Thread: Stone/equipment identification

I would first like to say that I am very new here, hello everyone.

Recently, I have gained an interest in the curious world of straight razors, in which it appears to be common to blend the lines between present and antiquity.

I am quite aware of having readily available belt sharpeners and grinders in my basement, but discovering the honing stones was a relatively new event.

Identifying their quality and their compatibility with razor preparation would be quite excellent, let me post a few pictures with descriptions: (not inserting the images due to large size)

I will first start with a mounted three honing stone holder which can be rotated:

It is the roughest one out of three, and can be best labeled as orange: Image

Relatively dark colored, this stone may actually be light grey or white judging by it becoming progressively lighter moving to the right, and ending with a light colored corner(possible oil/absorption effect): Image

The last stone in the holder can be best described as "mixed" or "compounded, notice how its texture ranges from white to "rusty" and to black and even dark red/purple-ish: Image

I would also like to show a bunch of separated stones in various boxes:

I did not take this one (or two) out. It appears to be made from a company called "Norton", and composes itself of two flip sides which are either fused together, or stuck together, due to them laying around there for 500 years without exaggerating too much: Link Link2

This one is noticeably more identifiable compared to the rest, it has a box with a description and is very black through every direction and dimension: Link Link2

Last, but quite possibly not least, I found this one. It appears to be translucent/light grey, best compared in texture to a crystal or to a chunk of frozen milk: Link Link2

Most of these stones appear to be from the "Arkansas oil stone" category, while also possibly having a number of them from Norton origin.

Here are some examples of other possible equipment that could also be useful:

A belt sharpener: Link

Some belts for it: Link

Some more belts for it: Link

A more common flip honing stone with grid of 400/1200, 1200 being on the top in the pictures: Link Link2

Please tell me any possible identifications, and whether I could theoretically make a proper honing procedure with this equipment. I have already attempted to use some of those stones after reading the wiki, but unfortunately I am either doing something incorrectly or using the wrong stones. I attempted them on a number of vintage razors, which came from this box: Link
But without success, or atleast without success up to the point of them being shave ready. Hopefully I did not ruin any of them, such as by smoothing away the spines too much without protecting them. I would appreciate any identification or general help.

i'm no expert, but having read the wiki carefully and a lot of the threads here, i opted for the norton 4k/8k combo, and the so-called people's hone of indeterminate grit, allegedly around 12k. this is what the experts here recommend for us newcomers.
it doesn't appear to me that any of the stuff you have linked to is any of the above. it looks like sharpening tools for sharpening tools such as planes, chisels, knives, hatchets and so on.
i wouldn't use any of those stones on my razors, but that is an impressive collection. always wanted a tri-hone. do some more reading and it become clear what you need for your razors. the last pictures show i think a diamond hone and that would be good for lapping the stones needed for razors.

The stones do come from my step father, who specifies in knives.

I will unpack the Norton and take a look at it

Would you kindly give me a few more details on stone lapping?

Originally Posted by Genkaz

Please tell me any possible identifications, and whether I could theoretically make a proper honing procedure with this equipment. I have already attempted to use some of those stones after reading the wiki, but unfortunately I am either doing something incorrectly or using the wrong stones. I attempted them on a number of vintage razors, which came from this box: Link
But without success, or atleast without success up to the point of them being shave ready. Hopefully I did not ruin any of them, such as by smoothing away the spines too much without protecting them. I would appreciate any identification or general help.

No, that stuff is not useable for razors. This would be the equivalent of using an ax to perform thoracic surgery. Maybe in a desperate situation you would have a go at it, but it's not the tool you would choose. You are highly unlikely to create a sharp razor with that stuff.

That is unfortunate, although I was under the impression that one of those stones is a translucent Arkansas, which appears to be suitable for razor sharpening. I did try to use a bunch of those stones, and ultimately did not really get anywhere, the highest level I could reach is a relatively good bevel, and even that should have probably gripped my finger more. Apparently a truly good bevel is supposed to be immovable from your finger position.

Originally Posted by Genkaz

Apparently a truly good bevel is supposed to be immovable from your finger position.

Is there any way that you can clarify what you mean by that?

Pardon me, that probably is a strange way of describing it. What I meant was:

When you perform the thumb test (not the nail one) and place the razor on the skin of your thumb, it should apparently be immovable across the thumb (while holding the blade at a 90 degree angle and trying to move it perpendicularly to the edge of the blade. In other words, gripping your thumb skin and staying there in a solid manner.

The highest that I achieved was a noticeable grip, but not an immovable one, most likely indicating that this stuff is not even suitable for bevel setting, which unfortunately increases the possibility of me ruining some of the razors even more.

I really should have asked for advice in this place before even touching anything. why do I never listen to my intuition?

Since my equipment is for the most part unsuitable, are there any hones that are recommended for beginners other then the Norton flip combination? I would also appreciate a link to the combination. I am mainly asking to get a bunch of possible options, I will definitely take a look at the wiki.

Also, I would like to ensure again that every single stone that I listed is unsuitable, I recall that a translucent Arkansas is suitable.