Thread: Help with stone identification required

This stone was gifted to me by a member on a UK forum who got it as part of a package. It's quite small as you can see below and was pretty mucky before I lapped it - which was not too difficult on an Atoma and finished with wet & dry up to 1000. It slurries nicely with a pale purple colour although the stone itself is a much darker purple. The pictures are not great but I'm hoping there's enough to help identify what stone it is. In order they show wet, with slurry and dry.

Thanks in advance.

Belgium Blue Whetstone (BBW).

Nice looking BBW, does it look like it was glued/possibly natural backer for a coticule or always a separate stone?

https://razorlovestones.wordpress.co...rouge-du-salm/
This is always a good place to look for comparison pictures.

Originally Posted by dinnermint

Nice looking BBW, does it look like it was glued/possibly natural backer for a coticule or always a separate stone?

When it came to me it was embedded in a piece of hardwood but was barely showing above surface level, so I cut it out and cleaned both sides.

I have a couple of coticules but with schist rather than BBW backing so I'm pleased to add this to my small natural stone collection.

Hard to say, what for a long time was dubbed BBW (Belgian Blue Whetstone) and regarded as just a garden variety, backing stone for cuticles, in the last few years has come into question.

Some have found the “Purple” stones, to be very fine honing stones for razors. Because they were for a long time regarded as second string, backing stones, not much was written about them or documented with photos. Also now we are finding these and other European stones were processed and marketed by others than, from where they were mined, confusing identification further. Because comparing stones visually, in many cases the “Known” stone is of questionable provenance, because of labeling and marketing.

So while it is all interesting, all that matters is how it performs. Compare the finish to a known finisher, to find where it will fit in a progression.

There is much written here in SRP and Razor & Stone on the Purple or French stones. Here is a good thread with many links and good photos.

Nice find, hope it’s a finisher, enjoy.

Slate backed German yellow razor stones?

Actually under a geological term a Lorraine Rouge or Rouge Du Salm is a different type then a BBW....

The identifiers are known and can be found in Henk Bos Grinding and Honing Part 4 on Belgian Water Whetstones.

Visually the slurry turns wine red, the polishing is very mirror like with still visible scratches. It can also be shaved of some types with only stropping leather.

Originally Posted by doorsch

Actually under a geological term a Lorraine Rouge or Rouge Du Salm is a different type then a BBW....

The identifiers are known and can be found in Henk Bos Grinding and Honing Part 4 on Belgian Water Whetstones.

Visually the slurry turns wine red, the polishing is very mirror like with still visible scratches. It can also be shaved of some types with only stropping leather.

Doors, thank you for the information about the red stones - do you have a link to Henk's identifiers? Also I was a little unsure as to whether you think this a straightforward BBW or maybe something different.

Originally Posted by UKRob

Doors, thank you for the information about the red stones - do you have a link to Henk's identifiers? Also I was a little unsure as to whether you think this a straightforward BBW or maybe something different.

yes sure...here is the link:
Index website Henk en Ge Bos

Download part 4 and switch to Lorriane Rouge / Rouge Du Salm


Identifiers are:
- a very reddish coloration of the slurry, tending towards a wine red
- sometimes white lines or lighter purple/orange dots can appear
- the stone gives a very good polishing effect
- estimation of a comparable synthethic grit reaches up to 8K

usage of oil, honing solution or water-glycerine can give a better edge,
it can be shaved off the stones with only stropping on leather

Originally Posted by Euclid440

Hard to say, what for a long time was dubbed BBW (Belgian Blue Whetstone) and regarded as just a garden variety, backing stone for cuticles, in the last few years has come into question.

Some have found the “Purple” stones, to be very fine honing stones for razors. Because they were for a long time regarded as second string, backing stones, not much was written about them or documented with photos. Also now we are finding these and other European stones were processed and marketed by others than, from where they were mined, confusing identification further. Because comparing stones visually, in many cases the “Known” stone is of questionable provenance, because of labeling and marketing.

So while it is all interesting, all that matters is how it performs. Compare the finish to a known finisher, to find where it will fit in a progression.

There is much written here in SRP and Razor & Stone on the Purple or French stones. Here is a good thread with many links and good photos.

Nice find, hope it’s a finisher, enjoy.

Slate backed German yellow razor stones?

+1. I well recall the old barbers I got coticules from in the 1980s (3 different barbers) telling me the backing was just for reinforcement, not for honing. They referred to the coticules as 'soap stones' because they used the lather from their Lather King hot lather machines as the honing vehicle.

Also, the Old Rock & Deep Rock marketed stones had the labels glued onto the BBW, further signification that the stone wasn't considered suitable for honing at that time. Bruno posted pics a long time ago of BBW used as stones for fences, and for a house façade !