Thread: Need help ID German hone

Hello Gents,

I recently acquired this REALLY soft, water thirsty, apparently German hone if you go by the box it came in...
It says Erbo on the sticker but I haven't managed to find out anything about it.
Anyone who can tell me more about this stone?

My first guess would be another connection to Knife and Razor makers Town Solingen. Actually a lot of companies bought thuringian Water Hones from the Sonneberg based companies and re-branded those hones for their own trademark...

Some examples
Böker
FASO / Fassbinder & Co
Herbertz

So also Erbo might be a hint to Solingen, actually the family names Origin lends to this approach...

I would guess that youre stone might be a thuringian Water hone. They were often sold in thise small wooden crates.

Warning: this is only an idea....

There is a solingen based company which is named E. Bonsmann. The owner was ERnst BOnsmann. They were well known producing chirurgical instruments (fex. Scalpells)....

So i would like to Risk this idea here until no other proven approach was posted....

ERBO / ER-BO
ERnst BOnsmann

Thank you Sir for the reply and some really interesting ideas!

I was under the impression that all Thuringian hones are of finer grit and more suitable for finishing on...
Am I wrong?

This one had some really deep grooves from uneven honing but surprisingly enough, lapped flat in minutes with a DMT 325.
Are all Thuringian hones as butter soft as mine?

Originally Posted by Rolle

Thank you Sir for the reply and some really interesting ideas!
I was under the impression that all Thuringian hones are of finer grit and more suitable for finishing on...
Am I wrong?
This one had some really deep grooves from uneven honing but surprisingly enough, lapped flat in minutes with a DMT 325.
Are all Thuringian hones as butter soft as mine?

The Thuringian's are somewhat softer than many other hones.So the quick lapping that you experienced would tend to support that.
The old ones are now mainly used as finishing hones.
~Richard

I was going to say yesterday that the stone looked a bit coarse to be a Thuri (and is that porosity I see?) but I'm viewing on a phone and thought maybe I was misinterpreting images, but by the OPs response I'm wondering if this is a coarser stone - in which case it might just have been shoved in a Thuri box.

In my opinion, if the stone is a tight fit in the box, it is probably original. If loose anybody's guess. The photos are unclear.
~Richard

Originally Posted by Geezer

In my opinion, if the stone is a tight fit in the box, it is probably original. If loose anybody's guess. The photos are unclear.
~Richard

Yeah Richard agreed, the pictures are not perfect...probably we can have some daylight shots ?

One of the main things that makes me think "not a Thuri" is the "water thirsty" comment. Of all the Thuris I've owned or used, none has really absorbed any water to the point I would call it thirsty by any means.

The sawmarks on the fist pic are quite reminiscent for thuringians ive seen...

But iam also not concerned on this