Thread: Barber hones characteristics

Originally Posted by LawsonStone

I keep seeing one particular combination barber hone over and over--same look, same sticker on the side, but different brands. See the picture below. I have this one as a "Reliance" hone, but also have an identical one labeled as "Dubl Duck" with the box and embossed on the stone. I have seen other "brandings" of this stone as well. The typography of the sticker, the color, are all identical.

I like the "Reliance" because the brand is just printed on the side with no embossing of the honing surface, so you have the full length to work with.

Aam I safe in thinking that there was one manufacturer and that these companies all just put their brand on it? "Dubl Duck" I know is a great old razor, but may I assume the "Dubl Duck" combo hone is no different from the "Reliance" combo hone?

If so, what does anyone know the manufacturer? I'm just curious, and would like to know more about this hone.

For the ones you mentioned, they were made by the American Hone Company, first in Olean, NY and then in Moravia, IA. They certainly made frequent use of that side sticker but I have seen some two sided hones not made by that company that still had a similar sticker.

You are correct in your assumption that this company made hones for many other companies. Whether or not the hones were identical in composition or only subtly different is pretty much left to speculation at this point. I would guess that they were slightly but not significantly different.