Originally Posted by
JeffE
You guys are great; I really appreciate it.
Actually I was just speaking with Bob Keyes today on the phone about all this, and he was telling me about how he just goes from 1k to 4k to 8k to leather strop. Nothing in between 8k and leather -- no pastes, no paddles, no finishing stones, and he gets the blades crazy sharp when he hones. So maybe the entire "finishing hone" thing is a waste of money, regardless of what hone you use?! Who knows.
Anyway, I'll try the hone out tonight and see if it's a keeper. Ivan, of course you're correct, because without even an E&Co. or some other kind of label stuck somewhere, you're never going to be in a position to claim this is an Escher (unlike my seller, that is!). Personally, I'd even be happy to live with that if it turns out that it's a great hone AND that I didn't completely get ripped off on the original price, as I'm still not really clear about whether the hone is worth the money I paid ($167) or only about half that amount (according to some, the price of a decent vintage Thuringian). But as Jimmy suggests, sometimes these questions are not given to firm or concrete answers.
Anyway, much obliged to all of you for the help, and again I am in your debt. --Jeff