Thread: A Special Stone

I will not even guess the grit range of this stone but IF I choose to use, it will come after my Y/G Escher. [...] and it cuts very fast.

People have asked whether I agree. Well, yes, no and yes. It is always a bit problematic to specify grit range (let alone a specific grit designation) in the case of natural hones. This one is a finisher and, for a hone in that category, abrades relatively fast. I could not (yet? technique after all is of the essence) improve edges finished on Eschers.

i want one now it looks like a great finisher.

In answer to a question a member asked me via PM, I wrote the undermentioned. I thought it might benefit others too.

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If you have a labelled Barber's Delight, you would be hard pressed to find a better hone. Even those soft YG Eschers vary, and some individual Eschers of other colours may surpass some of the BD's, but on average they must be of one the - if not the - best superfine natural hone types. Unless to complement a collection, I wouldn't pay Escher or vintage Thuringian prices for these Special Stones.

The only natural hones that consistently seem to match and sometimes excel vintage labelled Eschers, in my opinion, are Vosgiennes (my term, after their probable place of origin, the Vosges region in France) aka Brown Eschers (Sham's term, after their similarity to Eschers in fineness and usage).

The problem is that those to my knowledge aren't ever labelled, and many a hone is wrongly identified as one. There are for instance the Fox hones (the left one is Vosgienne, the right one Fox, the box of which can be seen here I think)(note however, that Fox did sell boxed Thuringians too).

These Foxes, also marketed as Goldfisch Wetzstein, to me look like a variety of Belgian Blue Whetstones, also known as Red or Pink Coticule (not to be confused with reddish/pinkish/orangey Coticules like some Dressantes). They are somewhat softer, more variegated and redder than Vosgiennes, which are dense, very uniform (bar occasional well-defined white or greenish inclusions) and of a more purple complexion.

Then there is the Schwedenstein you mention, also more variegated than Vosgiennes, albeit it more in a grainy and less in the 'organized' wavy pattern of the Foxes (there may be streaks though). The particular distinctive of this hone seems to be that it almost invariably comes in thin slices, never in chunky bench stone formats. That unfortunately renders them ackward to use for some, and more prone to splitting and breaking. Mounted on paddles, they sometimes bend and crack lengthwise with the deformation of the wetted and drying wood.

To complicate matters further, at least one of the 'true' Vosgienne/Brown Eschers has the exact same stamp as employed on the Special Stones (cf. eg. the picture of one of mine picture above).

- researching vintage hones can be great fun and excruciatingly frustrating at the same time...
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I am most intrigued and must find one for myself. Thanks you guys for feeding the monster, really...thanks!

Are these common stones that I just haven't seen before? If anyone has an inside line on one, please PM me...

Thanks,
Scott

Looks like I sold one of those metal flake "special stones" and didn't know what I had! I KNOW it was one of you guys who bought it, I just cant recall who it was. And I have a feeling the buyer was hoping it was a thury stone, and he doesn't realize what he bought. If the buyer reads this, I found the slurry stone for it, and I will mail it to you if you want. =)

IN pics Bottom one is so called brown Escher.
As you can see they all have exact same labels.
i am not sure how clear pics will be or can you figure it out differences colors of the stones.
I do think Brown stone is way better then any Escher out there(sharpness wise +smoothness of the edge)
Gray ones will have sharper edge but not as smooth as edge comes out of brown escher.
(you may call it differently i use this tirm because at that time i thought it is an Escher stone)
The issue is if you want to get proper edge from those stones you must use oil not water.
hope this helps.

Man I like that bottom one! Sham, just how many stinkin stones do you have?

Originally Posted by shooter74743

Man I like that bottom one! Sham, just how many stinkin stones do you have?

He has most of them. He has a series of underground tunnels connecting himself with all the old mines, quarries, and 98.4% of the antique shops on the freakin' planet.

Originally Posted by Utopian

He has most of them. He has a series of underground tunnels connecting himself with all the old mines, quarries, and 98.4% of the antique shops on the freakin' planet.

His contacts with the KGB and CIA are also a big help.

I just couldn't bring myself to put oil on a stone for honing razors. Regardless of how much better the edge might turn out.