Thread: Rental Hones?

Wow. Just read the thread about Eschers costing $800!

It occurred to me that there might be a better way. I love to hone, love to experiment, but don't have this kind of money to "buy into" these stones.

I have wondered if, as in the camera world where you can rent expensive lenses to give them a good try before buying, if it would be feasible to rent these stones? I know that there is wear on the stone of course, but somehow it seems crazy to have to put down hundreds of dollars on a stone for that first effort.

Meanwhile, I keep noticing how great my Naniwa honed razors feel, and wonder if it's just my HAD coming out of remission....

Interesting idea you have there, that could be a goldmine for JimmyHad.

That concept violates the forum rules.
I proposed renting razors but the thread was removed due to an infringement of the rules, this is the same ide.a

Well, if it violates the forum rules, I'm sure it will be locked or deleted soon.


In the mean time, the one big problem with that is the same big problem I see with camera rental.

First of all, I am a wedding photographer. Part time, anyway...

There have been times when I would have loved to rent a couple of 1.4 lenses for an usually dark church where my 1.8's didn't quite cut it, or a few extra speed lights for a portrait shoot.

Unfortunately, there's nobody within 100 miles that rents camera equipment, and I'm hesitant to rent via mail order.

The point of all that, is just that I understand exactly what you're talking about.



That big problem that I mentioned is liability. Most of these hones are just as easy to damage as a camera or a lens. One drop, one bump, you're gone.

The way companies are able to do this is through a multi-tiered business model where it's an additional source of income on top of sales. They have a large enough stock level to carry them through damaged returns and the like. Then they sell them off when they become a bit too worn.

All of that is relatively easy when you're talking about production items, but becomes incredibly difficult (if not impossible) when you're dealing with old stock of items that are no longer produced.

I rent a couple of SB-700's, and decide they really improved my portraiture, not only am I more likely to go buy some, but there's a good chance I'm going to buy them from the friendly guy at Ritz that rented some to me when I was in a bind.

The reason all that matters, is the cost of insuring these items. Most companies (there are exceptions) don't actually make any money on renting camera equipment. At best they break even, and many lose money, but make it up in sales. That just wouldn't work with an $800 natural hone that hasn't been mined in any significant quantity in the last half century.

Even if it worked in the US, it wouldn't work here in Canada. Our postal rates for parcels are crazy high. Add in the return postage, and rentals (or even no-charge loans) would end up being VERY expensive.

Mike

Definitely not something that could be organized via the open forum, as we don't permit the discussion of deals in which money changes hands.

This couldn't happen under the current classifieds rules, as we only do FS, FT, and WTB. The closest would be a seller who offers a full refund if the buyer is not satisfied.

IF you would like to discuss this, please keep it about the feasibility, not the actual renting of hones.

I would caution anyone thinking of renting something out that there are many inherent risks (loss, damage, theft, etc) to keep in mind. If someone I trust wants to borrow something I'd just lend it to them. Honestly, if you want to try something, I would say try a PM to someone who has it. Or go to a meet where it will be present.

Lending razors has been done before, IIRC by Tony Miller and others. Invariably the razors got lost in the process.

I would never lend my priceless hones to anyone that I do not know personally.

You're most welcome to visit me and play with them.

I have over $500 in unpaid & unreturned razors/hones/strops, so I've just switched to giving them away instead. That way I don't have any expectations of getting anything back and don't get bad opinion of these people.

Lending an expensive hone, I either have to already trust the person, or they can earn my trust by first sending me a cashiers check/money order for say 2x the market value of the hone as securitization.

In theory renting an (expensive) vintage hone may sound like a good idea, but you would be paying parcel costs twice and a renting fee. However if you buy a vintage hone for a fair price you can use it for as long as you want and sell it at about the same price if not more because they don't really devaluate.

With Japanese and other new natural stones this is different because service costs are included in the price and stamps wear out.