Quote Originally Posted by Mijbil View Post
cool stuff, jimmy. your name really tells the tale (I'm thinking of the suffix part). any iea how many hones escher made over the years? What years were they in business? How many hones you think are still around? Also, have you figured out any way for one to ID the color of one's escher?
No clue to how many they made but they began, according to the label, in 1790. They were still in business in the early twentieth century but for how long is unknown to me. Perhaps it was WW1 and it's aftermath when Germany was in a state of anarchy or maybe the great depression, which was world wide, that drove the nail in their coffin. OTOH, it may have been that demand slowed and the market wouldn't support the company or the supply dried up. Whatever it was they seem to have faded away.

No telling how many are around. To those who used them they seem to have hung on to them and they eventually make it to an estate or a yard sale. Who knows how many were simply thrown in the trash can.

The only way to ID the color is by having end labeled stones to compare and/or a lot of experience with them. IME they are all good finishing stones no matter the color. Some, as in all naturals, may be better for some things, than others.