Rolls razor hone any good for touch ups?

I have a couple of Rolls razors with hones which are in virtually unused condition and was wondering if anyone knows what grit they are, and whether they would be of any use as a barber hone?
My reason for thinking this is that they are obviously used for touching up a Rolls (which is basically a wedge on a stick) before stropping and therefore it makes sense (doesn't it???).
Other than that, my highest grit stone is a Norton 8000k and so don't want to mess about and experiment with a Rolls hone if it is a step backward in smoothness.
Any info anyone has is most appreciated.

I've got one - it was actually PIFed to me as my first hone. They are quite fine, and I have used mine as a touch up hone. I'm quite positive that it is finer than a Norton 8k, so I'd say give it a shot.

I would suggest lapping it. Even if it looks flat/unused, if it has been used on a Rolls razor, there could be some wear to only the middle section, and who's to say how well lapped they are from the factory.

Also, be very careful holding it - I know how thin they are, and it would be easy to catch your fingers on the sides and/or ends.

At one point in time the Roll's Razor Co. included a piece of Charnely Forest Hone in their kits, a sample of which was identified as the same petrological type as the hones from the Whittle Quarry, one of the most highly regarded sources of Charnley hones.

Regards,
Alex

Quote:

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Originally Posted by A_S

At one point in time the Roll's Razor Co. included a piece of Charnely Forest Hone in their kits, a sample of which was identified as the same petrographical type as the hones from the Whittle Quarry, one of the most highly regarded sources of Charnley hones.

Regards,
Alex

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WHAT!?! Oh god, I am going to dig out my Roll's and see what I might be missing.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by A_S

At one point in time the Roll's Razor Co. included a piece of Charnely Forest Hone in their kits, a sample of which was identified as the same petrographical type as the hones from the Whittle Quarry, one of the most highly regarded sources of Charnley hones.

Regards,
Alex

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by joke1176

WHAT!?! Oh god, I am going to dig out my Roll's and see what I might be missing.

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I'd not know that either. I've only seen them with the brownish stones.

Mine has a slate grey coloured hone?

Yeah mine are both a kind of slate grey too.
I wasn't aware that there were different variations.

FYI, petrographical in my first post should have read petrological, too many late nights, too little sleep.

For those who say their Roll's Razor Hones are grey, the stones coming from the Whittle Hill quarry did tend towards a grey colouration, it was an inferior type of Charnley hone, more readily available in the late 1800's/ early 1900's, that tended to have green colouring.

Regards,
Alex

Would you guys use it dry as per Rolls usage or use some water/lather on it for a straight?

Personally, I raise a light slurry with a small, 3k grit diamond stone, and do maybe 30 or so laps, and then finish with 60+ strokes using water mixed with Honerite Gold. My personal experience is that Charnleys aren't as slow as some of the early literature on the subject of hones would have us believe. However, all my Charnleys are at least 10 inches long, so you would need to increase your strokes to suit the size of a smaller hone. A number of others have said that the very best results come with honing oil, I've tried Circle Cut Oil on a couple of mine and the results were very good without using the slurry, but I find oil too messy.

Regards,
Alex

Now that I have moved and semi-settled in...:(


I busted out my Rolls and looked at the stone. It appears dark grey-ish/brown-ish when dry and looks a very dark brown when wet.

It has MADE IN ENGLAND stamped/inked on the back.

It seems to be VERY coarse for a finisher, but I haven't lapped it since it's so damn thin. As I get more time I will mess with it a bit more and report back.

I still may lap it, since some of the corners appear very smooth in finish. I dunno, I still don't want to have it break and never be able to use it.