Clean / Lap Old Barbers Hone? (Kleen Kutter Kombo)

[withoutink]

I finally, after much searching, bidding etc... won a barbers hone off eBay. Its a Keen Kutter Kombination, its structurally sound and in good condition. Its just rather dirty. Two quick questions...

1. Is there a preferred method to cleaning the grime off?

a buddy suggested I soak it in mineral oil to lift the microscopic metal out of the hone. He was a meatpacker back in the day, and he mentioned thats how they kept their hones clean.

2. How can I tell if the hone needs to be lapped at all?

Ill post pics when I get home tonight...

 

[mparker762]

Get some 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper. Mark a grid on the hone with a pencil, then lay the paper rough-side up on a piece of glass, wet it , and rub the hone over it in a figure-8 pattern until all the pencil marks are gone. This will also clean it up.

When using it, I use a bit of water and a drop of soap or shaving cream. The soapy lather keeps the hone free of swarf. For a razor that is just beginning to pull you should only need 3-5 laps to bring the edge back.

Every couple of years it wouldn't hurt to lap it flat again.

 

[ambrose]

+1 and congratulations on the score!!!

 

[withoutink]

Thanks guys! here are some pics...

 

[withoutink]

Oh one last question, would you recommend the edges get beveled?

 

[mparker762]

Yes, do that once it's flat. Don't bevel it too much, just knock the corners off with the sandpaper, no more than about 1/16 in on all sides. It helps reduce the chance of microchipping the edge if it tilts a bit during the X stroke.

 

[withoutink]

Thanks for the help =)

 

[mparker762]

Not at all. Pretty hone by the way. Nice classic tin too.

 

[Fnord5]

If it is oily, a soak in hot water with dish soap will free up most of it.

 

[withoutink]

Thanks, Ill probably soak it tonight. I have to find some glass to use for the smooth surface... home depot maybe?

 

[huracan]

Thanks, Ill probably soak it tonight. I have to find some glass to use for the smooth surface... home depot maybe?

Yeap. I found myself a $3 piece of granite tile a the depot to use as a surface. If you get wet-dry sandpaper, placing it under a very slow running kitchen sink fawcet makes things go faster.

 

[professorchaos]

If it is a hard as the Swaty I once owned, I'd lap it with a belt sander! That hone made the Chinese 12K seem soft.

 

[withoutink]

Thx guys =)

 

[Mr. Scruffy]

I picked up these hones over the weekend from an old country barbershop.

Pics 1 and 2 are a Carborundum 118S and a C-Mon Hone, front and back

Pics 3 and 4 are a Dubl Duck and a Franz Swaty, front and back.

Are the cleaning and lapping instructions given above applicable to these hones as well? Both sides of each hone are smooth and shiney. Also a bit grimey.

I assume the red sides of the C-Mon and Dubl Duck and the label side of the Swaty are the finishing sides. Am I correct?

The 118S does not appear to be a combination hone. Can anyone tell me more aboth this hone?

 

[SliceOfLife]

The name side of the DD does look like the finisher (but if you google a bit you can probably find pictures of one online that has a sticker/box/instructions that will be definite).

I don't think the swaty is two sided, so either side will be fine.


Doesnt the sticker on the side of the Cmon say "Use this first/Use this last" or something like that?

 

[dancraig]

I have a Keen Kutter Kombination hone.
They are very versatile. As a bit of an experiment, I decided to try bringing a couple of new Gold Dollars to shave ready condition using just the Keen Kutter, balsa CrO strop and linen/leather strop.
The courser dark side can sharpen quite well if you are willing to do a couple hundred careful passes. After going back and forth a few times, I got the Gold Dollars just as sharp as my other razors. Yes, it was more work, took more time and was more tedious. But it can be done, and done quite well.

 

[dancraig]

Your Keen Kutter hone looks like it was used very little. If it was mine, I would just clean it, sandpaper over the edges to get the micro chips smoothed and use it.

 

[honed]

I got a "Never Dull" combo barbers hone a while back & gave it the above mentioned treatment. Worked like a charm! It has already proven itself, bringing back a tugging razor to a nice, shave-ready state with only 5 strokes on the polishing (finest) side.

 

[Mr. Scruffy]

The name side of the DD does look like the finisher (but if you google a bit you can probably find pictures of one online that has a sticker/box/instructions that will be definite).

I don't think the swaty is two sided, so either side will be fine.


Doesnt the sticker on the side of the Cmon say "Use this first/Use this last" or something like that?

There is a sticker, but unfortunately it is illegible.

 

[dancraig]

Another Keen Kutter Kombination experiment.
I just "reset the bevel" on a pre Dovo "Tennis" #80 using only my Keen Kutter Kombination hone. Under 30X lighted microscope, some chips where evident in the very thin bevel in this nearly NOS "Tennis". I think the blade hitting the scales caused the chipping. The chips extended 3/4 of the way through the bevel, so I knew I had to start anew.
I started with sets of fifty circles on the courser/sharpening side of the hone, beginning with more pressure on the blade than you might usually want to use. It took a few hundred circles to get the chips honed out. Finished up with normal laps, normal laps on finishing side, CrO balsa paddle, Iron Oxide balsa paddle and leather strop.
Took a while, but it can be done.