Mystery Hone ID Request

[CJBianco]

Can anyone here ID this mystery barber hone?

It's a standard barber hone size @ 4-7/8" long x 1-15/16" wide and a little thin @ 5/16" thickness.

It's pretty damn hard and a beast to lap, but it did give up a little bit of light gray-ish slurry in the process.

Lapping gave off a strong and pleasant, deep earthy scent much like the older, vintage coticules. (The newer coticules smell nice enough, but those super dense Old Rock / Deep Rock / Salm coticules have a strong perfume!)

When finished up to a 1K surface, the stone feels like glass.

TEST: I took a decent 8K edge to the stone with water only, and the result was a very sharp (yet more fuzzy than polished) shaving edge that tree-topped arm hairs with ease.

GUESS: I've never owned a petrified wood hone, but I've read about them. And this does have a very strong wood grain pattern...

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance,
Chris

PS -- That small inclusion-looking spot in photo #1 isn't an inclusion. It's just part of the pattern and perfectly smooth across. Same with the large speckled area in photo #2.

[doorsch]

Very cool thing! Something you need to own just from the look ;-)

I did some posts on the petriefied wood thing or the "German Hickory Hone"

It actually looks a bit like it could be natural...

Was that one a BIN Auction ?

[CJBianco]

Very cool thing! Something you need to own just from the look ;-)

I did some posts on the petriefied wood thing or the "German Hickory Hone"

It actually looks a bit like it could be natural...

Was that one a BIN Auction ?

Thanks for the reply, doorsch. I agree that it looks like it could be a natural stone. It sure smells like it's made of mud. =)

And yes, this was an eBay BIN listing. (Cost me a whopping $16 + $4.95 shipping.)

Regards,
Chris

[Magpie]

If I had seen that, I would have bought it now too! For no other reason than because its damned pretty. Be interesting to see photos of the edge under a scope

[Aerdvaark]

I don't think it's a tree, unless trees grow backwards....lol!
Very very nice find!!!

[Martin103]

Perhaps a natural? Moughton Stone?

[Marshal]

I'm kinda with Aerdvaark. I'm thinking if that were petrified tree that wood knot looking area at the top left would be showing on the reverse side. Sure is a beautiful stone though, and well worth the BIN price for aesthetics alone.

[Iceni]

I don't think it's a Moughton if it's improving an 8K edge. That stone is reputed to be a mid grit stone. I was going to go hunt for some a few years ago. I got to the site but found the location to be fenced off and the farmer I spoke to wasn't in control of that particular area with the stone hole on it so didn't pursue. It's also green and red.

To me it looks like an Arkansas. Patterned ones do exist. And the finish on that rock doesn't let us see any chips that would normally give the stone away.

Novaculite Porcellanite would be a good place to start with images.

You could also measure and weigh it to get a specific gravity. Novaculite is pretty dense, hard to lap, and if it's one of the harder grades will burnish to a polished finish.

[CJBianco]

Thanks for all the replies, guys!

Last night, I experimented with a razor that's always given good shaves, but never great shaves. (Admittedly, I've only used the razor 3 or 4 times.) First, I gave the razor a rough-ish, ~8K barber hone edge. Then I finished it with this stone + water for 50-60 laps before test-shaving.

I had my first great shave with that razor. Wow.

In a few days, I'll take a different razor down to a Naniwa SS 8K edge, then finish on this stone. I suspect the results may be just as impressive. Fingers cross'd.

Regards,
Chris

[Euclid440]

Try a couple drops of Smith’s Honing Solution, on a wet stone.

It is a water-soluble oil. Great on Arks and hard stones. Washes off with water. Lowes and most knife shops carry it, or on line, not pricey.

Nice score...