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thuringian v other hones
Have been looking for a narrower black arkansas stone than the one i already have and came across new thuringian hone from
Original Escher Stone - Sharpening Stone from Germany
it comes from the same quarry as the original escher stones and is composed of the same material,how good are they and how does the edge finish up compared to the old thuringians and eschers and if any arkansas owners have used the same or similar stones how do they compare to the arkansas,i don't need specific answers i just would like your opinions as i'm debating whether to buy one
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Not as fine as vintage Thuringian stone, I would say ~8k level of finish.
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If it were me, I'd look for a proper Escher or Thuringian. I absolutely love my Escher, and it's my go to finisher. It imparts a buttery smooth edge, each and every time. It's consistent. The older one's are highly sought after for a reason, not just because they're old, and collectible, but they are notoriously good, especially Escher.
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For $50 i did wonder if it was as good as advertised which is why i thought i ask you guys but if i'm going to buy another stone i want something at the very least as good as black arkansas and maybe something that gives a finer smoother more polished edge,one problem is my budget which i discovered when looking at jap stones so i guess i'll keep looking and try find something in my price bracket or get a black ark cut narrow
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$50 for the smallest version is a bit much but the stones from the German website are good value.
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The problem is, if there is a famous stone which is much in demand
but short in supply like the famous ESCHER Stone, it is very likely
that one day someone will come along and offer a real NOS Escher
and a Stone from the mine nearby.
To bring some light into the mater you have to know what a
"Original Escher stone" is. IT´s a thüringian waterstone produced
by the German Company J.G. Escher & Sohn.
Any Escher is a thüringian Waterstone but only those thüringian Waterstones produced by this company are "Original Escher Stones"
To my best knowledge J.G. Escher & Sohn was founded 1790 in Sonneberg Thüringen, Germany and changed it´s name in JGES Theuern in 1920.
They produced their stone from differen mines all around Sonneberg Thüringen.
All stones are slate stones with different colours ranging from yellow/greeen to dark blue.
The company later was taken over by the state in Eastern Germany.
During the existens of this state the exausted mines where used as garbage dumps and filled with waste.
It is not known that the famous Escher stones where produced after the 1920´s.
It is said that the Company Müller Schleiftechnik -MST- started to produce and sell stones in Thüringen again after the turn of the milenium.
It is also said that their stones where only available in smaler sizes an quantitys and did not reach the old quality.
Sometimes it is heard that they aquired very limited quantitys of old stock material of higher quality which seem to be all sold by now. This material was marketed as "thüringian Waterstones" and NOT as "Original Escher stones".
The pictures on the website from Your post which claims to have - Original Escher Stone - sharpening stone from Germany -
can be found on the german - Müller Schleiftechnik Website -.
0riginal
There the bigger stones are called "nature waterstones" without claiming them to be thüringian Waterstones or even "Eschers"
To my knowledge they are from the German Region "Hunsrück" whicht is about 200 to 250 miles away from Thüringen.
prices:
ca.150x50x20 mm 21,60 €
ca.200x50x20 mm 27,90 €
ca.250x75x20 mm 39,80 €
On another Müller Schleiftechnik website they offer the smaller stones as thüringian Waterstones, not claiming them to be "Eschers"
MST - Mller** Schleiftechnik
110x25x15 mm 16,50 €
125x25x15 mm 18,00 €
this seems to be an older site and I don´t know if the stones are still available.
In my experience these Stones are good Value for the money (to the prices they ask in Germany!!) and at least the smaler ones can be used to hone straight razors.
Anyway, dont´t expect to buy a "Original Escher Stone" as made by J.G. Escher & Sohn!
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that's the registration of Escher for JGES. Ist is from 1943, Berlin. i have it from a friend from patentamt.
Here
