Thread: Barber Hone Problem

I recently had a rather tuggy razor, and I was advised to give it a go on my barber hone. I did, and I got some very good results. I had another razor in similar condition, and tried the same. This time, the razor grated and scritched, and the resulting shave was pretty bad...and then, when I cleaned the hone (I used lather on the hone) I found some pits...NEW pits.

The razor had had a few small pits on it when I got it, and I sanded these away in lapping the hone. Now there were ones in new places, and I'm thinking this means the hone is starting to deteriorate. I guess the material that had been inthese pits is what had caused the gritting and damaged the edge on my razor.

I hope I'm wrong.

Wow! What brand of barber hone is it? It's amazing that its degradation was so fast.

I've had several barber hones that looked like the binder was damaged by soaking in some chemical. The same plane surface felt (and looked) different even after a fresh lapping. It seemed a bit similar to what you're describing, except that in my instances the binder was more evenly degraded.

What kind of hone and what did you clean it with? Pictures available?

i am afraid i will have a little different opinion.What happens when barber hones gets old binders gets loose ?
Actually barber hone looses his ability to sharpen.it gets smooth and larger i mean a lot larger then regular size.
This is why i think the bad hone will be harmless.At least i think this way.Hope this helps.

Originally Posted by Sticky

I've had several barber hones that looked like the binder was damaged by soaking in some chemical. The same plane surface felt (and looked) different even after a fresh lapping. It seemed a bit similar to what you're describing, except that in my instances the binder was more evenly degraded.

What kind of hone and what did you clean it with? Pictures available?

It was a John Primble Barber Hone, I just used some 1200 grit wet/dry sandpaper to lap and sand outsome pits that were there when I got it. I didn't use any kind of cleaning chemicals, and I always dried it carefully after use. I will say, it did have a somewhat petroleum-ish smell when I got it. Is that normal?

The pits I noticed today are new, without a doubt. They're much too big not to have noticed before, though there might have been a much smaller hole that was kind of the "seed".

As you likely know, the John Primble barber hone is similar to the Swatys. I've never seen anything like what you have described. I don't suppose you have access to a microscope with time lapse photography capability?

I have no idea if this is the right course of action, but I wonder if perhaps you should lap it again to try to get past this bad reactive layer? Of course that presumes that lower layers will be better rather than worse. I really have no idea if that's the case but if the current layer is causing trouble, then it's of no use to you so it might as well be removed.

Originally Posted by Utopian

I have no idea if this is the right course of action, but I wonder if perhaps you should lap it again to try to get past this bad reactive layer? Of course that presumes that lower layers will be better rather than worse. I really have no idea if that's the case but if the current layer is causing trouble, then it's of no use to you so it might as well be removed.

Or you could just toss the hone and get another one! I have gotten several "new" barber hones off of ebay and have never seen the problem you are referring to Jim.

Originally Posted by JMS

Or you could just toss the hone and get another one! I have gotten several "new" barber hones off of ebay and have never seen the problem you are referring to Jim.

Well, yeah, but where's the fun in that?

Well, as I can't exactly use it as is I might as well sand it down a bit more and see if it's any better. At least until I get the scratch together for a new one...I just spent my "spring mad money" on a new razor, and some soap, and some aftershave, and and and...
*sigh* So much to buy, so little money.

I will post some pictures when I get home from work and see what you guys think...

And no, Utopia, I didn't know the Primbles were like Swaty hones. I couldn't find any information on them at all, actually. In what way are they similar? Composition? Fineness?

My Swatys have a kind of "earthy" smell to them.

A petroleum smell might indicate some kind of solvent contamination, but I don't have a Primble in my collection. It might be normal for that hone since the 5 different ones I just tried all smell different. The Swaty and Apart do smell very similar. None, so far, remind me of petroleum.

I've never run across the problem you're describing; yet.