Thread: Franz Swaty barbers hone

That appears to have 2 lines of text imprinted into the hone, correct? If so, then it is a very early model.

I picked up my Franz in SoDak as well, but I paid nearly twice as much for just the hone and the yellow box (which I did not think was the right box until seeing yours!).

Good find. IMO the hone's the same grit all around and a great one to have. Some other barber's hones were dual grit, but it's usually pretty easy to tell (a light side and a dark side).

Peace,
Jim

Originally Posted by cconlee

... should I lap it before I use it?

I have a number of barber hones and they varied widely as to how flat they were. Some definitively needed to be lapped. That process also cleaned them up nicely. Having said that-

From the wiki: Barber Hones
... They are usually very hard, so they tend to wear very slowly can take a long time to lap. Some claim barber hones do not require lapping, and certainly many barbers have used such hones for great lengths of time without lapping them. ...

http://straightrazorpalace.com/srpwi...p/Barber_Hones

Good stuff above.

Barber hones... do a lot of things before ya lap them.

Just use it.
Use it with water.
Just use it with lather.
Use it with mouth wash.

Clean it with common dish soap.
Clean it with kitchen cleanser.
Clean it with glass stove top cleaner (my fav. this week)

Audition it with a couple razors in the rotation,
using the magic marker test. If the razor smoothly
and addresses the entire edge it is flat enough.

If and only if it needs it lap it flat. When flat condition
the surface with a fine abrasive: Kitchen glass top
cleaner, kitchen cleanser (comet, bonami, etc),
white toothpaste. Gently work the surface with a troubled
razor, one with way too much spine wear etc. or a small
kitchen knife.

My best barber hones look clogged and glazed,
light reflects off the surface a little or a lot depending
on the surface. So let them get polished and glazed.

In all this there is no single answer. Try to do nothing
that is hard to undo. Barber hones like most ceramics
have a slip surface that is smoother and finer than the
ceramic just under the surface. IMO that is why they worked
well out of the box. The tight binding and careful classification
of the clay/ ceramic mixed with grit is what makes them
good for a very long time.

In the world of barber hones the Carborundum Barber
hones like the 101 are something special. I have
used a 101 to condition the surface of red clay barber hones,
other carborundum hones, and even used one as as a rubbing
stone on Naniwa and coti hones and been very pleased.