Thread: FRANZ SWATY HONES

Swaty provenance - Straight Razor Place Forums

I actually was really interested in this for a while. Here is a distillation of what I have gleaned:

Original was the 3-line: Franz Swaty, Wahring bei Wien (Austria)

Then his son did the Marburg 2-line: Franz Swaty, Marburg Austria (someone has a packaging insert that states this)

Then the 4-line: Franz Swaty Maribor Jugoslavia Fruher Marburg Austria (logical, they changed the stamp to the new location and nationality of Maribor/Marburg, and had to let people know it was the same, Fruher is German for earlier)

Then another 2-line: Franz Swaty, maribor Jugoslavia

At some point, Swaty's were distributed by SR Droescher, and had a sticker on the side to this effect. At a later point (I believe), they were distributed by Pike, and had a sticker on the side to this effect as well. It said something "Pike sole US distributors of the original Swaty hone".

For some reason, the FS, WbW (A) 3-line was popular and barbers/customers used to ask for it as a 3-line, so as a marketing ploy (after Swaty stopped I believe) Pike made a (literally) "The Franz Swaty 3- Line Razor Hone" and it is stamped that on the hone.

I have a barber hone that resembles a Swaty in all regards, color, size, texture.... In the logo section in raised letters it says;

DREI REIHEN
RASEIR
MESSERSTEIN
(Three Line Hone)

The last in parenthesis is in italicized script. I have the impression this hone was made by the American Hone Co but I am not sure where I got that impression from.

So do I have a real 3 line Swaty?

Just got it from Ebay, it's my first hone. Looks to be about 6x2.

Has a bit of weird white stuff on it, but otherwise it looks free of wear.

How old do you think it is? It's killing me to wait for my DMT D8C before trying it out.

Originally Posted by MrMike

So do I have a real 3 line Swaty?

Just got it from Ebay, it's my first hone. Looks to be about 6x2.

Has a bit of weird white stuff on it, but otherwise it looks free of wear.

That is a good one.

Well, I'm finally in the club too. From a retiring Vienna barber I got this long two line Swaty, in excellent condition, with box and paper:

Originally Posted by Swaty Aviso

Aviso.

Seit dem am 18. December 1888 erfolg-
ten Tode des Erfinders, Ingenieurs Franz
Swaty, Währing bei Wien, ist alleiniger Er-
zeuger des Alumin-Abziehsteines dessen Sohn

Franz Swaty
technischer Chemiker
in Marburg (Oesterreich).

Diese Steine haben sich seit 1879 einen Welt-
ruf erworben und circulieren in 90.000 Stück. Für
jedes Stück wird unbedingte Garantie geleistet

Originally Posted by Swaty Notice

Notice.

Since the decease of the inventor Fran-
cis Swaty, Währing-Vienna, who died on the
18th of Dec. 1888, his son

Francis Swaty
chemist
Marburg, Austria

is the sole manufacturer of the Alumine
honestone.
These honestones have a world-wide repute
since 1879 and upwards of 90.000 are in use.
Every stone is warranted.

Originally Posted by Swaty Gebrauchsanweisung

Swaty-Stein ,,Alumin''.
Registrirte Schutzmarke.

Gebrauchs-Anweisung
für den
Alumin-Abziehstein.

1. Jeder Aluminstein hat zwei verschieden scharfe Seiten,
die roth angestriche Seite ist die feinere.
2. Auf der feinen Seite werden nur dünne, ganz hohl
geschliffene Rasirmesser abgezogen u. zw. legt man die Klinge
mit dem Rücken und der Schneide flach auf den Stein, wie obige
Zeichnung zeigt, und macht für die Gegenzüge die Klinge stets über
den Rücken zu wenden hat. Hierauf wird die Schneide probiert.
Ist die Schneide noch nicht erzielt, so werden weitere 3 bis 4
Züge gemacht, bis der Zweck erreicht ist.
3. Halb hohle oder dicke Messer zieht man zuerst auf
der scharfen Seite vor, (aber ja nicht zu lange, da auf dieser
Seite durch zu langes Abziehen das Messer leicht überzogen wird,
d. h. einen Faden bekommt), dann erst auf der feinen Seite wie
in 2 ab.
4. Man kann mit Wasser, Oel oder Seifenwasser abziehen.
5. Falls die scharfe Steinseite nach längerem Gebrauche
zu fein wird, schleift man diese Seite mit groben Schmirgel-
papier trocken ab, oder mittels eines flachen Stückchen Natur-
bims unter Zuhilfenahme van viel Wasser.
6. Falls die feine Steinseite nach längerem Gebrauche zu
glatt wird, schleift man sie mit Aluminiumbruch trocken, ohne
aufzudrücken, ab; das bei diesem Vorgang entstehende Schleif-
pulver wird mit feinem Schmirgelpapier abgerieben.

Originally Posted by Swaty Direction for use

Direction for use
of the
Swaty Alumin razor-hones.

1. The two sides of the Alumine hone-stone differ in rough-
ness, the one marked red is the finer one.
2. On the finer surface only thin hollow ground razor
can be whetted in the following manner: Put the razor with
back and edge flat on the stone as the above woodcut shows
and draw the razor 3 or 4 times against the edge; when dra-
wing back, the razor must be turned on its back. Then try the
edge. Should it not be sharp enough comence the same process
again untill the required sharpness is produced.
3. Half hollow or thik razors must be whetted first
on the rougher surface (but not to long) and then on the finer
surface as described under 2.
4. The whetting can be done with oil, water or soap suds.
5. Should the rougher side by long use get too smooth
rub it when dry with the rough emery paper or with a flat
piece of pumice stone and plenty of water.
6. Should the finer surface by long use get too smooth
rub it gently at first with rough emery paper and afterwards
with finest emery paper.

A dual grit Swaty by the looks of it!

Question:

After reading this thread I gleaned out that one can use Emery paper to "sand" or "flatten" ones SWATY to return it to a flat surface.

My question is, can one use a LAPPING STONE on a SWATY?

Before I do it I want to ask those who KNOW!

THX!

~Phil

PS....
What's a good price to pay for a SWATY that's in excellent condition?

Originally Posted by PLanzaSr1957

Question:

After reading this thread I gleaned out that one can use Emery paper to "sand" or "flatten" ones SWATY to return it to a flat surface.

My question is, can one use a LAPPING STONE on a SWATY?

Before I do it I want to ask those who KNOW!

THX!

~Phil

PS....
What's a good price to pay for a SWATY that's in excellent condition?

Phil, IME a swaty is a bear to lap. A DMT D8C 325 will work but will take a lot of time and wear on the plate. A DMT D8XX 120 grit will eat the swaty for breakfast and cry for more. What I do with barber hones now is clean the surface with Comet and a Scotch Brite pad. I try them without lapping.

The majority of the old barbers did not lap them. IME many of them will work fine as is with the requisite X stroke and lapping may not be necessary. Swatys in good shape seem to go in the $50 range give or take a few bucks. OTOH, I haven't been paying much attention so that estimate may be low or high. All of the above is just IMHO.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Phil, IME a swaty is a bear to lap. A DMT D8C 325 will work but will take a lot of time and wear on the plate. A DMT D8XX 120 grit will eat the swaty for breakfast and cry for more. What I do with barber hones now is clean the surface with Comet and a Scotch Brite pad. I try them without lapping.

The majority of the old barbers did not lap them. IME many of them will work fine as is with the requisite X stroke and lapping may not be necessary. Swatys in good shape seem to go in the $50 range give or take a few bucks. OTOH, I haven't been paying much attention so that estimate may be low or high. All of the above is just IMHO.

The real reason I ask about "lapping" mine is because it's a hand-me-down heirloom that had been carelessly bumped about and there are quite a few chips around the edges on BOTH sides of the stone. That's why I asked about "lapping" mine.

What's your opinion on that - knowing more details?

Thx in advance......

In my experience (a few Swatys have passed through my hands) they are a BITCH to lap. I don't think you could do it with the "soft" lapping stones like the Norton or Naniwa- I think the swaty would eat through them. Using sandpaper was fine but it CHEWS through paper like breakfast. Even with a diamond hone its no small task. Also I think I agree with Jimmy- no one used to and from my limited testing its not a big deal.

Whether you lap it or not, at least smooth the chips- either by beveling the edge or just spot sanding them so they're slightly recessed and smooth. Both will be a lot easier than trying to lap them out.

With regards to price, typically it's not discussed. I got all of mine for $20 or less (I was lucky) and regret selling some of them at prices between $25 and $35. The one I kept I have gotten such good use out of that personally it's worth a lot more. They seem to go for $50 nowadays and that seems pretty steep but I guess its a question of usage. I have one barber hone (the Swaty) that I use weekly, so if I had to do it again, I would pay more. However, back when I was experimenting I wasn't gonna fork over $$$$ for somethign I wouldn't end up using. The worth is up to you.