Thread: Hone identification, anyone?

Hi All,

Just lucked out on a razor lot on auction site -- got a W&B special, and a Romo World Class, among a bunch of other stuff.

Among the other stuff were two hones which don't look like razor hones to me. The first looks like something for a chisel:



And the other looks like, well, a piece of slate!



sorry about the fuzzy photo. Here's a better one:


So my question for the collected wisdom is, what are they? I'm not in great need of hones (I have Shaptons), so it's just curiosity which impels the question.

cheers, and thanks for your help,

cass

the first one i believe is a slip-stone. Yes you are correct it is used to sharpen chisles but it can also be used for razors if it's the right grit

So, folks, is the second thing a hunk of slate? Although it's not obvious from the pic, it has definitely been as a hone.

cass

Originally Posted by Detach

the first one i believe is a slip-stone. Yes you are correct it is used to sharpen chisles but it can also be used for razors if it's the right grit

Sorry if this is hi-jacking the thread, but how would you go about assessing what the grit of a particular slipstone is? I came upon one in our back building and hadn't considered that it could be suitable for razors.

Cass,

Looking at the red slip stone, it looks to be rough stone about 100 grit. It is very rare that you would need to use a grit lower than 1000 grit to get a blunt razor sharp. 100 grit will ruin a razor so don't use it.

The black shiny stone doesn't look flat enough to me to be of any use, but its shiny appearance would indicate it is a higher grit level.

As to how can you tell the grit level. The easiest way is to go into a shop that sells wet and dry sandpaper and run your finger over the surface of 1000 grit paper. It's abrasive but smooth. That is the level at which we start. To finish, the stone will feel smooth. Infact unless you know, you would think it was too smooth to cut anything.

Unless the color is off in the picture it doesn't look like slate. Usually slate is either black or red or maybe reddish brown. Also if you look at the side slate is usually made of layers which are pretty obvious.