Thread: Not sure what I have-Bimaco?

I bought a hone from an antique store a few months ago, and never have really figured out what it is.

It says Bimaco Razor Hone, Bison MFG. Co., Little Valley NY, USA.

Inside the box it says:
"The fineness of grain, it's smooth even cutting qualities make this hone particularly adapted for use in sharpening surgical instruments, razors, etc. To obtain a smooth lasting edge, first hone a few strokes on the reverse side, finishing lightly on the face (branded side) using lather or water. This hone is guaranteed to give entire satisfaction."

The hone is a little narrower than a standard Swaty. It is slightly green grey on the reverse side and a reddish on the face. What do you guys think? Barber hone of some sort?

Bison was a razor and cutlery manufacturer in the magic valley of New York. Your hone is essentially a barber hone, though it may have been more generally marketed. It's certainly man-made, but probably leaves a very nice edge. Well worth getting it out and playing with it. My bet is that it's a very nice barbers' hone.

It might be worth it to lap it a bit with some 1000 grit wet/dry sandpaper, just to make sure it's clean and fairly flat.

Thanks Stimpy. I bought it and a Swaty for ~$20. I don't think that's too bad. I like the touch ups I get off the Swaty, we'll have to see how this one does.

Definitely some type of Barber hone, I believe most are (like) 8-12k?

Check the table in the Wiki here: http://straightrazorpalace.com/srpwi...mparison_table

Originally Posted by zib

Definitely some type of Barber hone, I believe most are 8-12k?
Check the table in the Wiki here: Hones - comparison table - Straight Razor Place Wiki

To the best of my knowledge most of the Barber hones used grit sizes of 3F, 4F and a few used 1200F ( such as the Frictionite 00). This was the size of the abrasives before the hone manufacturing process began. During the barber hone manufacturing process the mix of abrasives and binders are crushed under very high pressure which reduces the size of the abrasive grains. To what size is unknown. The best we can say about any given barber hone is to compare it to a known existing manmade stone, I.e. it cuts like a 4000 or 6000 or 8000 etc. There were other steps in the process that modifies the grain size a bit.

Hope this helps,

Originally Posted by randydance062449

To the best of my knowledge most of the Barber hones used grit sizes of 3F, 4F and a few used 1200F ( such as the Frictionite 000). This was the size of the abrasives before the hone manufacturing process began. During that barber hone manufacturing process the mix of abrasives and binders are crushed under very high pressure which reduces the size of the abrasive grains. To what size is unknown. The best we can say about any given barber hone is to compare it to a known existing manmade stone, I.e. it cuts like a 4000 or 6000 or 8000 etc. There were other steps in the process that modifies the grain size a bit.

Hope this helps,

This I did not know. I've always trusted the information on the forum (for the most part), If it is not correct, by all means, Please update the wiki. I've always thought my Swaty cuts "like" a 10k fwiw.

Any help with the Wiki is always appreciated, and needed....

Originally Posted by zib

I've always thought my Swaty cuts "like" a 10k.

This is where my Swaty seems to cut as well. Definitely higher than an 8k but not quite at 12k level.