Thread: Tips for finding good vintage hones

Hey all, I had some questions on what should I look for when I find an old hone/whetstone however you would like to call it. I've had some luck already, but I'm sure that will pass by soon if I don't know what I'm looking for. Not looking for just one particular type, i.e. just finishers, they're all fine. I'd like to eventually with time try my hand at sharpening razors. I figure in the meantime I'm having good luck with hones so I'll continue my searching for all types that would aid in such a future!

Buy as many as you can afford. Experiment with every one of them. Repeat.



Oh, and if you are married, hide the receipts and the bills, and for God's sake hide 87.2% of the hones!

Originally Posted by Utopian

Buy as many as you can afford. Experiment with every one of them. Repeat.



Oh, and if you are married, hide the receipts and the bills, and for God's sake hide 87.2% of the hones!

Great advice ! Especially about the wife !!

I'll hide em in the cast iron pots... to many of them for her to go threw

Yep, just get a load and experiment! Find out what you like and then delve into that more deeply.

In terms of the actual stone, just make sure its in good condition with no cracks or chips, and that it hasnt been stained horribly with oil or anything.

Good luck and keep us posted!

Enabler's one and all!

Buy anything that's reasonable and natural. Although some natural hones suitable for razors are found in wooden boxes (most coticules and thuringians are NOT bonded to the wooden box and instead are removable), in my experience, most of the large sharpening stones found in ancient looking wooden boxes are for our intents and purposes worthless manufactured oilstones, india stones, etc. I'm talking about the ones that look like they could be something in your average picture on Ebay, but turn out to be coarse oily pieces of crap when held in hand.

Chris L

Most of the man made stones will be 2" wide and show no scratches because they are so hard. However the Natural Arkansas stones are also 2" wide but will not be grey in color. The exception is the Norton India stone which is an orange color.
The natural stones are almost always less than 2" wide, about 1 1/4"- 1 1/2", and usually have definite scratches in them because they are so soft. The Escher/Thuringen/German Waterstone are usually some shades of blue/gray/green and seem to scratch most easily.
The coticules will usually be 2 color hone with one side a "cream" color and the other side a black/brown/dark blue color.

Man made barber hones are usually 2" wide, 4" - 6" in length and all shades of the rainbow in color and usually 1/2" or less in thickness.

There are exceptions to each of the above.

Once I get started, I don't need enablers that's for sure!

I picked up a Franz Swaty here just the Saturday before last. Got it for dirt cheap at just a quarter so I did good. Wished I had seen the estate sale sign on the day it came out though. Might have missed some other stuff I don't know about!