Thread: Water hone for penknives ect.

I ran across this beautiful stone at a antique store today. I would like if someone could positively identify it as a thuringian. This is the first hone I have ever HAD with a label saying 'made in Germany'
I am wanting to use it as a baseline when comparing to other flea market finds,







This is just a comparison to some of my other stones. None of which I have 100% identified.
The stone on the inside right, is on a paddle with a leather strop on the other side, it has German writing saying 'extra fine waterstone". The inside left is unmarked but just as fine as the other two. The outside left stone, could just be a slate stone. The slurry looks good but it's not very fine. Maybe 3000-4000 grit...

I don't know , but they are nice stones, thanks for sharing them.

I wouldn't have thought a Thuringian would do much for a penknife and the slurry is grey. Thuringian slurry is more white. There are other German hones such as the Hunsruck and Schwedenstein. I can't tell what the other hones are from the pictures.

Thank you for the info, that is exactly what I was wanting to know. The stone on the inside right, is on a paddle with a leather strop on the other side, it has German writing saying 'extra fine waterstone". The inside left is unmarked but just as fine as the other two. The outside left stone, could just be a slate stone. The slurry looks good but it's not very fine. Maybe 3000-4000 grit...

I will do some reading up on the stone types you listed.

IIRC Hunsruecker hones give brownish slurry. You may ask Tony Miller, he used to sell them.

The Well Shaved Gentleman The Heirloom Razor Strop Company

Hunsrücker are more recent I believe; Schwedenstein is more variegated and usually comes in very thin formats (like the one on the paddle). Mine have grey slurry.

The box looks a lot like this one.

On this Russian forum, there is a discussion on a Thuringian in a box similar to yours and a courser stone, which is presumed to be a Russian imitation.

I did not mean the four sides of the hone, if you flatten a hone on the area you work often the sides are lowered (about 3mm). On this area it seems like the stone has a lower grit (other saw or working marks)...on these areas the stone has not been treated like it would be with fine sanding paper...

So the question for me is if these are kind of sawmarks or a kind of a grinding machine...?

That is the picture from the Silkstone...

Here is one i received some weeks ago, this one is as many others without a reference to a specific company. But the instructions are nearly the same like they were shown on others.
Its a dual layered stone, i would recall it more a yellow-green then a light green...

I actually know that there was no direct connection to Escher mentioned. But i personally believe there is some connection. On an Auction was a Severin Robert Droescher (S.R.D) Penknive Hone listed. As Droescher was Whole Trader for Escher during a period of time, it included a J.G. Escher & Sons Water Hone. The Instructions have been actually in the same print / look like these stones have been printed...