Thread: Frankonian

What do you know? What do you think?

I want a little finisher in my Den - this one just keeps calling to me.

Oh - I have two barber hones and a coti in my den now... was thinking something a bit finer.

I considered this some time ago. Here and here are likely to be useful reads for your information. I have heard that some samples perform as well as Thuringians and other are sub par. I'm still not sure where Olivia acquires them from.

Thanks Scipio!!

Man I am not sure that helped lol!! : ) There were more than a few senior members disagreeing with each other on those threads lol!! "Me thinks I just needs to pays my moneys and take my chances" lol.

Thank goodness the Euro/dollar thing isn't as large as it once was lol!

Thanks again.

Hey you think finishing on it before each shave would be overkill?

You shouldn't need to finish on a natural before each shave, they are not barber hones and I assume you are only using the razor a maximum of once a day. It looks like an interesting stone to have, but for that price I'd just get a vintage Thuringian. Why take the risk? I think 120 Euros plus shipping is pricey given that there isn't any certainty regarding what you are getting. The same could be said about large coticules, but they at least can be sold by the vein and/or some experience from the vendor.

Bottom line is at least two very experienced members whose opinions I regard highly which may be found in the first of the threads annexed to my earlier post do not believe the Frankonian to be as fine as Eschers (Thuringians) and for that reason alone I chose not to buy one. That is me. Having Thuringians and other finishers I am not in the market for any more pre finishers as I have 8K artificials and several coticules for such tasks.

I'll entertain the speculation that if it were significantly more affordable, I'd buy it on impulse.

From what I know they are the finest finishers from Europe, many samples are better than eschers. The quarry has its own site, selling tiles and decorative items mainly. I asked them regarding their hones but so far they don't answer any emails.

Originally Posted by Scipio

You shouldn't need to finish on a natural before each shave, they are not barber hones and I assume you are only using the razor a maximum of once a day. It looks like an interesting stone to have, but for that price I'd just get a vintage Thuringian. Why take the risk? I think 120 Euros plus shipping is pricey given that there isn't any certainty regarding what you are getting. The same could be said about large coticules, but they at least can be sold by the vein and/or some experience from the vendor.

Bottom line is at least two very experienced members whose opinions I regard highly which may be found in the first of the threads annexed to my earlier post do not believe the Frankonian to be as fine as Eschers (Thuringians) and for that reason alone I chose not to buy one. That is me. Having Thuringians and other finishers I am not in the market for any more pre finishers as I have 8K artificials and several coticules for such tasks.

I'll entertain the speculation that if it were significantly more affordable, I'd buy it on impulse.

Well we are in the same boat in that I don't need a pre finisher either. As natural finishers go, $160 - $180 isn't too bad with respect to an impulse buy considering Eschers are a small fortune, Jnats are from what I see at $300+ - Thuringians are about the same price as a Frankonian from what I can see at about $150.

What did you pick as your finisher Scipio?

Seems like the Frankonian might be possibly a gamble, you might get a fantastic one or you might get a not so hot one. Like Scipio said
you just cant go wrong with a Thuringian, it has been proven time and time again about its finishing abilities.
Actually easy to figure it out because most finishers are always compared to the thuringian!

I finish on a YG Escher. I have another German hone called a Schwedenstein which I use from time to time also. It is in the same league as vintage Thuringians.

I'm not stating that Frankonians are pre finishers per se. It depends what you consider to be a finisher. If you currently finished on an 8K as some do, a Frankonian would be a finisher in its own right and if Olivia is selling them then they likely are. I haven't used a Frankonian but those whose opinions I trust who have used it claimed it was inferior to a YG Escher and by that token it would be rendered a pre finisher in my progression.


Vasilis, have you any literature clarifying what you know (other than the vendor's site!) ?

It depends from the seller. I don't think a stone that is sold for over 100$ has not been tested by the seller. If the standards are low, you might not receive a good one. But I think that Frankonians or whatever they are called, (I don't think this is their actual name, pretty much like the PHIG, someone named it as he sees fit) have some great potential.