Thread: Ok, so what is the color of a red swaty but 2 1/2x 4 1/2 and no markings?

Came across it in a shop. Price seems reasonable.
It is roughly a dark brick color and smooth.
I put a razor to it to see how it felt and I would say it is something like my coticule, maybe a little rougher FEEL with the razor on it BUT to the TOUCH it feels quite SLICK.
The sensation through the razor was not of something coarser that a coticule but just that it really felt like it was cutting aggressively.

The shop owner(who knows knives) swears that it is a Case.

Did Case ever make anything like a red Swaty? BTW I looked on ebay and the grey swatys listed now aren't the sort I'm talking about.

I've included a pic of something that is a s close as I could find to the color.

It could be an aluminum oxide hone. What you're describing is pretty similar to a hone I have made by The Carborundum Company. The actual cutting material is considerably hard, which explains why it feels a little rough to your razor and why it cuts so quickly. I have seen a Case "Swaty-esque" razor hone, but I've never actually heard of Case making barber hones of this exact type, but I wouldn't be surprised if they did.

If it were aluminum oxide would it be red?
I thought aluminum oxide was gray to black.

SO would it be worth $25??

Aluminum oxide can range from brown to red to gray, and when it's used as an abrasive, it's often called corundum. Carborundum, or Silicon Carbide, which you might be thinking of, can be gray to black and it's about the same hardness as Aluminum Oxide (~9 on Mohs).
This isn't to say that the hone you're thinking of is definitely aluminum oxide, but since it's widely used as an abrasive, it's probable.
That said, they're pretty fast cutters and incredibly hard. It wouldn't be a bad hone to have as a finishing hone; probably on par with a Swaty. Unfortunately, I have no idea what the price for that hone is based on (if it comes in its original box, what condition, rarity), but if it seems reasonable to you, I'd say go for it.

Who's buried in Grant's Tomb?
It's 10 o'clock, do you know what time it is?
What color is a red Swaty?

Howard, seriously, play with the Swaty to get the experience and then let us know what you've found. I have that stone in my collection and got seriously perturbed with it.

Howard