Fox Razor Hone - Goldfisch Wetzstein take your pick

HADdicts, you'll appreciate this very cool story!!

I got this "Fox" Razor Hone natural awhile back. It's a one of my smallest stones at 30mm x 111 mm x 13.5mm. That's about 4 1/4" x 1 1/4". It comes in a perfectly fitting metal hinged wood box (I just have to find the hinge pin!). Originally it was glued inside the wood box. I easily removed the stone by heating the box and stone gently in a low temp oven and the original heat sensitive glue lost its adhesion. Separated stone with no damage to the stone or to the box (the box pieces separated but will easily be glued back together).

The paper label was fixed to the inside of the wooden box top. I was taking pictures of the stone this evening and I looked closer at the paper label. I happened to notice........it looked as though there was ANOTHER label of some kind hiding under the Fox label. Curiosity overwhelmed me. I figured the glue/paste had to be water soluble. I grabbed a water spray bottle and misted the labels. I used a pointed tweezers and tested. Nope, I needed to wait a minute. I tested again and the two labels were separating easily. I was able to get them apart and virtually intact.

I'll be sending Olivia a PM asking her to translate the German. I can assume the German says "best stone in the world" and I believe "Abzlehstein" means razorhone but aside from that I'll wait for her expertise.

Very cool. A Goldfisch Whetstone don't ya know.

Attachment 28145

Attachment 28146

Attachment 28147

Attachment 28148

Attachment 28149

Olivia: If you can't make out any of the words, please let me know and I'll look closer at the label. I was using my camera which is not as good as my wife's camera at taking close up pictures.

Chris L

Here's a better close up of the German description of the Goldfisch Wetzstein.

Attachment 28150

Chris L

Very cool! I like it.

Well, I'm not Olivia but I can tell you this:
"The Goldfish-whetstone is a natural hone. It can be used with water or oil. With use of the latter, you will obtain a very fine, long lasting and sharp edge. Excellent for all kinds of knives, instruments and tools."

Exactly!
Looks a little like a BBW to me.

Or the fabled brown Thuringian?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 0livia

Exactly!
Looks a little like a BBW to me.

---

The color in the photo is off. Rather than the purple cast as you find in a BBW, this stone is more brown. There are no garnets in this stone; when viewed closely it appears it has the same mica schist abrasive found in Thuringians.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kees

Or the fabled brown Thuringian?

---

Sham is convinced that it is. Especially since the German label was revealed underneath the Fox label.

Chris L

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kees

Or the fabled brown Thuringian?

---

+ 1 ..... Looks very like the one I got from Sham. Nice detective work picking up on the other label Chris. :beer1:

This arrived in the mail today: Très ancienne pierre à affûter pour rasoir boîte bois en vente sur eBay.fr (fin le 28-févr.-10 19:22:28 Paris)

I just lapped it and gave my Goldedge a touch-up with it. I'll post some more pix tomorrow.

Added advantage is that I now know that a nameless I have had for ages appears to be a brown Thuringian as well!
I'll post pics of the lapped hone tomorrow.

fantastic stuff. how do those fox / goldfisch perform? I've been noticing all these antique dealers who sell stones in old wooden boxes - seemingly more for the boxes than the stones. what sorts of hones tend to be in those? fine ones?

The one I got performs really well. I think it is finer than many vintage grey Thuringen hones.

Here are some pics of the hone after I lapped it. It has some white inclusions that do not seem to affect the honing properties.

Purty. If women were into straight razors as much as men, there'd be hone jewelry.....

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mijbil

fantastic stuff. how do those fox / goldfisch perform? I've been noticing all these antique dealers who sell stones in old wooden boxes - seemingly more for the boxes than the stones. what sorts of hones tend to be in those? fine ones?

---

Thuringian and Coticule stones were indeed boxed in wooden boxes. However, you must be cautious when bidding on old grimy looking wooden boxed sharpening stones. Most I've seen are close to worthless coarse oilstones.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kees

The one I got performs really well. I think it is finer than many vintage grey Thuringen hones.

---

People seemed to almost laugh at Sham some time ago when he stated that there was a "brown Escher". OK, maybe they didn't, but I recall skepticism. He's right. and you're right as you know, that you have a brown Thuringian. IIRC Sham also said, like you Kees, that the brown Thuringian put a better edge on a razor than the gray ones.

The one I had that started this post was very small. I sold it to Sham. I knew it would have a good home.

Chris L

Mine isn't much bigger: 30x125 mm
But I have got used to smaller hones and like them for blades with a less than perfect blade geometry. My Goldedge has a slight frown probably due to minimal warpage. I got a great edge on this Goldfisch, so I will keep it.

@ ChrisL: you seem to sell all your good hones: a Goldfisch to Sham, your Hohenzollern to me. I wonder: what super hone(s) have you got?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kees

Mine isn't much bigger: 30x125 mm
But I have got used to smaller hones and like them for blades with a less than perfect blade geometry. My Goldedge has a slight frown probably due to minimal warpage. I got a great edge on this Goldfisch, so I will keep it.

@ ChrisL: you seem to sell all your good hones: a Goldfisch to Sham, your Hohenzollern to me. I wonder: what super hone(s) have you got?

---

I like to share the joy, Kees! I have a handful of Thuringians that I like.

I do have my favorites that I don't think I'd ever sell:

I'd never sell this gem:
Attachment 39090

Attachment 39091


And, my Nakayama Asagi from So:
Attachment 39092
Attachment 39093

I'm just trying to pare things down and simplify a bit.:) It's not working too well though!

Chris L

Ah, you're recovering from HAD?

I am still a sufferer I am afraid.

I don't think I'll ever recover from HAD.:)

But, I no longer comb the web for acquisitions. You all have one less competitor, at least for the time being.

I can see myself looking for and snatching up any great deal on a stone that I find in person at antique shops, etc as long as I'm alive; I'm just not as voracious about acquiring stones any longer.

I think I'm down to 6-7 coticles, three Thuringians of varying color, the Asagi, my Shaptons, all the DMTs, a Tam and some other naturals that are escaping me at the moment. That's an accomplishment for me!

Chris L

HAD in remission but enjoying his spoils!:)

I just got one of these on ebay and it's a bbw I knew it the moment I brought up my grape slurry. I have total of five bbw. 4 of which are natural combo's one is a man made combo. I guess I see now where it is that the seller latched on to the idea that he had a "Escher like" hone. Dollars to donuts it was this very thread.
Although if he felt it was a fabled brown Thuri why did he sell it so quick. How does the saying go "ignorance is bliss" I'll post pics as soon as my phone is charged up I'll place six hones all together, running the gambit between new and vintage(coloration is different) then I'll pull up a light slurry with a fine diamond so there will be no cross contamination.
Another truism is "the proof is in the pudding" the GRAPE pudding.

:HJ
If it was listed as an Escher-like hone and has purple slurry, then just return it, get your money back, and give him negative feedback.

Although not impossible I don't think it's likely the original user replaced his purple Goldfisch Wetzstein with a BBW which in that time was not used for sharpening. The Ebay seller could have put a BBW in it's place but then this person would have had to know there used to be a purple stone in before and would probably have mentioned the rarity of the stone to collect a higher price.

Slurry color can be used to tell the difference between BBW and slate backing, but a purple slurry doesn't necessarily mean the stone is a BBW.

The question you should be asking is how you can tell the difference between a Goldfisch Wetzstein and a BBW before you return a stone that might be very valuable.

BBW have a wood grain pattern as can be seen on the picture ChrisL embedded into his post above. A Goldfisch is completely smooth without such a pattern.