and here is the solution:

Quote Originally Posted by brightred View Post
1 labelled dalmore blue DB: 7
1 unlabelled dalmore blue DB: 1
3 labelled tam o'shanter TOS: 6, 8 (Mauchline), 12
2 labelled fine tam o'shanter FTOS: 3, 5
1 labelled white tam o'shanter WTOS: 11
3 unlabelled tam o'shanter TOS: 2, 4, 9
1 labelled water of ayr WOA: 10
1 unlabelled water of ayr WOA: 13



a few remarks:

obviously the people at the honeworks did not waste too much time when assigning colours and grit fineness to the stones: nr. 3 and nr. 5 are both dual hones, consisting of WOA and FTOS.

saying that there are 2 WOA among the stones was a bit unfair: nr. 10 is what we call a TOS today, but it is labelled "WOA". there was a time when the honeworks sold both types as Water of Ayr. so, nr. 10 must be an old stone.

nr. 9 and 13 were glued into one single box. i didn't buy it because of the TOS, but because i thought and hoped that the dark one (nr. 13) might be a WOA. after cleaning and lapping it became clear that it is in fact a WOA.

nr. 11 is a rare labelled WTOS. it is my new colour reference for bright tam o'shanters. as you can see, nr. 4, 5 and 11 are about equally bright.

nr. 4 is an old, unlabelled TOS with an unevenly shaped back. it is brighter and finer than all the other TOS. a gem and the last one i'd give away.

i hope you enjoyed this little quiz! more pictures below!

regards,
hans