Thread: Escher questions

curious about eschers. been hunting them on ebay but they just skyrocket so fast i can’t justify it on my salary… every once and a while i hit estate sales and wow low and behold i foumd this green box at the last of of the day. it was ending at 2pm and i got into this gated community about 145 and saw an old standard barber hone in a box above the green box and it was frozen into the box almost water logged and i couldnt get it out. so i handed it to the girls selling and asked them to pull it out but they couldnt. in the meanwhile i picked up this hefty sob and when i opened the lid and saw the slurry stone my hart sank when i flipped it over and saw the escher logo my heart rate probably doubled especially with the 16$ tag on the box. ive been hunting for them and curious do they ever pit or deteriorate like other old hones do? i just picked this one up and im fairly sure its not an escher but wanted to know what to look for when they are not marked? ive seen them with and without slurry stones. with and without the slate looking scratch patterns on the face and milling scratches in the sides. with wooden boxes no slurry and then the cardboard ones. i think the cardboard always see, to have the staple in the corners at the miter but not 100 percent. do they have multiple box colors i think ive seen red of course…. i tried to do some searching on here for the pitting and that but with no luck. looking forward to everyones expertise!!

this is the one i just purchased online for like 20$ but im fairly certain its not an escher or thurgurian stone. but i want to know what to look for besides the obvious logo lol

How to decide if a hone might be a Thurigen without a label is not a skill I have. The one you got at the estate sale was a nice find and a great deal. Now that you have one you can quit looking online. Never stop looking at estate sales and the like.

Originally Posted by RezDog

How to decide if a hone might be a Thurigen without a label is not a skill I have. The one you got at the estate sale was a nice find and a great deal. Now that you have one you can quit looking online. Never stop looking at estate sales and the like.

I fully under stand but yeah, problem is I can spend a whole day hitting 3 or 4 estate sales that look promising. If I know what to look for online, there's good possibility that I could find what people don't know they have for cheap, without putting 200 plus miles on the odometer haha! I'm pretty far out in the county and don't see as many around here. I can spend 30 - 60 minutes alone just hunting through peoples houses and not have a lick of luck. I've hit about 25 before finding this stone, that's probably 5 or 6 full days burnt. Don't get me wrong. I've found other cool stuff i don't need lol but its so much easier to look online... I'll always love estate sales and wont quit going but if your hunting one thing, depending on its cost and what you value your time at, sometimes online would win out, if only I was even semi-sure I knew what i was looking for!

Your doing good then. I've searched the wilds to no end. Only came out with three Thurigans. I don't necessarily search for any one thing I'm particular, I just search for everything shave related. If I stumble upon a hone....I'm thrilled.

Good things come to those who wait. I'm happy with what I've found, and probably not looking as hard anymore. I'm satisfied with my returns

Originally Posted by outback

Your doing good then. I've searched the wilds to no end. Only came out with three Thurigans. I don't necessarily search for any one thing I'm particular, I just search for everything shave related. If I stumble upon a hone....I'm thrilled.

Good things come to those who wait. I'm happy with what I've found, and probably not looking as hard anymore. I'm satisfied with my returns

Thanks Mike, I do get excited everytime I run into a hone or a stone, of course not so much for your everyday silicon carbides or the indias, I’ve never used washitas, but if i find a nice trans ark or black ark etc for dirt cheap I do get excited. Sometimes I get on a kick for looking for one in particular like the slate stones at the moment. Thuringian’s just look so awesome and are so fine and weirdly attractive lapped up. I just cleaned up a stone that I think looks like a synthetic sort of but its hard to know. its about 566 grams 1 7/8 x 7 15/16 x 7/8. has a weird smell after lapping almost like i can just smell the petrolium from the oil being used… stinks alot haha. Its fairly smooth after lapping, but there was this brown edge around the whole stone that makes me think synthetic. I wonder if someone could have a guess at what it is… has a milky light brown slurry.

Anybody's guess. Pics on the site are relatively low res. plus it's just hard to say from a photo, especially when it's still soaked with oil (that's part of the problem, more on that later). Try soaking it for a week or so. Some use kerosene or mineral spirits. I usually use simple green and water. You can even heat it gently. I don't think I would recommend boiling it as it could fracture.

As to your question: you already named the things to look for. It is hard to know for sure even by it is advertised as. Sometimes people don't know what they have. That can be to your advantage or it can hurt you. It's a crap shoot. I have bought stones advertised as "natural" only to find the Pike Abrasives India Oilstone stamp on the side after I soaked and cleaned it. Then again I have found boxed washitas that looked like a carborundum they were so filthy.

Speaking of which, if you find washitas BUY THEM! Especially if they are vintage ones they are worth having ESPECIALLY but not limited to Norton/Pike Nº 1 Washitas. That is probably the most versatile stone you will ever own. You can go from bevel set to near or above an 8k edge with it depending on your skill level and technique. Most people aren't crazy like me and do bevel set with it but you can. It is one of the few.stones that can actually do a one stone honing job start to finish. Ive done it. In fairness to get a really keen edge you need to employ a pasted strop through the process and at the end but it can be done in the desert island scenario. If all else fails and you don't like it you can always sell it to me (case by case of course)

Back to your question though, with hunting stones online. Even really good high resolution. photos can't embody the true nature of a stone. You have to just kiss some frogs so to speak. After a while you get better at it. Along the way you will get lucky some and hear the sad trombones some. That's just what it is.

Originally Posted by outback

Your doing good then. I've searched the wilds to no end. Only came out with three Thurigans. I don't necessarily search for any one thing I'm particular, I just search for everything shave related. If I stumble upon a hone....I'm thrilled.

Good things come to those who wait. I'm happy with what I've found, and probably not looking as hard anymore. I'm satisfied with my returns

And there you have it! Sometimes we want perfection only to find frustration. Choose excellence and be at peace!

thanks for the sound advice, ill def. keep my eyes open for the old washitas then for sure, I know im not a huge fan of soft arks so i wasnt sure how they would compare! It looks like its frog kissing time. I do have that one soaking in warm hot not so much boiling water currently with simple green just to see what the outcome will be. it was practically free with some other tools i bought a couple years back. Thanks again for the advice. I’ve seen a few guys on youtube, including flipsfan78 and he has a video with some simple tips but of course when were trying to learn we just want to sponge everything we can in… at least im like that….

wish i could John! always going to seek perfection, just wont kick myself too hard never achieving it!