Thread: Mystery hone, photos included

I just got a new camera, so to celebrate, here's a pic of the mystery hone. To recap: dimensions = 9" X 2". From a co-worker in his fifties who says it belonged to his wife's grandfather. Pretty soft; flattens easily on dry sandpaper. Fairly coarse & aggressive (finer than 1k sandpaper, coarser than Cushioned Strop barber hone). What is it?

Because it's fairly coarse and soft, and looks regular and porous, I'd say it's artificial. Vintage India?

It seems a light orangey-brown, but that could be oil and grime - any idea about the original colour? Any clues on where or for what purpose it was obtained?


Edit: just read the original thread where you already addressed some of the above - sorry!

Some other questions then (not to be rude, just very curious about the stone too):
Why do you think it's a natural stone?
In your first post you wrote 'coarser than a Swaty, finer than a Cushioned Strop hone' here 'finer than 1k sandpaper, coarser than Cushioned Strop barber hone'?
You flattened the hone and now estimate the colour at dark brown with lighter and darker areas. Apart from sanding, have you cleaned the stone (as in soaking in detergent or the like), or could the colour still be affected by absorbed oil?

It looks very similar to the pictures of the stone I posted a while ago. At first I was sure that it was a natural - I could see some lines/layering in it and it looked very similar in composition to a dalmore yellow I used to own. Now - after seeing a lot more stones like this I am of the opinion that it is an India stone - artificial.

Regards,
Neil

While it could be man made/artificial I wouldn't assume it to be India. I often use an India for the initial flattening of natural stones and it does not erode. While not in daily use I recieved this India combination for Christmas when I was 15 and 40 tears later it's still flat.

Pretty soft; flattens easily on dry sandpaper.

In my experiance this would pretty well eliminate old (Western) man made hones and all novaculite/Arkansas/Wa****a as possibilities. JMHO, Jeff

Originally Posted by Oldengaerde

Why do you think it's a natural stone?

I don't really know. Could be a bad assumption based on nothing. I have no idea why I thought that.

Originally Posted by Oldengaerde

In your first post you wrote 'coarser than a Swaty, finer than a Cushioned Strop hone' here 'finer than 1k sandpaper, coarser than Cushioned Strop barber hone'?

I don't really know that either. Totally subjective. I revised my opinion of the grit downward after using it a little more, but since I don't have a microscope, it's totally a wild-ass guess. Really all I can say for certain is it's a pretty coarse hone, & a good bevel-setter.

Originally Posted by Oldengaerde

You flattened the hone and now estimate the colour at dark brown with lighter and darker areas. Apart from sanding, have you cleaned the stone (as in soaking in detergent or the like), or could the colour still be affected by absorbed oil?

I didn't clean it, but when I got it, it had a very deep belly & I had to remove A LOT of stone to flatten it. I'm pretty sure I ground past the absorbed oil (unless it's more porous than I think & the oil has permeated the entire stone).

To me it still seems a bit dished in the center. The colors will be off due to the fouling in the stone. I'm about to soak mine at work in the oven cleaner to get the hardened oil off. than flatten it again see what we have after that .

Maybe it`s a white Arkansas, a Wa****a. I picked up a sililar looking hone some times ago. After using sandpaper the hone lost it`s oili skin and showed his nearly plain white teeth.

The one in the middle. No idea. It soaks oil even when it`s dry.

The green one on the bottom of the picture might be a Rozsutec water stone which was used with oil. But I am not sure. It seems be be to soft for a Rozsutec.

Originally Posted by fenriswolf

Maybe it`s a white Arkansas, a Wa****a. I picked up a sililar looking hone some times ago. After using sandpaper the hone lost it`s oili skin and showed his nearly plain white teeth.

The one in the middle. No idea. It soaks oil even when it`s dry.

The green one on the bottom of the picture might be a Rozsutec water stone which was used with oil. But I am not sure. It seems be be to soft for a Rozsutec.

The bottom one looks like a green Escher to me

@ Jonny J`s mystery hone

I think it is a "W A S H I T A"

"Novaculite for abrasives is mined mostly in Garland and Hot Spring Counties. It is classified by the abrasives industry into two general categories:
"Arkansas" stone and "Wa****a" stone. "Arkansas" stone is extremely fine-grained, uniform, has a waxy luster, and is typically white or light gray.
"Wa****a" stone is less dense, more porous, and has the dull luster of unglazed porcelain.
http://www.geology.ar.gov/minerals/industrial_miner_e_n.htm#novaculite

@ JMS

I own a bluegrey and a yellowgreen original Escher. I don`t think that this one is a Escher, even a Thurinigian. It has vains exactly as a Rozsutec, but it is even softer. The slurry of the unknown stone even looks like the slurry of a Thuringian. Maybe it`s so difficult cause the hone was used with oil.

Now is there a particular reason why you try to avoid spelling the "W-word"?
Some come in that yellow color or blue grey btw. Some even in both.

Fenriswolf the more I lap yours, the whiter it becomes.
Water doesn't pearl off anymore. Just on the sides it still does.