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I picked up a hone at a flea market today and it's pretty big at 12 x 4 inches. Brick colored on one side and black on the other but no markings as to manufacturer. The box has a slot for another small stone (?) but that was missing. Seems fine enough grit to possibly use with razors. Is anyone able to shed some light on it and if I might use it for honing razors?
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You don't know what you bought
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It's a axe hone. I can't remember the real name. There really good and really expensive. Look up a Norton 00 stone.
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I looked up the name. It's Frictionite
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Excellent! It did not cost very much at all, glad I grabbed it.
OK, Frictionite 00. I'm finding a bunch of info now. Thanks...
I don't think so. I have never seen a Frictionite with that reddish hue.
The color combination looks a lot more like the Norton barber hone, but I've never seen one that big. I have seen a version bigger than the standard size but nothing as big as the one in the photo.
Could be one of the Norton Sales Samples which also existed comparable to the Norton Razor Hone....the one once sold was also 12inch long as far as i remember.
Its definately no Frictionite!
I'm curious as to what the small area was reserved for. A coticule dressing or slurry stone?
Most boxes like that are for a rubbing stone.
Its definately for a rubbing stone...to clean the surface after usage. Dont think it was for a Coticule Stone, probably a synthethic from the same or different material.Quote:
Originally Posted by Brontosaurus
I think it was for a rubbing stone too. The box is lined with padding and that small area is too. I really don't know what this stone is, it's a ridiculous size!
I picked up a "winner" barber that looks very similar.
Maybe a barber hone?
12" x 4" for a razor? Makes me wonder what it actually would have been used for, if it was so fine. There are some false Norton "utility" combos out there that are actually more like Indias. Still, that space for the rubber is most curious. Sebastian, did the Norton stone you mention come with a rubber?
The box looks like the one in this thread. http://straightrazorpalace.com/hones...es-bundle.html
except my box is in worse shape. My box is missing a little wood insert on one side of the rubbing stone compartment. The one in that thread says the hone is 12 x 3 and the hone I have is exactly 11 11/16 inches x 4 inches (I measured more carefully this time).
Not saying mine is Norton axe hone, just saying the box appears similar.
I've got a couple of Winner hones and they are red on one side and white, not brown, on the other side.Quote:
Originally Posted by J743
Only one way to know and that is to take it for a drive.Quote:
Originally Posted by xiaotuzi
Looks a bit like the American Hone Co. versions of the Swaty. I had a couple that large. It is a manufactured hone.
~Richard
Yes, it's certainly manufactured. Were the American Hone Co. ones you had marked in any way? I can't find any markings on the hone or anywhere on the box.
Remember when the guy on ebay had one of these and wanted $1500 for this. No one wanted to pay that and rightly so, he ended up cutting it into 4 and selling it as norton axe hones. You could make some money with that thing. If you wanted to.
No, I'm not going to try to make money from it... or cut it to pieces for that matter! I'm keeping it as a foundation piece for the hone tower I'm building in my basement.
I must have been skipping school the day this type of hone was a thing on ebay, but I learned about it now searching threads for norton "axe" hone, in the thread referenced above. Craziness...
So what's the word on this stone? Are you using it still? How does it perform?
I cleaned and lapped it and that's it. I still have it. I was going to try to fix the box a little as it's coming apart and the felt is loose. I haven't used the hone yet. It feels like a high grit hone, especially the black side. It seemed unique because of the size and the smoothness but I was not familiar with it when I saw it at the flea market. I actually walked away from it twice before going back to that table a third time and getting it. It sat there for like an hour in the meantime! The guy said he got it at an auction in a lot with a bunch of Nortons but this one is not marked so... can't say it's a Norton.Quote:
Originally Posted by S0LITARYS0LDIER
Here’s a simple test. Hone a razor and finish on the finest stone you have. Or maybe you have a razor that is pulling? Clean your test hone with some soap and water. Leave a little soap and water on the test hone. (Bar soap, Liquid soap, etc no reason to make it complicated.)
Make 5 to 8 passes on the black side of your unknown test hone. STOP. Rinse the hone off with water and let air dry.. Don’t strop. Inspect and test shave. See if improves or degrades the edge. Let us know when you get a chance.
Or if you wish, send me a PM and I can test for you and post results on SRP. There are indeed large and small un-branded Norton Razor “Axe” hones floating around out there.
Mike
I had some correspondence with Norton via email and shared many pictures and measurements of the hone hoping to get some info. Two different people referred it to their tech department who eventually got back to them and then they got back to me, several times, ending as follows:
"So my tech team is telling me that they aren’t sure if it’s a Norton or Pike sharpening stone. Without any significant markings on the box to tell for sure. They have seen both from the 1950s and looked familiar to that era. We are also not sure if it’s for a razor, axe, or barber. I’m sorry we couldn’t be more help."
I tested it on a Wester Bros. that had been starting to pull a little. I had been using the razor for about a month maintaining with regular stropping on linen and leather, no pastes or other additives. I inspected the bevel first using magnification and observed the striae and edge. Then I washed the hone and did eight passes. I inspected again and the bevel appeared somewhat more polished.
I did not strop, just shaved as is and did my whole first pass like that. The edge was not pulling any worse than before but it felt slightly harsh. So, before my second pass I stropped as usual, linen and leather no additives. The shave now felt slightly improved over the last time I used this razor, "fresher" I guess, not pulling as much. That's all I have for now on it but I will continue using it and probably post again after I learn more.
What the heck is with this New Hampshire ? :shrug:
Beautiful hones lying around in the flea markets,,, over size razors just lying around.
:(
Haha, well... it was an abnormally good summer for hunting razor stuff, I'll give it that! I will say that I did put in a TON of legwork and really only posted threads about the times I found something. Probably more than half the time out I find nothing at all but those would be darn boring to hear about!Quote:
Originally Posted by Hirlau
You would think that a lot of places would have straights down here, with so many old timers coming down to retire, but no. I guess they leave all their shaving stuff up North. They come down here & live like hippies.
Either that or they give 'em to their beard growin' razor pawnin' grandsons. :shrug:
Now don't you get them started again. :rofl2:
I have not yet come across one of that particular stone, but in that size range, I HAVE seen Microtome hones in similar sizes. It would not surprise me if it were made of the same stuff as the Norton stone, but with no markings, you wont ever know for sure. Even with the Norton hones, barber hones have a learning curve, and can easily give a wire edge if you are not careful. The term "less is more" comes to mind.
I found mine in Millis, MA (around 44 minutes from the Norton building). =)Quote:
Originally Posted by Hirlau
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Me
You guys are making me jealous.
That's fantastic!! :tu It's awesome seeing another one, your box is in better shape than mine and there is a rubbing stone too. Since getting mine I have absolutely fallen in love with it because how effective the black side is. I usually do a few passes on the black after I'm done on the 8k side of a norton 4/8 and it goes so fast to a most excellent edge. Such a useful and fast hone...Quote:
Originally Posted by CJBianco
Could you post a pic of the rubbing stone. Mine has one too and I would like to see if they are the same.
Sure. (It's 3-1/2" x 1" x 3/8".)
Regards,
Me
http://i.imgur.com/JXtn9GP.jpg
Do you suppose it's the same material as the black side of the hone? Is that slurry caked on around the edges? Thanks for the picture!
No, the rubber stone is much coarser than the black side of the hone (which feels glass-like in its smoothness). And it's not a black stone with white slurry; it's a white stone that's been lightly rubbed (against the black side of the hone). =)Quote:
Originally Posted by xiaotuzi
Regards,
Chris
A little longer than 3 1/2". Seems to be a ceramic type of stone. Very light weight for the size Attachment 250507Attachment 250508
Looks like a, Lilly White, Hard Ark.Quote:
Originally Posted by CJBianco
You can pick them up in that size for a buck or two. They were sold as knife stones carried in a pouch in the sheath.
I use a large Lilly White as a smoothing stone for my Super Stones, and SG20, works very well.
