Thread: Escher or Thuringian?

So I bought this stone on eBay, and the seller represented that it was an Escher in his listing. When I posted a photo of it earlier, however, a few members pointed out that it was probably a vintage Thuringian but not an Escher because it clearly does not have that distinctive "Escher & Sohn" or "Escher & Co." label. That was a disappointment to say the least, and I let the seller know that I might be returning the hone based on his overly generous description of the item.

THEN, yet another member said, wait, hold on. It might in fact be an Escher -- but you need to look at the text of the label inside the lid of the box, because there were some Escher hones like this that have a pretty recognizable label but that were not marked with the Escher name.

Anyway, I KNOW that none of this has any effect on the quality of the stone, and I'm not asking these questions for that reason. The real issue here is that the price I paid for the stone might make sense if it actually is an Escher but probably not if it is not.

So, without further ado, here's the exact text of the label, as best I can read it, and with ellipses for what is completely obscured:

Top line "... enuine Water Hone"

Left side of label:

"With this ... known throughout the wo ... ount of its remarkably ... texture of grit, which imparts ... glasting fine edge to every blade."

Right side of label:

"Moisten the surface with w... and ... drawing the blade from heel to point against the edge across the stone, you will produce a fine ... which e...rgens the cutting pr...ies of the ...one.

Bottom line "Made in Germany"

The box has no other markings on it and does NOT say "Genuine Thuringian Hone" or anything else on the outside of the lid. The label is light brown in color, and the ink on it might have been a different color at some point but now looks like dark brown or reddish brown in color.

So what do you think? THANKS IN ADVANCE TO EVERYONE!