Old Razor hone

[willis]

Bought this old John Primble razor hone at a flea market in Kentucky 11 years ago.Would any know what they are made of?It looks like ceramic.

 

[eKretz]

I think they are proprietary mixes - a few different places made them and a lot of them were made by the same company then relabeled by other companies for resale. Some are fired (i.e. ceramic) and some are cold set (like in epoxy or something similar). They are referred to as barber's hones in common parlance.

 

[unit]

Yup they are called "barbers hones" and vary considerably in performance and price/value.

The greatest advice I have heard is "try it and see how well it works for you". That said, you need a fair bit of understanding of what they do and what to expect.

Typically they behave as a medium to fast abrasive (for carbon steel straight razors) in the 2000 to 6000 grit range (they are notoriously variable by brand/vintage). For knives, this would generally be a fairly high finish and not very well suited to many modern blade steels.

Regardless, it's a neat piece of history that many blade fanatics would want on their shelf (perhaps only for display).

 

[Amos Iron Wolf]

This is the cover from the razor hone that was my great grandad's. The hone itself looks like yours except it has a slight grey-brownish cast and ZANOL in the ID inset.

 

[willis]

Amos,yours as well as mine both say Razor hone.

 

[kindasharp]

I found the same Primble hone here in Ky. a month ago for $5, still in original box. Works well on my Superblue steels.

 

[willis]

Good find kindasharp,I think 5 dollars was what I paid also