Thread: FRANZ SWATY HONES

I just got a Franz Swaty hone and I have a dumb newbie question: after lapping the stone can I use both sides?

Originally Posted by Zeus

I just got a Franz Swaty hone and I have a dumb newbie question: after lapping the stone can I use both sides?

Yes you can. I have a few of them and one of them has the original instructions. The interesting thing on this one is that it said the side with the company name is the "sharper" side. I can't prove it but I think they are all basically the same.

IMO, the three line became popular with barbers and they asked the traveling salesmen who came to their shops for them. Hence Swaty and other mfgs actually printing "3 Line Razor Hone" on the rocks. I have an American Hone Co marked like that.

Thanks. It's great to have a website with nice people who share your interests, and are so willing to help!

Originally Posted by Chris L

I also find it's interesting that the Swaty instructions talk of basically honing until sharp. All other references to barber hones I've seen stress 4-6 laps to avoid overhoning. So far, 4-6 laps does not work for me with barber hones. Chris L

In the early '80s I got a 3 line Swaty and a Belgian Coticule from a barber in New Jersey. He demonstrated his honing with both. On the Belgian with hot lather from the Lather King machine and dry on the Swaty.

On both he stressed only a few laps and the weight of the blade only. It is no wonder that following his instructions I could never get a razor sharp back then and gave it up shortly thereafter. Sure glad I found this site.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

In the early '80s I got a 3 line Swaty and a Belgian Coticule from a barber in New Jersey. He demonstrated his honing with both. On the Belgian with hot lather from the Lather King machine and dry on the Swaty.

On both he stressed only a few laps and the weight of the blade only. It is no wonder that following his instructions I could never get a razor sharp back then and gave it up shortly thereafter. Sure glad I found this site.

OK, are you saying that you couldn't get one sharp with only a few laps, and to use more?

Originally Posted by Zeus

OK, are you saying that you couldn't get one sharp with only a few laps, and to use more?

Well yes, no and maybe. It depends on the razor and the condition of the edge when you take it to whatever hone you are messing with. My point after having read ChrisL's post is that the misinformation commonly handed out about Swatys by the barbers I've known is common. There it is right in the instructions Swaty distributed with their hones, "Should it not be sharp enough commence the same process until the required sharpness is produced."

There is way more to it than that in terms of making sure the bevel is set and then sharpening the razor in a grit progression or with pyramids, or a combination of the two. I got a Bartmann Manganese off of ebay a few weeks ago. Checked it with the 30X and it looked good.

Did one conservative pyramid with the Norton 4/8 and it was popping hair to beat the band. A lot of strokes were not necessary on that particular razor but they are all individual and some need more then others.

If you haven't already checked out the honing tutorials in the Wiki do so. A lot of good info in there.

Währing is the name of a so called "bezirk" (an area of a city) in Vienna (Wien). It seems that Mr. Swaty was living there.

Originally Posted by kemerd

Währing is the name of a so called "bezirk" (an area of a city) in Vienna (Wien). It seems that Mr. Swaty was living there.

Welcome to SRP. Many of us are interested in the history of the Swaty barber hones and in possibly dating them by the different inscriptions embossed in the hones. We need a 'detective' who lives in Vienna to search through the archives of business licenses and such to try and come up with the details. I wonder if there are many Swatys to be found in Vienna where they were manufactured for so long ?

Well, I am an expat in Vienna. But, I'll look around antique stores to see if there are still some. What exactly do you want to learn about the company story?

Originally Posted by kemerd

Well, I am an expat in Vienna. But, I'll look around antique stores to see if there are still some. What exactly do you want to learn about the company story?

There are variations in the stamping/embossing of the logo on the Swaty hones. Some have three lines of text while others have two lines and there are some that will say "Formerly of Marburg Austria". Still others Yugoslavia. There are also differing instructions. Some say that the hone is two sided, coarse/fine while others do not. Here is a thread where some of this is discussed. BTW, I didn't mean to volunteer you to be a Swaty detective. OTOH, if you find old Swaty hones and can pick them up at a reasonable price there is a large market for them in the SRP classifieds and of course on ebay.