Are these Thuringian Hones?

Dear Straight fans,

please help me identifying following 4 stones.
All of them are very fine, I've some idea but I've recently learned that identifying hones is not that easy.
Please have a look and confirm or share your opinion.

Thanks in advance

Stone Nr1.
Dimensions (not exact): Length: 17cm, Width: 4cm, Height: 5-8mm
The stone looks gray with a little bit of green with mottled surface, has a red/broun big inclusion.
Stoneis relativeley hard and gives gray/brounisch slurry. Middle of the backside is quite dished out (guess it was the front side before :))
My guess: (grey) Schwedenstein?
Attachment 285986Attachment 285987Attachment 285989Attachment 285990


Stone Nr2.
Dimensions (not exact): Length: 15cm, Width: 3cm, Height: 16mm
Hone is of grey/green color and composed of 4 layers running diagonal through it: dark - medium - light - medium. Quite soft, gives grey-greenisch slurry, I've a feeling that it generates some auto-slurry. Surface feels very smooth to the fingers, has some inclusions in form of lines/dots.
My guess: Yellow-Green/Blue Thuringian?
Attachment 285991Attachment 285992Attachment 285993Attachment 285994Attachment 285995


Stone Nr3.
Dimensions (not exact): Length: 12.5cm, Width: 2.5cm, Height: 14mm
Appears dark-grey, has some brounisch/grayisch looking lines and inclusions.
Surface feels very smooth to the fingers (same as Stone Nr.2), produces light grey slurry.
On the backside ther is som (organic?) spot and the surface has some green in it.
My guess: Blue Thuringian?
Attachment 285996Attachment 285997Attachment 285998Attachment 285999Attachment 286000


Stone Nr4.
Dimensions (not exact): Length: 14cm, Width: 3cm, Height: <=7mm
Hone appears black-mottled with dark-grey lines, visible when wett in the sunlight.
The stone must have been used to sharpen fisher hooks which has leaded in terribly groves on both sides. I've lapped one side significantly down to get a flat surface.
Produces medium-grey slurry.
Attachment 286001Attachment 286002Attachment 286003Attachment 286004

Congrats great score!!

I would say 1-3 very certainly, nr 4 iam not sure.
No1 seems to be a Schwedenstein

As for 1 here is a mottled Schwedenstein „Razor Blade Sharpener“:
https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4210/3...756ea6_c_d.jpg

As for 2 this seem like a double layered thuringian, I still rate them as the best quality. Those were also sold as special qualities (fex. Barbers Delight or Fox 44). Yours looks like a three layered stone!
https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3682/3...80fb9d_c_d.jpg

https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3754/3...6f0679_c_d.jpg

Here is another the layered example, real beauties *love*
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/304/32...75db34_c_d.jpg

Check here too Phillip:

https://straightrazorpalace.com/hone...al-combos.html

Hi Sebastian,
thanks a lot, very appreciate your help!

Yesterday I‘ve came across the ebay-offer of „The Genuine Water Hone“ with Escher label.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?m...2F183134542091

The stone on the pic nr 2 shows exactly the same color and pattern as my nr.4.
Meaning either a) I have a small black escher :) or b) the stone on ebay does not belong to the box...

Is there any way to verify the black escher?

Thanks and bye

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Philipp78

Hi Sebastian,
thanks a lot, very appreciate your help!

Yesterday I‘ve came across the ebay-offer of „The Genuine Water Hone“ with Escher label.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?m...2F183134542091

The stone on the pic nr 2 shows exactly the same color and pattern as my nr.4.
Meaning either a) I have a small black escher :) or b) the stone on ebay does not belong to the box...

Is there any way to verify the black escher?

Thanks and bye

---

Well Phillip, ist nearly impossible to verify that for 100%. Best would be to sent it to someone who has a good Knowledge on thuringian hones.
In the end and you know yourself there are many many slates around, also in the past. And sometimes those slates have a near appearance to thuringian Stones also in their look and properties.

Iam not sure, ive seen slates beeing told to be "black Eschers" or "black thuringians" which means a slate much darker then dark-blue thuringians in this case. Working as good as those...if there is no proper identification like a Label on the Stone, a stamp or a fixed glued Stone to a box you might have to live with a Stone which might be a dark of black thuringian or it might just be a dark slate from somewhere else.

Here is on i came over in a typical paper box, ist darker then a dark-blue thunringian, but works nearly the same:

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4218/3...4304bb_c_d.jpg
https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4237/3...e6b4f8_c_d.jpg

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Philipp78

Dear Straight fans,

please help me identifying following 4 stones.
All of them are very fine, I've some idea but I've recently learned that identifying hones is not that easy.
Please have a look and confirm or share your opinion.

Thanks in advance

Stone Nr1.
Dimensions (not exact): Length: 17cm, Width: 4cm, Height: 5-8mm
The stone looks gray with a little bit of green with mottled surface, has a red/broun big inclusion.
Stoneis relativeley hard and gives gray/brounisch slurry. Middle of the backside is quite dished out (guess it was the front side before :))
My guess: (grey) Schwedenstein?
Attachment 285986Attachment 285987Attachment 285989Attachment 285990


Stone Nr2.
Dimensions (not exact): Length: 15cm, Width: 3cm, Height: 16mm
Hone is of grey/green color and composed of 4 layers running diagonal through it: dark - medium - light - medium. Quite soft, gives grey-greenisch slurry, I've a feeling that it generates some auto-slurry. Surface feels very smooth to the fingers, has some inclusions in form of lines/dots.
My guess: Yellow-Green/Blue Thuringian?
Attachment 285991Attachment 285992Attachment 285993Attachment 285994Attachment 285995


Stone Nr3.
Dimensions (not exact): Length: 12.5cm, Width: 2.5cm, Height: 14mm
Appears dark-grey, has some brounisch/grayisch looking lines and inclusions.
Surface feels very smooth to the fingers (same as Stone Nr.2), produces light grey slurry.
On the backside ther is som (organic?) spot and the surface has some green in it.
My guess: Blue Thuringian?
Attachment 285996Attachment 285997Attachment 285998Attachment 285999Attachment 286000


Stone Nr4.
Dimensions (not exact): Length: 14cm, Width: 3cm, Height: <=7mm
Hone appears black-mottled with dark-grey lines, visible when wett in the sunlight.
The stone must have been used to sharpen fisher hooks which has leaded in terribly groves on both sides. I've lapped one side significantly down to get a flat surface.
Produces medium-grey slurry.
Attachment 286001Attachment 286002Attachment 286003Attachment 286004

---

Correct on all hones. No. 3 looks more like a dark grey - hence light green quality. Last one is a black mottled Escher.

Thanks a lot, Peter!
Best Regards
Philipp

First one is Swedenstein thurie . The others are thuries also . The last and dark one is harder for shure- i have his big brother -20x4 sm. Exelent catch.

Good Morning So I am wondering if anyone knows, do the Fox 44 hones come only in the light green/ yellow green like a Barber's Delight? Or are there other colors. Reason I am asking one is being sold on the bay has the box, but no label on the stone and I contacted the seller and they said the stone was a grey color? Any help will be greatly appreciated..

Thanks Matt...

Yes, the photos I have see are all green. Some Light green.

The stone should fit the box well, and have a matching rubber.

Looked at photos on the bay, looks light green, looks to fit the box with space for a rubber.

Too bad rubber is missing. Last eBay sale wooden box, with rubber was $400.

Attachment 304197

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mlvallance

Good Morning So I am wondering if anyone knows, do the Fox 44 hones come only in the light green/ yellow green like a Barber's Delight? Or are there other colors. Reason I am asking one is being sold on the bay has the box, but no label on the stone and I contacted the seller and they said the stone was a grey color? Any help will be greatly appreciated..

Thanks Matt...

---

I have done a lot of looking at the Fox 44 hones in the past year. My understanding is that the Fox 44 hone is almost a 'color' category of itself. Generally the color they take on is anywhere from light gray to what we would call "yellow-green" for traditional eschers. My hypothesis is that these Fox 44 stones were selected from the softer stock (generally y-g) or other that fit the softness and speed characteristics they wanted.
So when I consider a Fox 44 I don't necessarily look for color, I just know that they're fairly uniform in performance and you generally know what you're getting. Similar to as if you bought a dark blue escher, the spectrum of variance is relatively small in terms of honing performance even though each one may look a little different. I'm sure time and exposure plays a role in the color of the stone as well as it does many natural hones.
I know that's sort of confusing, but I just look at them as a class of themselves rather than a color of escher. I think if you look at it through that lens it becomes a little more clear the differences and similarities when comparing to a branded escher.