I got this hone recently - it was saturated with oil but soaking in a solution of bio washing powder for day and a half has got rid of the oil. It came in a fancy hardwood box, long and narrow, hinged at the narrow end. The hone measures 8.0 x 1.75 x 1.25 inches, and was mounted narrow-side-up in the box. The box looks like the sort of thing you's see in the 1900s - someone took an awful lot of time over making it!

It is a dull pink red with darker patches and a lot of glittery specks (mica? quartz?) in it. I am 99.9% sure it is a natural stone, a bit like sandstone but very hard and firm, not given to releasing sandy particles during honing. I can see some faint evidence of strata in it - just.

It cuts very slowly and leaves a scratch pattern deeper than a King 1000, so I am guessing that it is at least half that grit size.

It's composition is very reminiscent of the Dalmore Yellow I had: tiny particles bonded together with an open or porous appearance. The DY was predominatly yellow with flecks of pink-red, black and white. This one looks just the same but reversed: predominatly pink-red with flecks of yellow, black and white.

I took some close-up pictures of the surface, very much magnified:



1. You can see the chamfered edge I added - it took ages to lap!



2.



3.



Any help/ideas would be appreciated!

Regards,
Neil.