Quote Originally Posted by JimmyHAD View Post
I'm not precisely sure when synthetic hones came into the equation I suppose that man searched out rocks to hone his cutting implements from the time they developed them. The best of whatever was available in one or another vicinity became the go to hone in that region. As time passed and commerce began between countries the cream of the naturals rose to the top.

It seems the best known hones in Europe were the Belgian Coticule and the German waterstones from the Thuringan region. Notably the Escher. Great Britain had the Charnley Forrest, the Scots Tam O'Shanter, Dalmore Blue, Water of Ayr, and imported the Turkey Stone. In the USA the Arkansas stones, Washita, soft, hard and black hard were probably dominant way back before imports into the colonies became more prevalent. I'm just supposing here, no hard facts.

I don't know when the Japanese stones became known outside of their home country. They were a closed society to the western world for centuries from what I understand. I suspect as soon as synthetic stones became available, pastes and what not people began to take advantage of them as they continue to do today. Here is a good thread with more educated info on the topic than I can provide.
Also keep in mind that even back in the neolithic there were trade routes stretching hundreds or over a thousand miles. Remember that Egypt imported all their wood for their boats from Lebanon. So that people would not be limited to only locally occurring goods. English and German stones probably were the first stones used in the Americas to hone razors, I mean how close to the original colonies are Arkansas stone deposits?

Razor stones are a very good trade commodity, relatively cheap where they are found but small and easy to transport, and something that there will be good demand for if they lack comparable stones in the region you are importing it to.