Thread: Barber Hone Ingredients

I was wondering about the ingredients of a barber's hone. (Specifically the American Swaty and the Itsapeech, which I am buying.) I've searched the forums, and all I've found is they are made of ceramic. But what is the cutting agent? (I mean the equivalent to the garnets in yellow/blue Belgians.)

Thanx,
Christopher

I think that it is aluminum oxide. At least I know some of the Swatys are if not all.

Almost all of the barber hones were made by a company I believe in Iowa Tilly used to sell them because she bought out the lot when the company went under. Possibly American Abrasives. So the story goes there was a woman who worked for the company who mixed the ingredients and it was some big secret or something and only she had the recipe and when she either left or died no one knew how to make the stuff. They had to start from scratch.

Those "maroon" colored stones are made from a naturally occurring ore called Bauxite (Red Dirt); it is a mixture of Aluminum Oxide and Iron Hydroxide (rust or rogue). Though aluminum oxide is white in color, the ore is red because of the Iron Hydroxide.

Both aluminum and iron oxides are abrasives. It is milled to a powder and mixed with binder, pressed, and fired just like pottery... (and then you have a Swaty)

It was called the American Hone Company located in Monrovia Iowa.
The lady who made the hones had a recipe book of the ingredients but the process was not written down. Tilly did buy out the inventory of hones and some of the linen but passed on the barrels of shellac. Supposedly the asking price for the recipes was $6,000.00. They also had the pressure molds there. The company is still operating but under a different name and not making hones anymore. Tilly used to have a website at redtrader99.com but that URL is not working anymore. Maybe she is still selling on Ebay?

American Hone CO
111 East Chariton
Moravia, IA
52571
Phone: (641) 724-3714


I have not heard of anyone performing an analysis of the composition of the classic barber hones.

Originally Posted by randydance062449

It was called the American Hone Company located in Monrovia Iowa.
The lady who made the hones had a recipe book of the ingredients but the process was not written down. Tilly did buy out the inventory of hones and some of the linen but passed on the barrels of shellac. Supposedly the asking price for the recipes was $6,000.00. They also had the pressure molds there. The company is still operating but under a different name and not making hones anymore. Tilly used to have a website at redtrader99.com but that URL is not working anymore. Maybe she is still selling on Ebay?

American Hone CO
111 East Chariton
Moravia, IA
52571
Phone: (641) 724-3714


I have not heard of anyone performing an analysis of the composition of the classic barber hones.

Just to add a bit more to the story here: The parent company is Success Barber Supply, still in business. The woman (hone maker) was supposedly trained by Franz Swatty himself. She died Christmas day about 2005 and all her hone knowledge went with her to the grave. When I talked with the people at Success Barber/ American Hone Co. I was told that there were no recorded recipes.

So the recipes/ methods were recorded and available for $6K? I have a high regard for those hones. Almost tempting...

I've searched for that hone that you have Honedright and I am unable to find it. I sure hope someday someone decides to resell theirs.

Originally Posted by canyon289

I've searched for that hone that you have Honedright and I am unable to find it. I sure hope someday someone decides to resell theirs.

It's a great hone in my opinion, but there are other vintage hones out there to find. Keep checking on eBay and/or antique stores (2nd street in Pomona is lined with several antique shops) for barber hones.

You might consider checking the internet for barber supply shops. Not just the big ones like Appleton's, but the yellow pages for the little local shops around the country. You may find a shop that still has NOS American Hone Company hones in stock. It is a lot of work to go that route, but that is how I found mine .

Also, many of the current production hones seem to work very well for many of the members here, including your Norton. So you do have many options.


Scott

Originally Posted by honedright

Just to add a bit more to the story here: The parent company is Success Barber Supply, still in business. The woman (hone maker) was supposedly trained by Franz Swatty himself. She died Christmas day about 2005 and all her hone knowledge went with her to the grave. When I talked with the people at Success Barber/ American Hone Co. I was told that there were no recorded recipes.

So the recipes/ methods were recorded and available for $6K? I have a high regard for those hones. Almost tempting...

Thanks for the update! My info came from Tilly and second hand sources. Tilly said she had bought the hones and linen but had passed on the barrels of shellac and the pressure molds. The recipe/process info came second hand and I think it was in Bladeforums.com.
But...if you talked with company then you have the straight scoop.

Since I live in Iowa, someday I intend to make a pilgrimage to Monrovia just to see what I can see!