Thread: Sourcing Guangxi hones in China

I'm willing to wager the hard one will be paydirt. That said, if they've changed source as the change from Gaungxi to Mujingfang would indicate, I would imagine we're dealing with a slightly different beast than the C12k we're familiar with.

Cursory search of Mujingfang leads me to believe it's a tool maker:

"Mujingfang gathered the best plane makers from around the country and brought them to their Hong Kong factory from where they supplied master craftsmen throughout South East Asia. Recently, they decided to offer their handmade planes to Western woodworkers."

Perhaps they bought the mine, or just a large chunk of the stones, and gave them their own in-house name instead of relying on the Guangxi label we're familiar with?

Originally Posted by Marshal

Cursory search of Mujingfang leads me to believe it's a tool maker:

"Mujingfang gathered the best plane makers from around the country and brought them to their Hong Kong factory from where they supplied master craftsmen throughout South East Asia. Recently, they decided to offer their handmade planes to Western woodworkers."

Perhaps they bought the mine, or just a large chunk of the stones, and gave them their own in-house name instead of relying on the Guangxi label we're familiar with?

That is my understanding, I don't think 'Mujingfang' is a place or geographical denomination. I think you are right, the difference may just be a branding thing for Chinese and overseas markets. The stones don't seem any different to the ones labelled as 'Guangxi'.

I just purchased another Guangxi hone from WoodCraft and mine still said Guangxi. Interestingly the stone I just received doesn't look anything like the one I purchased almost 5 years ago. The one I just received almost looks like a Thuri stone color wise, I haven't taken pictures side by side yet I will get some and post them on here. Has anyone else noticed this issue?

Matt...

Guangxi is a region of China that is approximately the size of the state of Oregon. There could be multiple mines in the region, all selling stones labeled as Guangxi. There could also be mines in Guangxi that are selling stones under their own trade name.

Thuringia is an area of Germany that is approximately 7% the size of Guangxi. Yet, people say that stones mined just a few miles away from the original mines from which vintage Escher stones were extracted are different than the original Escher stones. No wonder people say that Guangxi stones have variable quality. Even original Escher stones, like all natural stones, vary in hardness, color, and honing properties.

Originally Posted by RayClem

Guangxi is a region of China that is approximately the size of the state of Oregon. There could be multiple mines in the region, all selling stones labeled as Guangxi. There could also be mines in Guangxi that are selling stones under their own trade name.

Thuringia is an area of Germany that is approximately 7% the size of Guangxi. Yet, people say that stones mined just a few miles away from the original mines from which vintage Escher stones were extracted are different than the original Escher stones. No wonder people say that Guangxi stones have variable quality. Even original Escher stones, like all natural stones, vary in hardness, color, and honing properties.

Yes indeed. In fact, stones from different parts of the same seam can be different. I notice with some of my stones that one side can be very different to the other.

I'm still wondering why the same company appears to be labelling the same stones in subtly different ways. Particularly, as you say, as labelling them as 'Guangxi' stones doesn't really tell us much about them anyway.

Originally Posted by mlvallance

I just purchased another Guangxi hone from WoodCraft and mine still said Guangxi. Interestingly the stone I just received doesn't look anything like the one I purchased almost 5 years ago. The one I just received almost looks like a Thuri stone color wise, I haven't taken pictures side by side yet I will get some and post them on here. Has anyone else noticed this issue?

Matt...

Just to build on the point made previously, I watched a video of an older gentleman working a natural hone mine in Japan. In the hole he had carved out you could see stone colors ranging from a dark blue near the top to a yellowish color nearer the floor. In this case, different color was different hone quality and would in part dictate the price and purpose of the hone. But the point is that it's quite striking how fast natural stone can change, even when it's all dug out of the same source and the hole is barely large enough for a man to stand upright in.