Buying Vintage Hones?

[cosperryan]

So I'm looking at buying a hone and I really don't feel like spending 100+ dollars on a hone but I don't want to get a piece of crap. Do you think it would be wise to purchase a vintage hone from ebay. I know that I would most likely have to lap it several times and make sure that it is even and flat. Has any one ever bought an old vintage hone off ebay with any success and not just for aesthetic purposes.

[razorguy]

It depends on the use you want to make with your stone. If you are planning to have just one stone, maybe a combo stone is the best choice, say a Norton 4k/8k or a Naniwa 3k/8k, both being cheaper than 100$.
As for natural stone, an excellent choice would be a Belgian cuticule with a bout, useful in creating slurry and this would be useful in lowering the grit of the stone in case you need to refresh a dull edge.
Never bought a vintage stone on eBay but I see there are a lot of them there.
If you are a beginner in honing I would suggest you to buy a brand new and freshly lapped stone. A concave or not perfectly lapped stone, like a vintage one, is not the best way to learn honing and it could even worse the quality of the bevel.

[gugi]

I don't think it's particularly wise strategy. How do you know that what you get on ebay only needs lapping and isn't just a 'piece of crap' as you put it?

The thing is that generally there is no free lunch so to save money you have to trade something else for it. You don't have experience to trade, so that means that you'll be gambling. Gambling could work out really well, but also could have the exact opposite result, especially given that you have a rather shallow pocket and can't afford enough gambling rounds to get to the statistical average.

You could also try to trade in time - basically sit as much as possible on ebay and hope to find a hone of well known quality say escher (with a label) for a very low price and buy-it-now option, and notice it and manage to snag it before anybody else. These events are extremely rare, especially nowadays and I am pretty sure if you spend the same time it's gonna take you to chase such an event, if you spend this same amount of time doing any low skilled min. wage job, you'd earn several times the market price of that escher.

I don't really think you have a particularly good option here, which is no surprising because if you had everybody would already be doing it.

If you ask me, I'd suggest that you start by considering what do you need a hone for. Not the meaningless answer 'to hone my razor', but take the time to read up and learn about honing.
If you concentrate on stropping instead and do that part right you will dramatically extend the time before your razor needs to touch a hone. And you may realize that you don't need a $100+ hones and the $20 chinese hone may serve you just fine.

[cosperryan]

Well thanks for the speedy replies its not so much that I don't have the money for say a norton. It's just that, I figured like razors that some of the older hones would be better than some of the new ones. And if I can save some money and still get a quality, well then why not. But I think that I will end up just going with the naniwa or more likely the norton combo.

[JimmyHAD]

Well thanks for the speedy replies its not so much that I don't have the money for say a norton. It's just that, I figured like razors that some of the older hones would be better than some of the new ones. And if I can save some money and still get a quality, well then why not. But I think that I will end up just going with the naniwa or more likely the norton combo.

From a frugal standpoint your best bet, IMO, is a norton 4/8 combo. The 'old reliable' that at one time was the only game in town besides the vintage hones. Guys will tell you to get a barber hone, a coticule, lapping film ....... just get a norton combo and you'll have a tool that will get you from point A to point B for sure. Add other options as time goes on, if you decide you want or need them. Just IME.

[thebigspendur]

I'm with Jimmy. The Norton is the old reliable. You can never go wrong with it.

Probably with synthetic hones the newer ones are probably better than the old because of the newer materials they have and better manufacturing standards. Not that there is anything wrong with the old ones , they work fine.

[Hirlau]

So I'm looking at buying a hone and I really don't feel like spending 100+ dollars on a hone but I don't want to get a piece of crap. Do you think it would be wise to purchase a vintage hone from ebay. I know that I would most likely have to lap it several times and make sure that it is even and flat. Has any one ever bought an old vintage hone off ebay with any success and not just for aesthetic purposes.

Very broad question that I just highlighted.
What type of vintage hone or hones on Ebay interest you?
I have purchased over "60" vintage hones on Ebay over the past 3 years,,,,,Carborundums, Nortons, barber hones, Welsh hones (possibly vintage?? quarries no longer operational), a coticule; all were successful/great buys. Yes, many were bought for collection purposes, not everyday use, but all were great condition. Any of them can be used today, as well as they could have been used at the time of their manufacture.

If you want a good/great everyday hone, get the Norton 4/8 as suggested.

[cosperryan]

Well I was looking at an old barbers hone the seller said that it was 10k. It was priced at about 20 bucks the last time I saw the bid and there were more similarly priced. I think for the money I am still going to get one and if it doesn't pan out then I still have a hone for the kitchen knives or other things. However for the older "waxy" strop, that definitly sounds interesting. I am new to this but the one thing I do feel confident in is my stropping. I bought a cheap pakistani razor to practice on while I did my research and saved up for my Dovo. I pretty much made it my goal to get that crappy razor shave ready with a strop even though I knew that was impossible I figured if I have to strop my razor every day then a lot of practice wont hurt.

[Hirlau]

There are a few of barber hones brands out there that might rate close to 10K, but that is a bit high for most barber hone ratings. The barber hones that grit rate that high, would cost you a bit more that $20.00; something to think about.

[Kees]

If you are interested in a vintage hone less than 100 USD a Swaty would be your best choice. There are plenty around on ebay, some of them in good or nearly new condition. You may need to lap it which takes some elbow grease. Swatys may not be the finest hones around but with a chromox and plain leather strop they are all you need. They cut reaonably fast but are no good for setting a bevel.