Thread: Hones Description article 1835

Thanks for that explanation, Neil. Interesting that there was an accumulation of garnets somewhere other than where coticules seem to come from now, unless I'm misreading that.

We're on the same page about what a turkey stone is, at least from what I was talking about - the soft friable ones from greece, and not any of the number of stones called turkey stones later. I've seen several brownish arkansas stones sold here as "turkey" stones, don't know where that comes from but they definitely weren't what I was expecting when one person told me they'd mail me a "turkey stone" if I'd like to try it.

Lots of interesting information in this thread! Those who found those hone descriptions informative might also enjoy this link I stumbed across recently. The hone descriptions start on page 15.
(1895) Essay on Barbers' Razors, Razor Hones, Razor Stropes & Razor Honing

Originally Posted by MattW

Lots of interesting information in this thread! Those who found those hone descriptions informative might also enjoy this link I stumbed across recently. The hone descriptions start on page 15.
(1895) Essay on Barbers' Razors, Razor Hones, Razor Stropes & Razor Honing

This is also in our Wiki.......

Originally Posted by Neil Miller

I'm not sure, Dave. As you say, there is a lot of confusion. The only different names used in the past for coticules were 'old rock' belgian hone and belgian yellow stone. In the time I spent in art departments learning screen and intaglio printing, the suppliers catalogues always mentioned german blue and grey polishing stones.

What is for sure is that there is/was extensive quarrying in Regensburg/Bavarian area. Regensburg, BTW, is the same as Ratisbon. Hugh Murray (1779 - 1846) in his Encyclopaedia of Geography mentions many of the rock types from the region and includes gneiss. horneblende, lydian stone, clay-slates, silica-slates, garnet-bearing rocks, slate-whetstones, sandstones, marbles, limestones etc, etc. There is a sample of ratisbon hone in a US museum that has been analysed and found comparable with the belgian coticule. An 1892 volume of The Mechanical News says that the ratisbon razor hone and blue polishing stone may be found as an outcrop in a river bed in the area - Ratisbon is in Bavaria at the joining of the Danube and Regen rivers.

Until it is proven otherwise, I have no especial difficulty in trusting that there was indeed a yellow ratisbon razor hone. Note that the early sources say 'near Ratisbon' so it is probable that Ratisbon was a distribution centre for german-mined products.

Regards,
Neil

Here a couple more mentions of the Ratisbon yellow hone from germany.

Just found this old post and only wanted to add my personal interpretation. From what i found till now it seems there is no „Ratisbon Razor Hone“. Its mentioned several times in older literature, also there was an old thin cut copper engraved in one if the older books.

What i found is for sure that sharpening stones and razor hones have been sold in Regensburg / Ratisbon from several suppliers. It often appears that hones are sold under other names then they normally should from their origin. This means often countries which imported the stones from another country did a marketing that way that the stones have been quarried from the country where those were sold in.

Its all a game of wrong labelling and wrong marketing....the history wrote down its own version of things which must not be 100% on the correct side.

I found Coticules being sold as German Hones, i found thuringians sold a British Hones or „british made“ i found Coticules names as German Hickory Hones.....

Holtzapfel mentions a German yellow Razor Hone which was known as „Old Rock“ so here we actually can see its total bullshit and nonsense. As a view from Holtzapfel himself it probably was reality at this time, or it was the only information available for him. But as we can see the reality is different!

It reminds of what Neil would have said....'Rubbish!'