So my NOS barber hones arrived today is there anything I need to do before use or a little scrubbing with water and soap then use? These are missing the strop back part but the hones are in amazing condition.
Thanks for any information fellas
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So my NOS barber hones arrived today is there anything I need to do before use or a little scrubbing with water and soap then use? These are missing the strop back part but the hones are in amazing condition.
Thanks for any information fellas
You can gently use a green scotch-brite pad with a bit of soap and water if you feel the need. Though if they appear to be NOS then I'd suggest that you instead just rinse them with water to remove any particulates. After that, USE THEM!
Do not lap them.
Oh, and photos are required.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...4b3d477e90.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...bff2456acc.jpg
Utopian I took photos just for this post and completely forgot to add them :) thanks for the info as always. Im just going to give one a rinse and go :) these are brand new might see about adding the leather myself as a future project. Thanks again :)
What leads you to believe that they are unused?
Quiz time...
Do you know the purpose of the smaller hones being flat on one side and concave on the other?
Well.. valid point but I'm going off the seller and what she said. They do not appear to be used to my eye could be wrong though.
The vendor selling those hones, had a box full of them. I dont know where they came from, but they looked legit unused to me. They also looked legit "unfinished" as well. Certainly, they never recieved the strop portion of their production. A little search of the seller, "completed sales" will show just how many he had.
I was tempted too!
If he had a box of them then that dramatically increases the likelihood that they are in fact NOS.
I did not see them for sale. I've been avoiding ebay. :w
Magpie I figured for what a hagard looking one cost I got 2 plus the de hones so im happy the de ones likely will not be used by me. Might play with one. May also keep one barber hone unused too.
She had a bunch for sale even a few larger size. She was here in iowa so shipping was crazy fast which was cool.
I was tempted to pick up one of the larger ones. But I held off. Which worked in my favor cause that neat little glass barber hone turned up a few weeks later.
Those were a pretty good deal though, not a bad price especially for NOS. Or even a used hone in that good of condition. I'm curious to know how they perform!
Well I have just done a few strokes on 1 of the hones and it seems to leave heavier stria maybe say close to 4K or so. This is literally after about 10 strokes though so not a fair assessment. Ill post more results maybe later tonight.
I would appreciate it if someone could provide me with a link to the seller. If it were 10 years ago and it was a woman selling barber hones from Iowa I would say it was Tilly.
I sent a pm with info from shipping box im not smart enough to do links with my phone.
Best I can do Utopian https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...1f23dd4436.jpg
These probably all were made in the American Hone Company in Moravia, Iowa. I was not certain of the Cushioned Strop Back Hones but the Lithides certainly were. Given that she had so many of them to sell and that she is located less than an hour away from Moravia, it's pretty likely that she obtained a stash from there.
I have 16 of these hones. I have given a few away over the years, but have managed to hold onto these. A couple of them are from different companies. I do know that on some of these strop back hones, the leather strop and a "felt-like" cushion is held together by a type of rubber cement adhesive. I have actually had NOS's that separated in my hands, just removing them from the box. I used rubber cement to place them back together.
Point; when they separate, there is hardly a trace of the original adhesive left on the back side of the hone. Most of the time the remaining residue can be rubbed off with your finger. Thus,, it's quite possible the hones you have were never used , but got separated from their leather/felt backing.
The more I look at all these hones I am wondering if they didn't completely get finished. They all seem rough to me. Like there are bumps I can feel on the honing surface. Maybe I'm wrong but in a day or two I'm gonna sit and play with one and see what happens.
Ok bad pics I know but there are almost ripples in the one pic this is after about 25 stroke wet. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...a82b59242b.jpg
This pic shows like a knot that I felt with my finger and knocked down running a pocket knife over it gently. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...26033726e4.jpg
It feels smooth but not entirely but this is also the first and only barber hone I have ever handled so I might be wrong. Either way I'm not complaining maybe ill just have some neat decoration pieces. :)
If you decide not to use your razors on them, then they nicely finish out a pocket knife after the 1K.
Sweet thanks. I think I'm gonna keep one for display since they are in good enough shape the other not sure...
Lol [emoji38]
After some research, AM Hone Company Olean, N.Y. i can barely read some of that on the hone. After looking around confirmed this info. So the barber hones are not from good old corn country.
Well I'm learning all sorts of things tonight! Thanks Richard
Maybe not :shrug:
But,,,,
There sure was a lot of corn liquor smuggled through Olean , New York from Canada. ;)
Those barber hones could have belonged to a Gangster. Attachment 260487
Ownership of the company changed hands in 1950 when the equipment and supplies were shipped cross country to Moravia, Iowa. An employee from Olean spent 4 months training a young new high school graduate named Lois. She took over the manufacture of all hones until her death on Christmas Eve around 2008. Sorry, but I don't recall the exact year.
I will say though, after spending some time in the rooms that she worked with all that dust, I consider it to be amazing that she survived making those hones for nearly 60 years.
Sure would like to get my hands on all the old correspondence from the hone company.
I have a similar hone that had the leather side but it was in real bad shape. I removed the leather & I found it to be a kind of average hone.
It is a George Worthington Co of Cleveland Ohio "Clearcut" model & is about an inch longer than most Barber hones.
Slawman
No. The imprint side was supposed to be the honing side, as the strop would have been on the back side.
Utopian nailed it both pics are hone side
My Clearcut hone had the leather on the opposite side from the name logo. That was what I was going by. The leather & it's backing were the full length of the hone which is 6.5 " long. Most other Barber hones I have are around 5.5" long. Lot's of different Barbers hones out there!
OOP'S I just saw the inprint on the honing side like mine. CRS- Old timers disease!
Slawman
As I said at the beginning of this thread, The hones looked unfinished. I normally tell people never to lap a barbers hone unless absolutely needed. These hones need it.
After finish it up with some 3000 grit and if you have 2 of them, rub them together after you do, to polish the face to a shine.