Escher - Private Label

Do any of you have one of these that you can post some photos of please?

I want to add some good quality images to my hone database, but I can only find one pic of the original label, and the pic quality is pretty bad.

I recently acquired this Escher, and it seems to be a really good one. Its color matches Y/G.

This Escher has been identified as a "Square deal" trademark label Escher, originally sourced by the Trout Hdwe. company from Chicago.

Below is the SRP Link to one of them, but there are no pics attached to the SRP info link:

Trout Chicago Square Deal Escher - Straight Razor Place Wiki

Attachment 98064

Attachment 98065

Attachment 98066


This last photo is the only one I can find of the original label.

Attachment 98067

I think the one picture you found is Geezers stone. And his is the only one I've seen anywhere with that label also. But I might be wrong, and his might have a more complete label than I remembered. Look him up and PM. He may be able to help you.

The Trout hone to which you refer is mine. There used to be an entry in the hone database, but that project has since been abolished. If you want, I could find the pictures, but the label is quite unlike yours. I'm not sure if I have pics of that label.

As for colour designation guessing: please don't.



Edit: the pictures are still there after all; here and here.

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Originally Posted by regularjoe

I think the one picture you found is Geezers stone. And his is the only one I've seen anywhere with that label also. But I might be wrong, and his might have a more complete label than I remembered. Look him up and PM. He may be able to help you.

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Indeed, you are correct regularjoe, excellent eye there! The only picture that I have found of my escher, is the one that Geezer posted about in the "razorandstone forum". Here's the link: Escher private label

I very carefully compared each and every square millimeter of the label, and it matches Geezer's one. Even the bit of german writing left on mine matches the text qouted, and the exact spot on the label.

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Originally Posted by Oldengaerde

The Trout hone to which you refer is mine. There used to be an entry in the hone database, but that project has since been abolished. If you want, I could find the pictures, but the label is quite unlike yours. I'm not sure if I have pics of that label.

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Thanks Oldengaerde, much appreciated. I was wondering where those pictures of yours were. It seems that Trout Hdwe. company had more than one packaging for their eschers. Perhaps different years of trade? Mine matches Geezer's one, and it is definitely a greenish-yellow color. No doubt about that. My blue Thuringian, is completely different in color, and this little Escher matches all the Y/G ones that I have seen very closely....but like you say, the color does not REALLY matter, it is just for interest.

I'll see if I can get hold of Geezer to get some more pics for reference.

What I can say, is....good gosh it is a bloody great finisher. It gives the best edges I have ever experienced.

I wish I had a nice huge 3"X10" of this one.....can only dream about that.

Here's one with a slightly different label. My wife picked it up in Thuringia, which made me think that it had maybe travelled all the way to the States and then back again but then maybe it just never left. Of the three Eschers I have it's my least favourite, though still a very nice stone. Apologies for pic quality.

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Originally Posted by AlanII

Here's one with a slightly different label. My wife picked it up in Thuringia, which made me think that it had maybe travelled all the way to the States and then back again but then maybe it just never left. Of the three Eschers I have it's my least favourite, though still a very nice stone. Apologies for pic quality.

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Thanks Alan, it seems that they even have different color labels for the same branding...this is getting interesting.

Perhaps the different color labels were different grades? You mention yours with the blue label is good, but not your favourite. Mine with the red label is absolutely phenomenal, and my absolute favourite.

Does anyone know the significance of this specific brand's label colors?

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Indeed, you are correct regularjoe, excellent eye there!

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What can I say? I'm a little obssessed when it comes to natural razor hones...juuuust a little.

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Originally Posted by regularjoe

What can I say? I'm a little obssessed when it comes to natural razor hones...juuuust a little.

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Don't we just all have a little HAD obsessed monster inside of us. :beer1:

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Originally Posted by leadingedge

Does anyone know the significance of this specific brand's label colors?

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No idea. Mine is short and wide unlike the other two

Glad your liking the stone. I knew once you got your hands on one, you'd like it. Escher remains my go to finisher. I love the way the edge feels coming off those stones.

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Perhaps the different color labels were different grades?

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That I'm aware of, there was no grading system in place by which a distributor would make a different colored border on a more fine stone, or vice versa. And hardly necessary when a single trial will be sufficient to convince the most incredulous of it's superiority.

And I wouldn't call it HAD, but I guess if it's truly an addiction then I might be in the denial phase. :P

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Originally Posted by zib

Glad your liking the stone.....

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I'm Lovin' it Rich! :rock:

I just wish there was a good Escher database around with all the brands and labels that has been discovered by all the straight razor guys.

Does anyone have something like that?

There's this: http://straightrazorpalace.com/hones...alog-page.html

I shall chime in.
The varnished hone shown is similar to mine. Here is a photo from somewhere that would fit the boxed hone of Leading Edge:
http://i1168.photobucket.com/albums/..._8283882_n.jpg
and my hone here:
http://i1168.photobucket.com/albums/...dlux/hone3.jpg
http://i1168.photobucket.com/albums/...dlux/hone2.jpghttp://i1168.photobucket.com/albums/.../Endhones1.jpg
Its color compares to my YG Eshers and Thuringians.
~Richard/ Geezer / Toff
There were many grades of Eschers and perhaps the label color was a way to differentiate the colors on the private labels. I have seen the E.&Co end labels, as in the photo above, on a private label hone. The photo shows it on an actual labeled Escher.

So not an Escher?

I believe the stones were mined and packaged by The Escher Company as the end labels, with E&Co. are found on many of them.( Not on mine, though.)
So to be absolute but maybe not correct, Without an Escher label it is not an Escher. No E..... Label, but a good to great Thuringian.

This confusion has gone on, on forums around the world, since we started collecting stones. There is no-one alive who can tell us, with final authority, as to which stones are from what mine or packager. We can only add a bit of knowledge to the field of study through forum threads like this.
~Richard

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Originally Posted by Geezer

I believe the stones were mined and packaged by The Escher Company as the end labels, with E&Co. are found on many of them...This confusion has gone on, on forums around the world, since we started collecting stones. There is no-one alive who can tell us, with final authority, as to which stones are from what mine or packager. We can only add a bit of knowledge to the field of study through forum threads like this.
~Richard

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Very True Richard, as you say - there is no-one alive who can give us all the info we seek.

I guess it is up to us to keep alive all that we have found and used, and all we can really do is share our honing experience and edges off of these magnificent thuringian hones.

They really are a step above the rest, and one can see why the old barbers loved these specific ones so much.

Thanks for your pics of your Eschers!

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Originally Posted by leadingedge

Very True Richard, as you say - there is no-one alive who can give us all the info we seek.

I guess it is up to us to keep alive all that we have found and used, and all we can really do is share our honing experience and edges off of these magnificent thuringian hones.

They really are a step above the rest, and one can see why the old barbers loved these specific ones so much.

Thanks for your pics of your Eschers!

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Here are a few more:
http://i1168.photobucket.com/albums/...urione-1-1.jpg

And they made some big ones also:
http://i1168.photobucket.com/albums/...KIF_0030-1.jpg
http://i1168.photobucket.com/albums/..._0033_crop.jpg

Here are the end labels I spoke of:
http://i1168.photobucket.com/albums/...erendlabel.jpg
I am fortunate to have found these in the wild! There are hones coming out of collections and estates all the time and they are sometimes found in antique stores and old tool boxes. Keep on looking! I have found one in a store the week after I was there before with no luck. I ask at garage sales and have been escorted through three houses and basements by one of the owners to find a couple stones. Look for old houses with sales and a geezer or two nearby!
I think that we are fortunate to be able to find such treasures! Many are no longer with us. To get a place ready for resale, around here they often used to take a wagon load of stuff from homes, after the owner passed away, out into a gully of a field and burn all to ashes,the hard stuff just melded into the ground!
~Richard
PS. I think much of the hype about Escher hone identification may be because of the rarity of them in the buyers' mind. Anything that is tossed or thrown away due to no perceived value becomes scarce and thereby expensive.

[QUOTE=Geezer;973302]I shall chime in.
The varnished hone shown is similar to mine. Here is a photo from somewhere that would fit the boxed hone of Leading Edge:
http://i1168.photobucket.com/albums/..._8283882_n.jpg

These hones were most probably traded by the company: Deutsche Schleifmaterialien Gesellschaft. The initials of that company were the letters DSG, written into one another.
The company was located in Steinach/ Thuringia and sold hones, sharpening stones and other abrasive materials made of thuringian whetstone, mined in Steinach. The company existed in the early 20th century. I am not sure yet if they had their own mines in Steinach or sold stones that were mined by others.
Attached is a small picture that shows the head of a letter of that company with the label (not exactly the same initials than on the stones but looks quite comparable).
Attachment 101535

Thank you for the information! That is a new slant upon an old stone!I appreciate the knowledge!
~Richard

Great info, thanks, hatzicho.

I've got a thuri "Genuine German Water Hone" with a perfectly intact label. I'll see about getting a pic of it. Not sure if you're interested.

Of course we are interested!!! Thank you!
~Richard

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Originally Posted by geauxtig3rs

I've got a thuri "Genuine German Water Hone" with a perfectly intact label. I'll see about getting a pic of it. Not sure if you're interested.

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Yes, by all means, please post it. The more labels we have in some type of thread or database, the better for recognition.

Here's one of my 'Private Label Escher's': The "ROCHESTER RAZOR HONE". Same size as the "Barber's Gem" and blue/green in color. Marked with an end label as "EXTRA CHOICE"

Attachment 102008Attachment 102009Attachment 102010

I've seen a fair few of these recently:

Attachment 102190Attachment 102191Attachment 102192

I presume that they were made for the UK market?

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Originally Posted by ajc347

I've seen a fair few of these recently:

Attachment 102190Attachment 102191Attachment 102192

I presume that they were made for the UK market?

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I don't think these ones are Eschers, but definitely a good quality Thuringian.

Can anyone confirm if they are actually Eschers? No Escher branding on them.

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Originally Posted by leadingedge

I don't think these ones are Eschers, but definitely a good quality Thuringian.

Can anyone confirm if they are actually Eschers? No Escher branding on them.

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I don't claim to be the resident expert on Eschers and can't say with certainty. I can say that IME Eschers are more often than not branded with at the very least the cup with "E&Co" printed within it. Escher seemed to be a company that had a reputation that made marking the hone with some form of specific Escher ID a good marketing strategy that they carried out from one distributor to another.

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Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

...I can say that IME Eschers are more often than not branded with at the very least the cup with "E&Co" printed within it....

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My thoughts exactly Jimmy. This specific wording generally comes with the small cup and E&Co, that's why this type seems to be Thuringian, but not Escher branded.

I'm sure it is still a bloody good hone though!

Thanks for all the images guys, please keep posting them so we can get a good idea of all the Escher variety labels out there.

These stones are good quality thuringian stones, mined in the area of Steinach. The stones were mined and traded most probably by the company Chr. Luthard Fikken Sohn, who had own mines in the Steinach area. It is the company that existed the longest among the old whetstonemakers in Thuringia. It closes it doors and stopped trading in 1966.

I got only a bad picture of a comparable example with a labeled stone:


Attachment 102213

[QUOTE=hatzicho;993655]

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Originally Posted by Geezer

I shall chime in.
The varnished hone shown is similar to mine. Here is a photo from somewhere that would fit the boxed hone of Leading Edge:
http://i1168.photobucket.com/albums/..._8283882_n.jpg

These hones were most probably traded by the company: Deutsche Schleifmaterialien Gesellschaft. The initials of that company were the letters DSG, written into one another.
The company was located in Steinach/ Thuringia and sold hones, sharpening stones and other abrasive materials made of thuringian whetstone, mined in Steinach. The company existed in the early 20th century. I am not sure yet if they had their own mines in Steinach or sold stones that were mined by others.
Attached is a small picture that shows the head of a letter of that company with the label (not exactly the same initials than on the stones but looks quite comparable).
Attachment 101535

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Here is a DSG Postcard (Deutsche Schleifmaterialien-Gesellschaft m.b.H., Steinach, S.M. From the year 1917 showing the DSG logo in a different way...

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7740/...7a0da8_c_d.jpg