Catalogue of Hones Based on Area of Origin.
I wonder if anyone would be interested in contributing to a list of hones based on their provenance. I found out about a number of different stones when I was researching the Devonshire Oilstone and thought it might be an idea to try and catalogue all of the different types. Therefore, this thread will be an ongoing effort, and everyone is welcome to add hones based on their own experience and research.
IRELAND:
Mangerton Mountains, County Kerry
On the mountains of Mangerton, near the lake called The Devil's Punch Bowl, is a species of Whetstone, the grit of which is as fine as that of many common hones, and being shaped properly and afterwards boiled in oil, it serves the country people for whetting razors." It is described as being a bright Olive Green colour, darkening after being boiled.
SCOTLAND:
The Water of Ayr and Tam O Shanter Honeworks Limited. Ayrshire
Opened in 1789 and still retailing old stock. Produced the Tam O Shanter and Water of Ayr Hones, which are also known as Scotch or Snakestones. Also retailed hones from other quarries including the Dalmore Blue from Craiksland Quarry and a fine stone from the Meikladale Mine. The Dalmore Yellow is a coarse stone, sold under the trade name Mikado, but I haven't been able to find out anything more about it's provenance, aside from the fact that it was retailed by the honeworks at a price of approximately 2/3 rds that of the TOS. There is some confusion as to the distinction between the the TOS and WOA stones, as both were sold under the same name early on. WOA is now considerded to apply to the darker, finer stones and TOS refers to the speckled stone. There is also a variant of the TOS, that is sold as the White Tam O Shanter. Also sold stones for "special purposes" under the names of "Montgomeriestone Hone" and "Soutar Johnny Stone."
Troon Harbour Sill
A 10ft bed of material similiar in appearance and quality to the TOS. Never commercially exploited.
Ratho Quarry, Midlothian
Working in 1810, but no further information is available about the type of stone produced.
Meikledale Mine and Meikledale Quarry, Ayrshire
These are two separate sites, sharing the name Meikledale.
Meikledale Mine was a hone-stone mine opened in the 1920's, and still being worked intermittantly upto the later years of the twentieth century. The stone from this mine is described as being finer, but less pure than the TOS. Combo stones were made using a TOS and the blue Water of Ayr stone from the Meikledale Mine.
Meikledale Quarry was a hone-stone quarry worked from about 1881 until the stone was cut off by a fault in 1926. It has now been filled in.
Fiddish River, Banffshire
Laminated marble from the river bed was used to make hones and whetstones.
Enterkine Quarry, Tarbolton Parish, Ayrshire
A hone-stone quarry recorded in 1900. A very hard and pale grey baked mudstone. William Alton may have been referring to this quarry when he wrote: " Hones, or whetstones of an excellent quality , are found at Gadgirth and many thousands of them are dug up and sold."
Craiksland Quarry, Ayrshire
The Dalmore Blue stone was quarried here, but was sent to the Water of Ayr & Tam O Shanter Honeworks Ltd. to be processed and retailed.
D. Ferguson & Co. Glasgow
Produced the Fergo-Glass Razor Hone. Based upon it's shape, I suspect that this hone was designed for straight razors, as opposed to DE blades, unlike the majority of glass hones. More details here Scottish Glass, FERGO-GLASS, D Ferguson & Co, Glasgow (Razor Hone)
WALES:
Inigo Jones & Co. Caernarfon, Gwynedd, Wales
Operational since 1861, and still active today. Retails hone-slates under the trade name "Dragon's Tongue", as well as providing slates to other firms to be retailed under their respective trademarks.
Richard Williams & Co., Portmadoc
Processed slate from the Corris area which was then supplied to two firms in Cheshire. One supplying flat hones for export and the other producing safety razor blade hones for sale in the UK.
Talacre and Gwespyn Quarries, Prestatyn.
Produced mainly scythestones using a fine-grained sandstone but also produced hones. Closed in approximately 1950.
Moel Siabod Mountain, Snowdonia
The Moel Siabod Hone Quarry Ltd. was in business in 1895. Most likely quarrying a slate hone.
Melynllyn Yellow Lake Hone Quarry, Conway
At one point in time was owned by the company, AB Salmen. Produced the Yellow Lake Oilstone.
Llyn Idwall, near Bethseda
This quarry was the source of the Welsh, or Llyn Idwal, Oilstone. Reputedly very similiar to Charnley Forest Hones, albeit harder, but was in less general use on account of it's being more expensive. Records go back at least as far as 1798 and the quarry still existed in the 1980's.
Cutler's Greenstone, Snowdonia
The exact source of this stone remains unknown. It was a very hard green stone, used mainly for finishing surgical instruments, although there are accounts of it's use as a razor hone.