Thread: How to clean a hone

Hello all, I was looking around for some info to help me just clean a hone that I purchased here at an estate sale recently. No idea what type it is, I have no experience with these, but I did buy it in hopes I can use it someday to sharpen razors with.

For $1 I couldn't pass it up. Would just using some dawn soap and giving it a good scrub with say maybe an SOS pad be good? I'll be placing it away for awhile with another stone until I can give them more time.

Thanks for the help!

you can lap it that should clean up the honing surface.
As far as sides I personally would lap them too (if the stone is not glued ina box or something) , but if you have something less aggressive that works use it.

Yeah that's something I'll do eventually is lap it. Might not want to do that right now with just sandpaper though. Definitely not glued in no box. It's free to run and play!

I still have a lot of reading up on stuff to do. Well rereading actually, it's just not staying in the head at this moment. Someday though.

If you could post a photo that would help to ID the hone. If it has been used with oil your best bet is easy off 'no fume' oven cleaner. If it is just swarf and dirt try a nylon bristle brush under the tap and then lapping with sandpaper or better a diamond plate. 325 grit or thereabouts is what you want. Here is a tutorial on lapping.

Here's some pictures of the stone, although they aren't quite good at night. My camera skills leaves much to be desired, and I could probably use a better camera as well.

Well...thanks for the pics!

That is one dirty hone! use Oven Cleaner, several applications and scrub with a brush. Then take some 220 grit sandpaper and try lapping it. Let us know how it laps. Based on the dimensions I suspect this is a coarse, man made hone.

+1 on cleaning that hone with "no fume" Easy Off oven cleaner. Make sure the room is well ventilated or better do it outside. It is very grimy, but I am an optimist, and am going to say you may have gotten very lucky and there is a double sided Belgian coticule/BBW under all the dreck. Good luck! Please post the *after* pictures! What are the dimensions?

The dimensions are 2" wide by 8" long croaker. The nylon brush would be fine to clean off the hone with the Easy Off No Fume Oven Cleaner right?

I'll post pictures as soon as I get it cleaned off. It might take a little while, but I'll make sure to follow up. I also have another hone that is definitely cleaner than the other one here, and thought I might as well post a few pics of this one as well. It even has a tiny section of the label left on one side, but it's just an 'n' at the very end. I don't think the n helps much, but maybe the style will of the label. It is 2" wide by 9" long.

See if you can find a match for your 'n' between the labels in this thread http://straightrazorpalace.com/hones...nd-labels.html

As I scrolled down through the photos, I was starting to think, that kind of looks like a Thurinigian and then I got to the last photo. Yup, it is a Thuringian, the best kind!

That little fragment of a label on the end on your hone increases it's value 10 fold! Protect that little bit of paper.