Thread: Hone Identification?

I have a vintage Pike Norton #1 Washita, it doesn't look like your photo.

I doubt it's a Coti because there's no backing.
Does it slurry?

Since I'm near sighted and color blind, I kinda' suck at identification, I shouldn't even comment, but it looks like a Les Lat Coticule to me. It doesn't need a backing to be a Coti. They can be really, really surprisingly hard. It seems to have a chalky vibe to it, not crystalline. Curiously, there are no tiny chips on the edges, which might offer a clue to it's identity. Does it smell muddy or earth when slurried with water.

I love a good hone ID thread. It's been a while since I've seen one here.

It's unlikely to be a Washita; it doesn't looks that much like one, and the thickness is off, they didn't come that thin really. It could be one that's been heavily worn and then flattened, but I doubt it.

My guess would be a Norton SB24 Soft Ark.

Originally Posted by STF

I have a vintage Pike Norton #1 Washita, it doesn't look like your photo.

I doubt it's a Coti because there's no backing.
Does it slurry?

Do you have the top of the box of that stone? And if so... might I see a picture of it?

(I'm trying to get a complete set of Norton natural stones from that era, in the cardboard boxes with triangles on them. And apart from the impossible-to-find 'Fastcut' Hindo, the No.1 Washita is the only type I don't have. In old Norton catalogues the bench stone No.1 Washita seems to have a slightly different look to the box than LWs, Hard and Soft Arks, and all the synths. But I'm not certain on that, so would be good to see it if you have!)

Originally Posted by cotedupy

Do you have the top of the box of that stone? And if so... might I see a picture of it?

(I'm trying to get a complete set of Norton natural stones from that era, in the cardboard boxes with triangles on them. And apart from the impossible-to-find 'Fastcut' Hindo, the No.1 Washita is the only type I don't have. In old Norton catalogues the bench stone No.1 Washita seems to have a slightly different look to the box than LWs, Hard and Soft Arks, and all the synths. But I'm not certain on that, so would be good to see it if you have!)

Sorry, I don't have a top, the box is pretty ratty, I got the stone from the Bay.
Here's some pics of what i do have but I don't suppose they will be of much use to you.

Originally Posted by STF

Sorry, I don't have a top, the box is pretty ratty, I got the stone from the Bay.
Here's some pics of what i do have but I don't suppose they will be of much use to you.

Many thanks for this Steve, and actually looking back at the catalogue your pics do tell me what I wanted to know...

You can see in the picture below from a 1935 Catalogue, that the No.1 appears to come in a different style box from the LW, that doesn't have triangles on it. Queer Creek's came in the same, though later they changed to a box that did.

And I didn't know whether the No.1 changed too, but clearly it did. People often seem to have thrown away the cardboard boxes that old Washitas came in, so I'd never actually seen a No.1 in the triangle box before yours.

Nice stone btw! One side of it looks almost unused, was it 'NOS' when you got?

Originally Posted by cotedupy

Many thanks for this Steve, and actually looking back at the catalogue your pics do tell me what I wanted to know...

You can see in the picture below from a 1935 Catalogue, that the No.1 appears to come in a different style box from the LW, that doesn't have triangles on it. Queer Creek's came in the same, though later they changed to a box that did.

And I didn't know whether the No.1 changed too, but clearly it did. People often seem to have thrown away the cardboard boxes that old Washitas came in, so I'd never actually seen a No.1 in the triangle box before yours.

Nice stone btw! One side of it looks almost unused, was it 'NOS' when you got?

I'm glad my pics helped a little bit.
No the Washita wasn't NOS and I had to soak it in simple green before lapping it.
I could probably have left it soaking for longer really but I'm inpatient and I wanted to try it.
I have both sides at different grits for want of a better word and with different fluids and pressures it will go from bevel set (although I use a 1K for that) to surprisingly high. I have it on very good authority that it can go to 10K in better hands than mine.

Maybe 8k , with that one. But after years of use....maybe.

Originally Posted by STF

I'm glad my pics helped a little bit.
No the Washita wasn't NOS and I had to soak it in simple green before lapping it.
I could probably have left it soaking for longer really but I'm inpatient and I wanted to try it.
I have both sides at different grits for want of a better word and with different fluids and pressures it will go from bevel set (although I use a 1K for that) to surprisingly high. I have it on very good authority that it can go to 10K in better hands than mine.

Steel (is he still posting?) used Arks like that. I would like to try that myself someday and see what I can do with a single Ark..