"Barber's Razor Hone" ???

Took a chance on this little barber's home in a lot. It was cheap and if the home is ANY good it was worth what I paid it just for that. Couldn't find any maker not that it would necessarily mean that much to me anyway but I wondered if anyone knew anything about this little stone. 1 7/8" X 5" X 7/16". Haven't used it yet. All I did was clean it with soap and water out of the box but it seems like a decent little stone.
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Thanks in advance.

There is only one way to know for sure. Take your next razor that needs a touch up and give it a go. Let us know how the test shave goes. I have a few and most seem to leave a pretty nice edge.

Give it a coat of petroleum jelly, and warm it up and let soak in. Does wonders for them.

As Mike said. But check to see if its flat first. A few coats of the jelly. Oh, BTW, use the back side. More room!

I have one similar to it that I use now and then that belonged to my father. I actually picked this up for someone else. I'll try that petroleum jelly thing.

If you are dealing with a hone made in the U.S there is probably a 75% chance or better it was made by this one outfit in the midwest. They made them by the zillions and put all kinds of names on them and made them for many razor outfits.

The name escapes me, maybe American Hone or something similar but one of our members was trying to resurrect the manufacture a few years ago.

I'm sure someone will come along and know the name and the member.

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Originally Posted by outback

Give it a coat of petroleum jelly, and warm it up and let soak in. Does wonders for them.

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This is the first time I have heard/read this suggestion. Does it help preserve the hone or improve its draw? Just curious?

It rejuvenates the hone, removes the dryness.


May take a few applications .

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Originally Posted by thebigspendur

If you are dealing with a hone made in the U.S there is probably a 75% chance or better it was made by this one outfit in the midwest. They made them by the zillions and put all kinds of names on them and made them for many razor outfits.

The name escapes me, maybe American Hone or something similar but one of our members was trying to resurrect the manufacture a few years ago.

I'm sure someone will come along and know the name and the member.

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The name was "The American Hone Company" based in Moravia, Iowa. They stopped making hones years ago.
From the recipes of hones that they made that I have the above hone is not one of them. There were many other companies making barber hones over the years and those companies probably also did private labeling for distributors/retailers.
The composition is probably primarily abrasives and shellac.
I have not tried the "jelly" on a barber hone so just give it a go.
Many years ago this was a standard treatment of the coarser grades of the Carborundum hones which were more porous. I remember reading the label on the inside of the box for one of those hones that specified this treatment. The effect is to give it a smoother feel and also to help prevent the swarf becoming embedded in the hone.

Just my 2¢ :)

I also had not heard the thing with the petroleum jelly. I just took Mike's word. I used it (the hone) this morning to refresh a W&B that needed a lot more work with the strop lately. It did about what I expected it to do: took less strokes to clean, left the face smooth without abrasion, basically smoothed it out.

I have 3 barber hones. I lapped them and did 3 coats of the jelly on both sides. They really turned out nice. I dont see buying any others but if i do i will do this again.

So...how are you folks warming up the stone ...for the jelly ? Just hot tap water ? Thanks

I put mine on the stove warmer burner

I've used a heat lamp.

You can put them in a toaster oven, too. I'd recommend some type of tray to hold the mess.

Coat , heat, repeat, until it no longer sucks in anymore jelly. Wipe off access, let sit overnight. Hone is ready for use.

I did the heat lamp too. Set up on a table and kept checking it every 30 minutes or so. Flip and do it again. Just dont let the stone get too hot to touch. It dont need to be that hot.

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Originally Posted by Gasman

I did the heat lamp too. Set up on a table and kept checking it every 30 minutes or so. Flip and do it again. Just dont let the stone get too hot to touch. It dont need to be that hot.

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Right.! Just warmed up good. Like sitting in the sun, in July.

I have several, they are pretty much the same, as far as performance, though some say, some were finer than most.

Lots of old threads on which ones those were. Personally, I feel they are 6-8k finishers, and most are very aggressive. Which led to the massive edge and spine wear we often see.

It also harks to a simpler time of shaving, a barber hone, pasted strop to finish and linen and leather to shave.

They also make great Axe, Chisel, Draw Knife and Spokeshave hones that fit in a pocket or backpack.

Sun, hot water or hairdryer is more that enough to heat, Neetsfoot in a Zip-lock plastic bag, leave it in the sun, also works.