Old school barber hone...

So long story short, my father passed away some time ago... leaving behind quite the knife collection from the knife shop he owned... My question is this, I found hurried under a bunch of empty boxes, a hone, simply stating on its box, "Barbers Hone" and the same on one side of the stone.... Do I need use oil, or soak in water, or just go dry?!

Never seen one of these before, and honestly it's the most finest grit I've seen in my whole life! It's been well maintained, smooth as a baby's butt, and perfectly flat, it's almost new condition save for being the the age it is, box says 191* the last digit is worn off....

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!

I was taught to always use a barber hone with shaving soap lather on it, and water at the bare least. If you a good bevel and a good edge, that barber hone will freshen the edge many times. Lucky find!

Some pics will get you a lot more information

I use mine with some lather, it gives better feedback this way and the displacement of the lather assists in ensuring that you keep the edge flat on the stone. Use a light touch and you should be able to maintain your edge quite nicely.

As with any sharpening stone I suppose... It's just a different style of honing compaired to a pocket knife... something I'm not used to doing... THANKS!

What are you planning on doing with the hone? It will work to touch up a blade, but they aren't a complete solution.

Michael