Thread: Thuringians and C12K

Hi. Last week I acquired what I thought was my first Thuringian hone. It's about 6" long by 1.5" wide. Now I had never seen one before in person and I am afraid that I still might not have! What do I mean by this? I guess I am wondering if I have a true Thuringian water hone. I definitely have taken a look at every picture I could, in the forums, of Thuringians and thought that was exactly what I had until I started taking a very close look at my C12K. Now the stone that I think is a Thuringian is just a little lighter in blue/grey color than the C12K but everything else about them are similar. They both "feel" VERY similar as far as texture goes, when I run my finger back and forth on them. They both produce a similar slurry. Those of you who have a C12K are familiar with the darker grey/black lines that sometimes are seen in them and I even see one of these similar lines in my "Thuringian". Is that possible in a Thuringian? Do Thuringians ever have those slightly darker "veins" running through them? I even looked at them both under my pocket microscope and they look very similar. I know there are varying shades of dark grey C12K and varying shades of Thuringians.
I could post a picture but I do believe most of you would say "Oh that's probably a Thuringian. What I am wondering though is if there is one very specific thing that will definitely identifying a Thuringian? Is there one specific thing (trait) that will definitely set a Thuringian apart from a C12K, when they both have similar color tones?

Thanks!

LOL not at ya, but with ya

OK first off there are 4 different grades/types of PHIG's that I know of myself, all 4 slightly different... There are even more grades of Thuringen and even more differences between them...

So the problem you ask about is by definition even harder to nail down...

There are many Rock-hounds that could make a very educated guess with the stone in hand but even that is not 100% accurate...

Size is the first clue though...


PHIG = People's Hone of Indeterminate Grit

Most Guangxi's have circular saw marks. Guangxi's are much harder than Thuringians.

Some pictures would help.

Thanks Glen. I appreciate your reply. I don't think we have ever formally chatted but I have read hundreds of your posts and respect your knowledge and the time you put into these forums. Thanks again!

Yea Piet, I know what you mean by the circular saw marks and I actually saw what I believe are those similar marks on this "possible" Thuringian. I think I am going to go upstairs and see if I can take a few pics of it, to post, right now.

Be back in a bit.

Speaking of Rock-Hounds, Piet is one

Here are a few pics. A couple are from the top side, which I have done some honing on. The "darker" veins are on the bottom side, which actually has some chips in it. The one pic is the "Thuringian" sitting next to the larger C12K.

if the color is correct this does not look like c12k, they are lighter shade of gray.

Yes I did round the edges. I must say that this little stone was quite easy to lap and round the edges. There were some chips in the edges so I rounded them out.

Originally Posted by JNT

Yes I did round the edges. I must say that this little stone was quite easy to lap and round the edges. There were some chips in the edges so I rounded them out.

I did not see all detail correctly, the edges are not too rounded. Is the color as you look at the stone the same as in the picture? It looks blue gray-ish?