Thread: Barber hone questions.

I got this fernsler's ruby hone from a friend. I read that it is a good hone over at razorandstone. That is an amazing resource! Thank you to Modine over there!

It has some scratches in it. Do I need to remove them? If so how do I go about that?
Thank you for your time and help in advance.


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I would ask Mike (Modine) or Utopian. They are the gurus on razor hones.

The instructions say you can you sandpaper or emory cloth if it becomes to smooth in use, so I think it would be safe to say that yes, it can be lapped.
And, there are examples of people doing so with nothing less than terrific results.

My suggestion is to scrub the stone with a scotch pad and some soapy water, then try it out before fiddling with anything. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Many a barber hone has been hurt by lapping. Either the core is degraded and they fall to pieces once the surface is broken, or it just never hones properly again. The factory burnish can be tricky to replicate. And if you think lapping and burnishing an Arkansas stone is bad, wait until you start in on a barber hone.

Now if you try it and it fouls up the edge, then you might resort to lapping in an attempt to make it usable again. Use sand paper or loose grit SiC powder from gotgrit.com to save your DMT/diamond lapping plate if you've got one. They're quite hard and liable to put unnecessary wear on the diamond plate. Then polish it up to 2K Sand paper. I also used my 4K and 8K hones and an Arkansas stone before painting it with a CrOx crayon and buffing it with a cotton wheel. It also helps to have a chisel or tool lying around you can use for burnishing.

Thank you very much gentleman!


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Ignore the scratches and use as-is.

Nice score. They are suppose to leave a pretty nice shaving edge. I would only be concerned with scratches that you can feel with a razor.

Originally Posted by kelbro

Ignore the scratches and use as-is.

Yes, this. That hone is quite soft and scratches at the drop of a hat. Those scratches are just what I call "negative honing areas" and don't cause any harm. Use it as is.

Well do thank you.


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Is this your first barber hone? I don't want to be patronizing unless it actually helps you.