Thread: What have I got?

I recently bought a hone on Aus Ebay and was wondering what I've got.

Sorry I don't have a digital camera so I'll have to describe it.

It's about 6 in long by 2 in wide and about 2 high and is very heavy. The bottom layer is a dark translucent colour with the top layer I can only describe as "cookies and cream"

A light cream colour with darkish uneven slecks through the entire layer. It came from an old barber shop and was heavily used although I have laped it back into shape. Also it is the first time I've been able to get a razor shave sharp with any hone.

Any ideas?

Dazza

the top layer sounds like hard arkansas, its somewhat white to cream colored with blackish streaks or spots in it. the bottom might be surgical or translucent arkansas stone, but i have never purchased either one, so I am not sure.

Looks to me like the Arkansas translucent, maybe a bit coarse for straight razors. But, since it was used a lot, I'm maybe wrong...

Nenad

@ Aussie: can you give us the ebay link to the stone? After the bidding has stopped the link usually still works for a while.

cookies and cream doesn' t sound like arkansas to me. Sometimes you'll get a brindle pattern on a 2nd quality stone, but not flecks of color.

The only flecked hone I've got is my Tam O'Shanter, and it's a mottled light gray/dark gray that looks kind of like cat barf.

Guys I don't know how to post a link but the ebay number is 160063492676

That's Australian Ebay.

thanks for your help

Are those flecks blue? Are they the same color as the other side of the stone?

I think you've got a belgian natural, albeit a weird one.

Yes the slecks are a dark washed out blue colour, roughly the same colour as the base. I think it's a natural stone as the base and the top material are not even, sort of goes in a slight wave pattern.

If it's a belgian natural, is it good? I've never been able to hone a razor shave shap before using this one

A belgian natural has a natural seam between its coticule layer and its blue layer. The blue is 4-6K and the coticule is 10-12K. They're usually quite expensive.

Because of the natural adjacency of the yellow/blue layers, sometimes you see flecks of each in the other. Those seem like pretty strong flecks. It's a beautiful stone, but you'll have to ask someone more knowledgeable than me whether the presence of the lower-grit blue in the yellow will affect the fine-finishing qualities of the latter.

I might be wrong about what you've got there, but I don't think so.

AUS$56 = USD$43, you got a hell of a deal buddy.

I wonder what the other stone is.

Thanks for all your help guys,

The other stone appears natural as well and is as hard a stone as I have seen anywhere. It took me 2 hours on 80 grit wet and dry to get it flat, and you couldn't even discern that it wasn't flt to start with