Found some straights razors + a barber's hone

I found 5 straights and 2 double edge razors at the flea market earlier this week to add to my collection. I also found an old Norton barber's hone, but have not much info on it, besides it having a coarser side and a smooth side. The thing about the smoother side that bugs me is that its about as smooth as glass. I was thinking of lapping the hone since it is pretty old, but I'm unsure about having to lap the glassy side as well...

Any ideas?

For the razors, I have found an H Boker King Cutter, a Wade & Butcher Clean Shaver (very cool looking wedge), a Two Generals, a Griffon XX Carbo Magnetic, and an all brass Gillette double edge in its own leather case, compliments of Molson Brewery.

JF

You sir got lucky. Well done.

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Originally Posted by brockoli

I found 5 straights and 2 double edge razors at the flea market earlier this week to add to my collection. I also found an old Norton barber's hone, but have not much info on it, besides it having a coarser side and a smooth side. The thing about the smoother side that bugs me is that its about as smooth as glass. I was thinking of lapping the hone since it is pretty old, but I'm unsure about having to lap the glassy side as well...

Any ideas?

For the razors, I have found an H Boker King Cutter, a Wade & Butcher Clean Shaver (very cool looking wedge), a Two Generals, a Griffon XX Carbo Magnetic, and an all brass Gillette double edge in its own leather case, compliments of Molson Brewery.

JF

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Everything what you have found is great except.
The hone you mention is a trash . i let you know my mailing address i will pay you for shipping fees and take that ugly stone away from you.
Now lets talk right . the stone is the best stone you have in your hands. we cannot talk about price etc but enjoy.gl

Hehe, thanks.

Should I still lap both sides of it though?

JF

Is that the famous Norton Axe man hone? Any pictures? Nice avatar Hi bud gl. Had something a little more radical in mind. See you downtown.
Mike

Nope, that would be the Norton Premier Double Cut.

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Looks like a nice hone! Unless you can feel embedded grit or it is noticeably (I mean SEVERELY) dished I would just use it as-is.

That sounds like a great haul!

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Originally Posted by brockoli

I found 5 straights and 2 double edge razors at the flea market earlier this week to add to my collection. I also found an old Norton barber's hone, but have not much info on it, besides it having a coarser side and a smooth side. The thing about the smoother side that bugs me is that its about as smooth as glass. I was thinking of lapping the hone since it is pretty old, but I'm unsure about having to lap the glassy side as well...

Any ideas?

For the razors, I have found an H Boker King Cutter, a Wade & Butcher Clean Shaver (very cool looking wedge), a Two Generals, a Griffon XX Carbo Magnetic, and an all brass Gillette double edge in its own leather case, compliments of Molson Brewery.

JF

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Quite a haul.
Do not lap the hone unless it absolutely needs it.

Audition the hone on a razor or two. i.e. Use a marker
to see if it touches the full surface of the bevel.

You can give it a scrub with a common kitchen cleanser like Comet
or even a white tooth paste.

Smooth as glass is subtle and may be the correct and ideal
state for the fine side of the hone.

Some of the double sided carborundum hones are HIGHLY
prized by ax men and others.

Best to leave the "flattening" for softer stones. If your not sure, place a steel rule (if you have one) across the stone length wise. Unless you get a considerable amount of light seeping between edge and stone, it should work just fine!

Given that it is a Norton two sided hone with an oval imprint, I'd throw it onto eBay. Sure it's not THE Norton two sided hone with an oval imprint, but I bet it would still sell for a lot.

Yeah, getting cash is good, but I was looking at using it instead. I have over 12 blades that are getting less and less sharp and I'd rather hone them myself instead of sending them away (a lot of them are heirlooms).

I checked it out with a straight ruler and it is dishing out a bit on both sides... I'll try the marker trick to see what it does.

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Originally Posted by brockoli

Yeah, getting cash is good, but I was looking at using it instead. I have over 12 blades that are getting less and less sharp and I'd rather hone them myself instead of sending them away (a lot of them are heirlooms).

I checked it out with a straight ruler and it is dishing out a bit on both sides... I'll try the marker trick to see what it does.

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+1 on see what it does.

If your razors and your hone are worn together they can give you
excellent edges. The need for a flat hone is most apparent
when you switch hones.

Like a razor with a smile needs special strokes, if your can adjust your
strokes to make it work you are golden.

If you have a smiling edge razor you may have the perfect solution in hand.

Lucky haul! Although the markings are different than the famous "axe" hone, the colors of the two sides look similar. Are they red and black? If so, I would do nothing to mar the smoothness of the finish, and consider myself extremely fortunate!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by brockoli

Yeah, getting cash is good, but I was looking at using it instead. I have over 12 blades that are getting less and less sharp and I'd rather hone them myself instead of sending them away (a lot of them are heirlooms).

I checked it out with a straight ruler and it is dishing out a bit on both sides... I'll try the marker trick to see what it does.

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Understood.
I'm just thinking in terms of the potential financial gain relative to the functionality of the hone. You probably could find many hones that would do just as good of a job but would cost much less than what you could get for that one. Of course you can always use this one and just revel in the knowledge that you COULD sell it for a lot. I have a few hones in that category too!

If possible, could you show a close up photo of the imprint?

One side is brownish red/orange, the other is black.

I tried putting some marker on the edge and it didn't get rid of it all, so I lapped both sides with 320 to 1k grit sandpaper. Seems like the stamped side is made of clay or something. That took care of the glaze that was on that side, however the finish is still very smooth. I honed one of my new razors with it (it was completely dull) and after 1hr and some stropping I had a blade that was sharper than the razors I have been using for a year since their last hone (Floppyshoes'). I haven't had a BBS for a long time, but I can use my strop for sure though as I've been having comfortable shaves all year long.

I'll probably hone that new razor some more and see if it can be sharpened some more.

JF

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Originally Posted by Utopian

Understood.
I'm just thinking in terms of the potential financial gain relative to the functionality of the hone. You probably could find many hones that would do just as good of a job but would cost much less than what you could get for that one. Of course you can always use this one and just revel in the knowledge that you COULD sell it for a lot. I have a few hones in that category too!

If possible, could you show a close up photo of the imprint?

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Here you go. I got the hone in a box of old razor stuff that a guy was keeping with him at the flea market. He was asking 5$ for the hone, so I didn't think much of it, I just wanted something to get my blades sharp again and didn't want to have to send them all away... I don't know nothing about what kind of hones the Axes are, so I'm clueless.

You can see in the picture the finish from the lapping...

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