Thread: Another help with hone ID please

Chances are, it's not a Thuringian. All we know is, it's dark, and a slate. Also, it has some different coloration that is not characteristic of a Thuringian, that's a fact.
Earth has plenty of slates to offer, a lot of these quarries have some homogeneous material that can be used as a hone.
Schwedenstein (it just might be one but interesting patterns in slate is nothing unique) stones aren't Thuringians, it's different area and a different quarry, same case with the mottled type of stones that are rarer than true Thuringians, but aren't the original Thuringians either, not that they are inferior in any way.
Schwedenstein stones have good cutting power, and Thuringians don't, that's a big difference. The ones I tested were finer than the classic Thuringians too, but that's not a fact as there are softer ones that are coarser and not of finishing grade, I hope to get one of these next year.
Also, any slate can have good cutting speed with or without slurry, or it can be slow. It's the nature of the material, not an indicator. Slurry color isn't an indicator either.
I seriously doubt it's a Thuringian unless proven otherwise. All we know is, it's a fine, probably, dark slate. The market is full of sellers with stones marketed as Thuringians, and in most cases they aren't. Someone assuming that a stone is a Thuringian doesn't make the stone a Thuringian. And proving that one is, that's a real challenge.

Thanks Vasilis, your response makes a lot of sense.
I knew it would be hard to identify just by colour and as a novice I am not really much help.
Regards Denise

I'm not seeing what you guys are seeing.

The picture of the underside of the rock. I see small flakes. And a rough finish.



This image is showing me a very smooth finish. It also has some inclusions that look very familiar to me.



And finally your man says he struggled to raise this amount of slurry on 2K wet and dry. That tells me it's as hard as Satans toenails.




I would guess it's a Novaculite. One of the odd Vintage ones that crop up from time to time. I have one that was equally hard to identify.

Iceni, thanks for your input.
Ihave had this for quite a few years. I bought this hone at a Garage Sale along with the hone I asked about last week.
http://straightrazorpalace.com/hones...id-please.html

Oh and Iceni, your comment: "And finally your man says he struggled" ..... "And finally your WOman says She struggled"
Thanks momma aka Denise

Dives for cover for fear of flying rocks!

Sorry about that!

The other stone does indeed look like a Noviculite as well. There are no hard and fast rules for what one should look like, And they come in coarseness grades as well! There are loads of colour variations some look layered and banded. Others have spots or are all one nice colour! Some are translucent, other totally black or grey.

They work out the grade by measuring the density of the stone. The most dense stones are the finishing grades. The least dense have more airspace and pores and cut more aggressively and faster.

You can google specific gravity equations if you are wanting to go that route. Then compare it to the gravity formula used by Dans whetstone.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Specific_gravity

https://www.danswhetstone.com/inform...ne-grades-101/

Originally Posted by momma

Thanks Vasilis, your response makes a lot of sense.
I knew it would be hard to identify just by colour and as a novice I am not really much help.
Regards Denise

Needless to say, I meant no offense. If the stone is a fine one you can shave comfortably with, that's all you need, the name is irrelevant.
Also, the back side with the natural appearance look different than a way a Thuringian or Schwedenstein is split but characteristic of a slate, but enough about that.
Something else I observed, but I'm not sure if it applies only for some quarries or it's a general rule of thumb; if there are no inclusions and sparkly particles on a uniform, homogeneous stone, the darker its color, the finer the stone and you stone is dark indeed.

This was my light colored Schwedenstein, I sold it and it's one of the two stones I regret selling, 22.5x5.5+x3cm piece and really really fine, a few western ones could beat that edge,



Here is the Thuringian I have, note the way the back side looks, all Thuringians with one or more surfaces that are left with the natural appearance have some strange lines, the weren't split easily, it's more like you are trying to break a piece without veins and what you get is this natural appearance. That yellowish wide line is just natural color on the surface and can be lapped off with sandpaper and a tiny effort.
I'll send you a PM with a link to a friend's, Peter's, collection, there are Thuringians and Schwedenstein and you can see their characteristics

Iceni, No flying rocks shall be thrown at you
Hmmm the Gravity Equations, now how hard could that be
What I need is a hone expert that lives in Yarrawonga VIC Australia -
Once again, thank you for taking the time & trouble to help me

and thank you too Vasilis. You have put in a lot of effort to explain things and it is appreciated

Originally Posted by momma

Hoping for some more advice.
This is quite large 8 7/8" long x 2 3/4" wide x 7/8" high
Weight: 2.305lbs (converted from 1046g)
Top face is as smooth as glass, base is rough, natural state.
Box has been custom made as the stone only fits in one way.
I have added water in one photo.
Thanks momma

Could well be a Schwedenstein, there are nearly all different colors.
I have sold one of these blue/grey ones a while ago. You can see some photos here:
Thuringian Hone - mottled blue - "Schwedenstein"

Even though your stone is not as accentuated concerning the yellow/orange parts I have to say these colors are sometimes more, sometimes less visible.
So at the end -as always- it is only guessing from the photos, but there is at least a decent possibility that this is a Schwedenstein.

hatzicho, that is a beautiful specimen <3

My photos aren't great, and I realise that an accurate ID is well nigh impossible but it is enjoyable for me to read and re-read the responses and learn from the suggestions.
I do have a few more ......
Thank you Denise
PS I shall enjoy looking at your site tomorrow (actually that would be today as it is 12:26am here)

I'm thinking it's probably not novaculite. The chips don't look like a broken piece of novaculite, and that pattern on the backside almost looks like the stone was split off with a chisel. This thread has a pretty good example of what broken/chipped novaculite looks like:

http://straightrazorpalace.com/hones...khounding.html

They tend to flake smooth like flint, and do have a pretty wide color spectrum including bands. I've yet to see one that brown-ish green color though. This stone is somewhat odd, in some photos it looks dead-on novaculite, and others I'm thinking, "no wait, that can't be...can it?"