Thread: Identifying grit of a hone

Hi,

I've inherited a sharpening stone from my grandfather. It's obviously quite old, and has no identifiable markings on it, other than the words GClarke stamped into the wood base (maybe the owner, I'm not sure). I believe my grandfather used to sharpen his filleting knives on it.

It looks like a very dark blue/green piece of marble, and is about the size and shape of my norton 4k/8k. It's attached firmly into a piece of wood.

When I run my fingers over it, it feels like a piece of marble, but with the faintest grit.

I was wondering if there is some test or someone I could take it to who would be able to identify the grit?

regards,

Seems like this one get's asked about once a month, and the answer is that it can be a bit tricky. Sometimes it's easier to do by tracking down the manufacturer.

One user suggested putting a razor that needs to be rehoned anyway on it, and comparing the scratch pattern to other "known" hones. Of course, that only works if you've a work bench covered in old hones.


Maybe a picture?

Originally Posted by VeeDubb65

Maybe a picture?

+1 on the photo. Half of the stone dry and half wet and someone may be able to ID it for you.

Originally Posted by VeeDubb65

Of course, that only works if you've a work bench covered in old hones.

What? Doesn't everyone

Originally Posted by DwarvenChef

What? Doesn't everyone

lol, so far I've only got one, but I'm sure I'm on my way.....

You can see it a bit better if you do a couple of strokes with a (non scratched) CD.

Thanks everyone for their replies.

I've attached a photo of the stone. The quality should still be okay, although I had to shrink it down a fair bit to get past the size restrictions.

I just finished lapping my norton 4k/8k for the first time today. After doing that, the 8k of the norton feels like glass, whereas this 'mystery hone' has an obvious texture to it. It's not as gritty as the 4k, so perhaps it's somewhere in between, or a different sort of stone altogether.

Your expert opinions are welcome nonetheless!

regards,

A couple things here,

First of all, it is certainly a completely different kind of hone. The norton combo is a man-made stone, and that certainly "looks" like a natural hone.

Second, I would recommend that you lap that hone. Until then, it's going to feel very different than it really is, because a lot of what you're feeling is surface imperfections.

Originally Posted by VeeDubb65

A couple things here,

First of all, it is certainly a completely different kind of hone. The norton combo is a man-made stone, and that certainly "looks" like a natural hone.

Second, I would recommend that you lap that hone. Until then, it's going to feel very different than it really is, because a lot of what you're feeling is surface imperfections.

Good advice! I was going to suggest lapping until I read this post. After lapping you will be able to better determine what you have.

Steve