Thread: Hone identification question

Hi All,

Just had a big hone score at an estate sale -- and was wondering if any of you with HAD could help me out with identification, grit, etc.

What I know about them: they're about 5x2 inches, and my guess is that they were used to sharpen pen nibs (I made a big score on ink pens, nibs, a few fountain pens, and all sorts of art supplies, too). And that's all I know, other than the thin green one is obviously pretty coarse and came in a little plastic case (obviously a giveaway).



The front one is greenish black, the middle brown.



Here's a close up of the blackish green one. Sorry it's fuzzy.



Greenish black (front) one again. Seems ceramic or composite?





Here's the brown one...



and another of the brown...



And this guy I got at a different estate sale, in a box of other stuff. It looks like a piece of slate, but by the context, and looks, it seems like it's been used for sharpening.

I'd appreciate any help in identifying them, so I can put them to use (I already have Shaptons, but one can never have enough hones!!)

Many thanks,

cass

Just lapped (not completely) the hones down some because I had to get the sharpening equipment out anyway (for knives, not razors).



Here is the greenish-blackish one after some lapping. I suspect the color change is at least partially due to getting below any oil which may have been used as a lubricant. The slurry was definitely brown. And I know, there's still some lapping to go.



Here's the brown one. Again, I suspect the lightening is due to the removal of oil, which may have been used for lubrication.

cass

One last detail -- I actually got the slate looking stone in a lot from ebay (just correcting myself), and, in an earlier thread about that and a slipstone I got with it, thebigspendur suggested that it wasn't slate... but i am still wondering what it is. I lapped it and the slurry is purply-black.

They don't look like natural hones to me. The clues for me are that they're not chamfered and they have very round edges. They look more like ceramic hones in my collection such as those made by Franz Swaty and many others. The only odd thing about that is that we're not seeing the usual indented area with the company name in it. When you figure this out, send a good photo to me and I'll put it in the hone museum. This is the kind of HSI (Hone Scene Identification) I just love!