Thread: Great grandfather's old barber hone

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?

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.

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.

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!