Thread: Swaty Stones for finishing

I have to agree with Jimmy. The barber hones are best used as a "touch up" hone, not a finishing hone. Its purpose is to quickly restore an acceptable, but not the best, shaving edge to a razor that has started to "pull ".
I also use a barber hone as is, without lapping.

I am not barber expert, but have had about 10 come through my hands now.

The ones that were NOS or close to new looking performed much for me than the lapped stones.

I could be off in this assumption, but I think they coated the hone with something to make it smoother, more efficient etc. Maybe some special proprietary compound



The lapped stones also felt a little rougher just by rubbing my hand over it.

I had the same brand of a new one and old one, and they new one worked better

I have a beautiful 3 line swaty that is as smooth as ice. I'm not far enough along with straight razors to have tried it yet. I just don't see how anything that hard and slick can help.....but they are popular for a reason and I hope to figure that out.

Ok, so I scrubbed the stones with a clean scotch brite. when I use the stone, should I cover the spine of the razor with electrical tape or just leave the blade bare?

Originally Posted by Mvcrash

Ok, so I scrubbed the stones with a clean scotch brite. when I use the stone, should I cover the spine of the razor with electrical tape or just leave the blade bare?

If it was honed with tape then you would want to continue with the same number of layers. If it wasn't honed with tape than no tape to touch up on a barber hone.

Originally Posted by randydance062449

I have to agree with Jimmy. The barber hones are best used as a "touch up" hone, not a finishing hone. Its purpose is to quickly restore an acceptable, but not the best, shaving edge to a razor that has started to "pull ".
I also use a barber hone as is, without lapping.

I miss your thinking. i wish you will post more and more.
Priceless words.
Thank you.

With respect to the finish on a barber hone.... I was reading an article about the Carborundum Co and how they made grinding wheels and stones at the turn of the century. Regarding the hones.... they were all lapped at the factory AND THEN BUFFED!
They did not say what was used as a buffing agent. Tripoli, emory,crocus, iron rouge?
Regarding the abrasive used.... it was referred to as "1 hour flour". No other specifics were given.

Originally Posted by randydance062449

I have to agree with Jimmy. The barber hones are best used as a "touch up" hone, not a finishing hone. Its purpose is to quickly restore an acceptable, but not the best, shaving edge to a razor that has started to "pull ".

Thanks for your thoughts, Randy, and as I said in my original post, i understand that this is the commonplace about barber hones, but I'm still trying to understand exactly why, exactly what the principles are behind it. Based on what Jimmy says, the only disadvantage to using a finishing hone instead of a barber hone would be that one would hve to do more laps. Although with a fast-cutting hone, like a japanese natural or an Escher (I think, Id ont have one), I'm not sure that would be true. Furthermore, I still dont understand exactly why using the barber hone to touch up an edge that was finished with a substantially finer finishing hone wouldnt "bring down" the edge. Or, if the edge were sufficiently dulled already, it might not bring it down, but I dont see why the superior finishing hone wouldnt still get you a much better result.

Also - interesting what was said about many of the barber hones being aluminum oxide. But that then raises the question - why is there then such variation in how they perform? And if Swatys are made of the same material as many/most others, why are Swatys considered so good, not just average?

Originally Posted by Mijbil

Also - interesting what was said about many of the barber hones being aluminum oxide. But that then raises the question - why is there then such variation in how they perform? And if Swatys are made of the same material as many/most others, why are Swatys considered so good, not just average?

Just a thought, while a finishing hone would no doubt work well to 'touch up' between shaves the barber hone was designed for portability as much as it's fast/fine cutting power. An old barber friend of mine wore the traditional barber's smock with the pockets at the waist and always had his Swaty in his left hand pocket. Thin and short it was much more portable than the average coticule or other finishing hone. Most of the barber hones are of similar proportions for the same reason.

Why Swaty ? They worked well and had the top reputation amongst the old barbers, at least in the North N.J. area in the 1980s. Just as the dubl ducks and FWE, among others, were the top razors in my informal polls of those guys the Swaty seemed to have the most market share. There were other barber hones that were well thought of and have proven to work as well.

Barber hones are small, light, very fast, and can be used dry. So they're very convenient for a mid-shave touch-up (Barbers apparently used to carry them in their apron pockets for precisely this purpose). The feeling among many here is that despite all these conveniences the edge they produce is not quite as fine and smooth as that produced by a natural finishing hone. I personally agree with this. But if my razor is pulling I'm not going to stand there with shaving cream on my face and do 40 laps with slurry on an escher, followed by 40 laps without. But I will reach for my Swaty and do 5-8 passes and get a very satisfactory result.

The feeling that an edge refreshed with a barber hone is not quite as smooth and fine as an Escher etc. is not however universal. Some people really love their Swatys and say they'll hold their own against any finishing hone. There is also an old black Norton barber hone that apparently gives an incredibly fine edge and will compete with any finisher (they pop up on ebay now and then and go for about $500+).

If you find a barber hone that you like as much as much as your Escher or whatever then the distinction between a "touch-up hone" and a "finishing hone" becomes totally moot. It's like a travel brush vs. a regular shaving brush; usually travel brushes are convenient but not quite as satisfactory but if you decide you like the feel of yours then by all means it can become your daily brush.

I have an 8x2 Swaty that I used to use to bridge what Bart calls the "keenness gap" between a Belgian with slurry and a Belgian without. There's no law that says we have to use things for their intended purpose. The Norton 4/8 – the hone that started it all on SRP! – was not even designed with straight shaving in mind...