Please help me identify these hones!!! :D

Hey all!

We had a woodworking show on today here in Perth and i thought i would have a look..I was not expecting to come out with a straight razor (Taylor 6/8) and several old hones lol

Anyway, If anyone can identify the following stones it would be appreciated. All the stones have just been lapped! Photos are after lapping.

I have no idea if these are worth anything but they cost next to nothing so if they are no good no loss really!

The first stone: This looks like some sorta natural stone, its a bluish greyish color (the photo makes it look more blue then it is) and feels like glass to touch and seems quite hard! it produces a white slurry and has a earthy smell. 185mm x 35mm
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The second stone: This looks natural, its a grey color and again feels like glass to touch! This ones seems very hard and smells sorta like my Japanese naturals. It produces a grey white slurry. 70mm x 195mm x 20mm
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The third stone: This stone looks natural, you can see natural lines in the stone, its grey color and feels like glass to touch, possibly one of the smoothest stones i have felt! This is softer then the other stones and produces a very soft grey white slurry. To look at it, it reminds me of the C12k but its much softer and smoother. It has a very earth smell. 125mm x 40mm x 15mm
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The fifth stone: This is a very wierd looking stone, it reminds me of granite. its grey, dark grey, white and everything in between. I tried to get some shots of the stamps but i couldn't read them. This stone is very hard and quite smooth, not like glass but still very smooth.
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Also i found the following cheap stones but they are nothing special, for the few bucks i didn't want to leave them though lol

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The razor should restore nicely! :D Taylor 6/8.
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And not to mention my new lapping plate! :D weighing in at 13.5kg or 30 pound, Its very heavy! lol
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Oh it was a fun day! :D

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I have been playing stamp on the third stone, changing the contrast, inverting it etc and this is what i have some up with, i don't know how correct it is...

Trademark The celebrated registered
Tam O Shanter Stone
XXXXXX cold, medai???
London International Exhibition 1835
For Excellence on quality of stone

I Think i found it on here: Vintage Tam O'Shanter Natural Hone Stone

"This is a good example of the finer type of Tam O'Shanter hones from Ayrshire in Scotland. Estimates of grit size for these hones (in reality grit size cannot be used for natural stones, but people estimate it as the means of comparing stones) vary from 6000 to 9000 grit (the lighter examples, especially the white ones, are of higher grit equivalence), and I would say that this particular stone is at the higher end of the scale. It is quite a quick cutter with good feedback and gives a good edge - followed by a chrome-oxide pasted strop it gives a decent shaving edge. Perhaps its greatest virtue is the way that it deals with blades that are prone to micro-nicks during honing - using one of these hones on such blades has always helped me effectively hone such blades. It can also be used with a slurry to promote quicker honing (note that it does not come with a slurry stone, however). I usually raise a slurry with a fine diamond lapping plate - it only needs a few laps."

If i can get 135 pound for it, its just paid for the lot and I'm laughing :D but i think i might keep this one!

you have a Tam O'Shanter, the first pic looks like CF.
I can't say anything about the other naturals.

you have a Tam O'Shanter, the first pic looks like CF.
I can't say anything about the other naturals.

Whats a CF?

CF = Charnley Forest

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Brighty83

Whats a CF?

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charnley forrest.

I just googled a few Charnley Forest hones and they seem to have red in them, this just has almost black or dark grey\blue

Heck of a haul ! +1 to what has already been said as far as ID is concerned.

Thanks Jimmy, They were basically throwing them out! The small one (third one down) they gave me for free lol

But that one at the top and really has me interested! Its as smooth to touch as my jnats! and the colors are just awesome! not to mention the cool wood box it came in! :D

Here is a side shot of the second one down! If it helps!

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And this is a close up to the blue\grey one. Its more grey then blue it only has a hit of blue. The first photo made it look way too blue!

This photo is much more accurate with the color! It might have a touch more blue then the photo below but only just!

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Ok. First stone is in my opinion rather than CF it is Idwal hone. The second I do not know. The small one is Thuringian type hone. The one with the stamp is TOS (Tam O'Shanter). The Norton India stone is too coarse to use on razors.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Brighty83

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I have been playing stamp on the third stone, changing the contrast, inverting it etc and this is what i have some up with, i don't know how correct it is...

Trademark The celebrated registered
Tam O Shanter Stone
Award of Gold Medal
London International Exhibition 1835
For Excellence on quality of stone

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Filled in the blanks for you :)

I agree with adrspach, first one is not a CF but one of those Llyn Idwal/ToS hones. I suspect it to be about as fine as a Coticule.

Thanks guys! I would estimate the first one to be around the 10k mark. I tried googling for a Idwal hone but i couldn't find ant photos.

The small one i have some photos of, i though it might have been a Thuringian as well but i didn't want to put any ideas in anyone's minds, I have a feeling it used to be longer then it is now. one side isn't 100% square compared to the second side.. That one was next to the razor when i found it.

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I new the norton of the other one wouldn't be good but for $1 i didn't want to leave it LOL. I would estimate the Norton to be around the 400 mark

I just found a thread with my hone first hone in it!
http://straightrazorpalace.com/hones...tml#post761367
Member Scipio said his is an Ark? Is that Arkansas? What do you guys think?

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His stone has the same box and all!

Thanks Adrspach, i found it by googling for the Llyn Idwal hone!

first stone is a Llyn Idwal hone i have seen many ark's and thats not one of them. second stone i need to see a view from the side of the stone. third stone looks to be a thuringian type stone. fourth stone tos, and the last two stones, the fifth stone i will need a better pic of. the sixth stone is a norton indian stone.

Second one is typical size for J-Nat it is "type 60"
Looks like Takashima but i can be wrong.

Thanks guys!

I went back again today and got a very small combo couticle for $3! lol Its probably too small to use but still i had to get it! measures 40mm x 105mm x 25mm

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And here is a close up of the Tam
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Send it to me if you have trouble with such a small stone:p

Quote:

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Originally Posted by onimaru55

Send it to me if you have trouble with such a small stone:p

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I will find a way to use it LOL!

So i have a...
Llyn Idwal hone
Jnat
Thuringian
tam o'Shanter
unkown but not important
norton - not imortant
cuticle

Also i picked up a new C12k and its huge! Cheaper then my last one and double the thickness!
200mm x 75mm x 30mm :D my current C12k is only 14mm thick! :D

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Thanks guys for helping!

Dose anyone have any photos of a Llyn Idwal hone??? so i can compere it?

Ah well if you get bored with the coticule send it my way.
As far as you're cuticle goes , you can keep your hang nails :p

I just realised the first stone comes out of its container, Here are a few more photos..

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@ eleblu05 - You have a post of your Charnley Forest here http://straightrazorpalace.com/hones...tml#post830172 and my stone looks almost exactly like that one in sections and other sections not so.

Is it likely to be the Charnley Forest or the Llyn Idwal? If you have photos of both it would be awesome!

Also, what ever one it is finally decided on, how do they hone (finisher of pre finisher etc) and is it a whetstone or oil stone?

Here are some of my stones which have a speckle pattern for comparison, none of them are CFs.

I'm sure yours can be used with water or oil.

@ Piet - Do you know what that first stone is in your photo?

I wasnt going to ask what this stone was but now that i have lapped it, and it was one hell of a hard stone to lapp and i spent ages degreasing it i though i would ask anyway. I'm fairly sure is synthetic but it looks like it has saw lines though one side of it so i will double check. (i wasn't planning on using this stone on my razors, it was only worth a $1 so i picked it up)

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Its on the courser side, i'm guessing 600 gritt maybe higher, im not sure.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Brighty83

Member Scipio said his is an Ark?

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Actually that was over a year ago and since further testing, I am not certain. It is not a particularly slow hone, and Arks are meant to be quite slow. I have only seen pictures of Arks, some which it resembles, some which it does not. The same is true for some Tams. Some it looks like, some it does not. I think it could be a Tam but I'm not 100%.

I'm 99% sure the Tam looking on is a Tam, as it is stamped on the box.

I'm also fairly sure about the Jnat and the Thuringian. The only one im still not 100% sure about is the Llyn Idwal \ Charnley Forest looking one, the same one that you have Scipio.

How dose that hone?

100% undoubtedly that labelled Tam is a Tam. I was referring to the one in the link you mentioned.

That to me doesn't look like a Charnley.

Edit: That coticule is not too small to use. I would keep it a travel hone.

I think i confused my self in the last few posts! For some reason i was confusing you with the eleblu05 link, Sorry about that! LOL

Thanks, ill stick with it being a possible Llyn Idwal! lol

So, i'm back to:

Llyn Idwal
Jnat
Thuringian
tam O'Shanter
unkown - most likely synthetic
norton - but not important
cuticle
c12k

I tested the couticle and i can hone on it, its a tight little squeeze with the X strokes though lol

Thanks guys! Everyone was a real help!

the coti would be great for pocket knives. your first stone is a Llyn Idwal by what i see in the pic the black swirling on the stone, i haven't seen that before on a cf. and that new stone you just lapped looks to be a silicone carbide stone

Yeah, i think your right about the silicone carbide stone, I haven't lapped one before and that was the worst stone i have ever lapped. Its probably only worth $15 new lol

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Brighty83

@ Piet - Do you know what that first stone is in your photo?

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The first two are the same type of stone and seem to match yours, they show up at ebay regularly but never labeled.