Thread: Can you tell me anything about the hone I just won?

I just bought this on ebay. Can you tell me anything about it? Would it be good enough to practice on? Would I be able to get any of the razors I purchased "shave ready?" How do I find out what grit it is? Did I just waste some money?

The item number is: 260687175332

here's the link...

Vintage Magnetosteel Straight Razor W/ Honing Stone NR - eBay (item 260687175332 end time Nov-10-10 08:13:19 PST)

Any input would be great. Thanks...

Its a barbers hone its used for touching up already sharp razors. You can't sharpen all the way through on one, no.

A barber hone is never a waste of money!
I can't tell what that particular hone is, but odds are that it will work just fine for maintenance. It is unlikely that you can get your razor shave ready with it. I've done it but it took hours. It is definitely something that can be good to practice on, as anyone learning to hone needs to develop the proper muscle memory in the same manner as learning how to ride a bike. There is no particular grit rating for a barber hone as its characteristics are dependent on more than just the grit size. It also depends on the concentration and combinations of the grit and the binder holding the grit together to form the hone.

Well...that's good news and bad news.

I thought I just picked up a cheap hone that I could use to get some of the blades I purchased shave ready.

alas, it will help me develop some other skills though so it's not a loss.

Yes, but once you have the razor shave ready, you can keep the razor sharp for the rest of your life with just that hone.

Originally Posted by Utopian

Yes, but once you have the razor shave ready, you can keep the razor sharp for the rest of your life with just that hone.

Wish you'd have told me that before I bought 75 hones ........

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Wish you'd have told me that before I bought 75 hones ........

Well, I've known it for years and still bought a lot of hones, including probably 75 barber hones! In other words, I'm pretty sure you wouldn't have listened anyway.

Barber's hones are great and there were a lot of them made that are all different. Some are combination hones with two sides where you can sharpen a dull blade and then flip the hone and touch up the blade, etc. There's Frictionite barber's hones, Ruby barber's hones, norton barber's hones, Dubl duck dry hones etc. More than enough to keep your interest!

I own Escher hones, coticules, Jnats, etc and I still love my barber's hones. If you want to be a minimalist getting your razor honed and then maintaining it with one is all you need.

Can you guys tell me anything about the razor that came with it???

It's a Magnetosteel Razor. It looks to be in pretty good condition. I really like the scales on it.

It looks okay to me, there may be a frown to the blade but someone that knows their way around a hone should be able to straighten that out easily.

Usually as a rule if it says Sheffield or Solingen on the blade it's a good razor.