Thread: buying swaty on ebay

To lap a barber hone you really need a diamond hone. See if Joshearl is still offering that service. But...the question is does it really need lapping? Try it first.

Originally Posted by randydance062449

To lap a barber hone you really need a diamond hone. See if Joshearl is still offering that service. But...the question is does it really need lapping? Try it first.

Any grit of diamond hone you recommend for lapping? Thanks.

There is one advantage of the Swaty over the Chinese 12K. That is, as a touch up hone the Swaty is relatively small and lightweight and therefore more convenient to keep stashed with your shaving supplies. The 12K is not something you could stick in the medicine cabinet or on a small bathroom shelf. Put it this way, I sure wouldn't want the 12K landing on my foot!

Originally Posted by loueedacat

Any grit of diamond hone you recommend for lapping? Thanks.

Most use a DMT 325. I have that and a DMT 120, which greatly speeds up the process. It is only financially worthwhile to buy either one if you are planning on lapping a lot of hones. If you just want one or two lapped, you can either use sandpaper on a flat surface or pay someone else to do it.

If you need one lapped, PM me and I can do it for you. Alternatively, I could just sell you an already lapped Swaty.

I'm just kinda biased in favor of natural stones I guess. Maybe I should pick up a swaty myself and give it a shot, the only barber hone I've really used is an Aloxite that's pretty rough.

The responses to my questions have been very thoughtful and helpful, and I think I actually understand what I need (which is rare, both in shaving and in life). This is a great site.

Originally Posted by randydance062449

To lap a barber hone you really need a diamond hone. See if Joshearl is still offering that service. But...the question is does it really need lapping? Try it first.

He is. Drop me a PM if you wear your arm out... I charge $10.

Seriously, you can get one flat with sandpaper or a DMT 325. I use a 120-grit DMT, which makes the process a.) more efficient and b.) more thorough.

Chips in the edges aren't good, but you can still usually salvage the hone. Just use some sandpaper and round them out so there are no sharp edges for the blade to hang up on.

Josh

Originally Posted by JoshEarl

He is. Drop me a PM if you wear your arm out... I charge $10.

Seriously, you can get one flat with sandpaper or a DMT 325. I use a 120-grit DMT, which makes the process a.) more efficient and b.) more thorough.

Chips in the edges aren't good, but you can still usually salvage the hone. Just use some sandpaper and round them out so there are no sharp edges for the blade to hang up on.

Josh

My swaty I bought of ebay for less than 15 dollars. It had some rather large chips but they were on the edge and the sandpaper at 120 grit made short work of them. Grab one on ebay if you can. They are invaluable for touch ups.

Bill,

You finally have a PM!

Originally Posted by Russel Baldridge

the only barber hone I've really used is an Aloxite that's pretty rough.

I bought and then sold an Aloxite recently and agree, it was pretty rough. Like the few barber hones I've had, after initial lapping, the surface does smooth out a bit after running some steel over it.

However..........I bought a 3 line Swaty last weekend at an antique shop in upper MI for $8. It has a few chips on the edges of the text side (no biggie) and no chips on the bottom side. I haven't used this barber hone yet but WOW, it really impressed me. It is very fine and the composition seems to be solid all the way through (meaning lapping didn't really change/alter/degrade the silky smoothness of the pre-lapped surface). To me, the surface to the touch feels the most like a natural stone (similar to a coticule) than any of the barber hones I've owned or have handled in antique shops). Very impressed. I can see without even using it yet why they're highly regarded. I'm going to keep this one around.

Chris L