Originally Posted by
Mijbil
Alex and Maskwa - thank you *very* much for those extremely interesting, posts, and with information so very hard to come by. SOmeone should really write up an article on the history of different natural hones, and the geology and material science behind them. (I'm an academic, so that's where my mind goes.)
And for the OP and others: I think it is really great that so many are tryng their hands at finding natural hones again. Clearly there are excellent natural hones in more places than just Thuringia and Japan (and even if we add a few more: the Ardennes, etc.) But obviously the dominance of synthetics and the ease they provide in marketing and -crucially - patenting a process and a consistent stone (for modern marketing materials that say "Asagi hone - *probably* much better than your favorite Suita, though, since it's a natural stone, maybe not!!" just dont appeal to the corporate boardroom, or stockholders.) has for many years pretty much put an end to any meaningful exploration of natural hones - here in geologically rich America, and elsewhere. But I have long been hoping that the resurgence of straight razor shaving, and the evident superiority of natural hones to synthetics in many respects, will also bring a resurgence in the exploration, and perhaps even small-scale mining and marketing, of natural razor hones.
Just a few thoughts - and thanks to all you working hard, with pickaxes, 80-grit sandpaper, or microscopes.
Cheers.