. I haven't tried it on hones, but easy off oven cleaner, with lye, is great for getting old grease off of cast iron skillets. I read that it is equally good on natural hones. Not sure if it would harm a synthetic. Yours is probably ceramic. If I was going to try something that strong I'd probably dip a corner into the chemical and see if it did harm or good. :gl:
The oil is soaked in... When it stands still, the oil comes out a bit under it... We dont have Simple Green in Finland so I will try some dish soap. Hope it works!
There are other methods, such as Jimmy advised, but this is a barber hone & an heirloom,,, plus by looking at the photo, upper right corner,,, this hone may be starting to break down in the binder that it is composed of. That area of the hone, upper right, is not a "crisp" break,,,this is my concern for using a heavy cleaner like EZ Off,,, which I use often,,,If this is an indication of a breakdown of the hone,,, then EZ-Off may destroy this hone.
Always start mildly cleaning it,,, progress to a more harsh/active cleaner if the hone can take it. Evaluate as you go along.
Is the back side better or worse in condition and oiliness? Because it has a larger honing surface, the back side is more desirable for use, depending on its condition.
In oiliness, they are pretty much the same, but the back side is more worn. A bit hollow in a place actually so I dont think I can lap it flat on the back side without making it too thin... Unfortunately... Here is a pic:Quote:
Originally Posted by Utopian
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But the good news: I tried the bowl of dish soap and it seems to have done a pretty good job. I will let it be for a couple of days to let it rest and see if any more oil comes out on the bottom side and maby repeate the dish soap process once more if needed!
It did change color a bit after the bowl, and left with some dark spots. Hope my phone pic can show it to you...
Attachment 230523
WOW!!!
I have never seen a barber hone worn to that degree. Yes, if the back side is the one that is more dished, then I certainly would not attempt to lap it flat.
Before we go further, I should ask, what do you want from this hone? Do you just want it as a cleaned up momento or do you want to be able to use it as a razor hone or what?
Yep, I told you. It have been used by my relative to sharpen tools on for many years. And he is a wood worker so it have been used a lot...Quote:
Originally Posted by Utopian
If at all possible I want to get it usable as a razor hone! I also have my great grandfathers razor, witch I have gotten cleaned and honed, and his strop witch Im working on now to get back in use. So my hopes are to get the hole gang back in use! :)
Great. Hope that you al get back in use. Always fine to use from family
That thing is worn!
I would lap the less caved side if possible. Still wouldn't be a sterling looking hone either way. I hope you do get it working. Barber hones are pretty cool tools.
Is a hone that has been worn down that much from tool use a good idea to put a Razor to?
My understanding is once you " lap away the very thin top part if them that your hone is not usable any more especially for razors. I,m just asking, I would keep it cause of what it is, put would be concerned for my razors edge. Tc
TC it really depends on the hone. Almost all of them were made with homogenous material but the surface prep made it work better. After gentle lapping the surface can be reconditioned and burnished and may still work just fine--but it will be quite thin and fragile!
How do I reconditione it after laping? I don't have much experience with barber hones...
The front side don't need much laping, so I think it can be laped without breaking it! :) but it will be thin... but right now my main concern is to get rid of the nasty oil.
More than likely, your cleaning it "revealed" spots that were already there. You did not cause them.Quote:
Originally Posted by JackeHj
Yeah, I figured that. ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Hirlau
Since it has been used with oil I would continue to use oil with it and not worry about residue oil.
I would try it on a blade but not your heirloom one to see if the woodworking tools have burnished it smooth.
That thought have also entered my mind. But the thing is that it was covered with thick messy oil, like it have been used to sharpen oily parts from some machine or something (what machine or what parts I have no idea, but thats the feeling I got from the oil)... So this is why I want to get rid of as much oil as possible, and if I cant get all out, Ill se how it works with honing oil! Thanx for the tip!Quote:
Originally Posted by 32t
I think that you can remove the thick outer layer of oil buildup but doubt if you can remove all of it soaked inside.
This is my take of Barber Hones and welcome any corrections or input.
They are made with relatively large grit particles as far as razors are concerned. When they are made only the tips of these mountains are at the top of the matrix that holds them together so they act much finer. When you lap one the matrix is much easier to remove and goes first exposing more of the course material. This makes them act more like the courser grit that they are. This can be solve by lapping with a finer paper or using a chunk of metal such as a knife blade to wear them down smooth again. This would have already been done by the wood working tools that you mentioned and is I think of trying it as it is before lapping.
Tim
This would explain my previous experience with a barber hone... Thanx!Quote:
Originally Posted by 32t
Sweet baby Jesus that hone is whipped! Safe to say the dished side is likely a lost cause for razors. Tim basically outlined what the hones are made of and how they work above. Typically they seem to be a kiln fired ceramic with ~600 grit cutting material. The surface prep is the reason they appear to be so fine, the cutting material just barely sticks up above the binder. Usually I advise against lapping them, but it looks like you don't have much a choice. I rescued a pair of b. hones by lapping them with my lapping stone, then working them through sand paper (320, 600, 1000, 2000) up to 2k grit. Polished them further on an old Norton 4K/8K hone, then ran a chisel over them 100 laps or so to burnish the hones. The key is to wear the cutting material down as flat and smooth as you possibly can with the surface of the binding material.
