Thread: Old hone: what is it?

A guy I used to work with gave it to me. Said it belonged to his wife's grandfather. Guy is in his 50s, so hone is probably around 100 years old.

It was 18" x 2" and came in a crude wooden case. Had a deep belly worn in; looked like it hadn't been flattened in 100 years. Flattening confirmed what I suspected from the belly; it's a soft natural stone. (Ordinary dry sandpaper ground it down really fast). Test-sharpened a razor on it; pretty aggressive, not very fine (coarser than a Swaty, finer than a Cushioned Strop hone). You COULD shave right off it (guy says wife's grandfather did) but I wouldn't want to if I didn't have to.

Stone had been used with oil. After I sanded off all that gunk, the natural color of the stone was revealed to be dark brown, though color is darker in some spots & lighter in others. No obvious veins or speckles.

Anyone want to hazard a guess as to what this might be? I'm guessing Arkansas stone.

Pics would help.

Originally Posted by Johnny J

...Guy is in his 50s, so hone is *probably* around 100 years old.

Hey....wait a minute.

Just what are you trying to say there?

OK, back on topic. I just couldn't let that one get by unnoticed.


Scott

I'm guessing Arkansas also and I have a similar stone, similar size. Not sure absolutely though as the story that came with the stone had it coming back from Occupied Japan after WW2 and that it was from a sword smithy.

"(Ordinary dry sandpaper ground it down really fast)."

If this is the case, I can assure you it is not an Arkansas. Is 18" in length accurate? I would also enjoy a picture.

I would also enjoy a picture.

I am the last man on earth without a digital camera (and I'm in the tech biz, too). I have been using this stone and I love it. It's coarser than my Cushioned Strop Hone but finer than 1K sandpaper. It's REALLY fast, too--excellent for rehabing very dull razors, or razors whose edge has been rolled. A truly great bevel-setter, but I wouldn't want to shave right off it (tho the original owner supposedly did).

Quote:
Originally Posted by Johnny J
...Guy is in his 50s, so hone is *probably* around 100 years old.

Hey....wait a minute.

Just what are you trying to say there?

Scott; please recall that the stone belonged to my colleague's wife's grandfather. If my colleague & his wife are in their fifties...well, you can do the math.

That is by far the largest hone I have ever heard of; lapping an 18 inch stone must have been fun. Congrats on what seems to be a great find.

Wait a minute...Sorry, that was supposed to be 9 inches X 2 inches, *not* 18 inches. How the hell did I do that?! Some kind of weird brain malfunction. I guess I multiplied the numbers somehow (?!) Yeah, 18" would be a MONSTER of a hone!