Thread: I think it is Belgian and...

AFAIK it's only available from www.taths.org.uk - I just ordered myself one earlier today.

Originally Posted by Neil Miller

The yellow one is a coticule - the yellow side is finer. As for grit - coticules vary so much you can only hazard a guess as to the average grit, say 10k or thereabouts (yes, I know - can't use grit ratings to judge a natural by, but it is handy as a means of comparison). However some (notably the soft ones) are a fair bit lower and others (notably the hard ones) can be a good bit finer. You have to test it and see, then you will know - if you have enough hones of known grit with which to compare it, otherwise its just a guess.

All you can say about the second one is that it is some type of hone slate. Which type and where it came from (they ARE NOT all welsh!) is hard to say just from pics, but which brand is impossible without it being in its original wrapper or having it stamped on the stone itself. All we can say is 'it looks like this' or it 'looks like that' which isn't really helpful when you think about it - my neighbour looks like Robert DeNiro but he can't act to save his life (yes, I can see the comebacks now from people who think Bob can't act either... ).

BTW Stepan, I don't like that Read/Morgan book at all - the pictures are indistinct (and the ones that would be of interest to me are tiny with scant info) and the colours are very poorly rendered - some are so bad they are totally unreliable as a means of ID. I believe the welsh hone seller of recent fame on this forum uses it to ID some of his hones...

Regards,
Neil

I have brought this with one of the authors two weeks ago. I am going to organise visit ans see those stones in flesh as particularly pictures of welsh hones were either badly messed up or swapped (one I think with coti).
Book we are talking about does not have ISBN or other number. Recently was one going on bay but author is still able to sell some.

Originally Posted by proximus26

I also would like to know about this book as i have more 12 hones coming soon. All natural stones. I think some of them are Thuringian and some unknown, very black and hard! Oh well, what i got my self into.... oh boy:-(

You know how a boat is a hole in the water that you throw money into? Well, think of each hone as a hole in the ground somewhere, that you have thrown your money into. I think they're something like that, anyway.

Originally Posted by ajc347

AFAIK it's only available from TATHS - I just ordered myself one earlier today.

Wow, that looks like a cool society, meeting, and pubs list. I was at an event recently and found myself at a table with the man who used to be the company historian for Stanley Tools. Needless to say we had a conversation all our own, as the womens eyes glazed around us.