Is this Swaty worth using???

[jkh]

I need some hone experts to weigh in here. I picked up this Swaty from an antique shop for dirt cheap, so if it is a lost cause I could care less. As you can see from the pictures the "top" side, with the label, is pretty chipped. The other side is less chipped, but the face has some scratches. So, should I even bother using this hone or would it be better not to?

The first picture is the top side and the rest are the bottom side. Sorry about the crappy pictures, I did my best with my *** camera.

 

[mdunn]

it will want some serious lapping, but go for it!

 

[Thebigspendur]

Well its a small hone to begin with and to get those chips out your going to have to really grind it down. The scratches aren't a big problem to lap out. Personally there are many others that come up pretty cheap that are in better shape. Its not worth the work to me and I wouldn't be happy with the result as far as size goes.

 

[chess1]

Sorry i have to disagree on this. chips are at the end of the stone. when you use any barber hones usually strokes are x pattern.(they are small size) when you do x pattern you will miss the edge of the stone? try it and see?you even don't need to lap them out except lap that scratch that is all. go head use it. you should be fine.

 

[jkh]

I've got:

2 - sure, why not
1 - don't bother

Anyone else? From what I understand barber hones are really hard, so I would want to remove the scratches/lap with a DMT coarse diamond plate? Attempting to remove the scratches with wet/dry sandpaper would take a REALLY long time. Correct?

 

[chess1]

dmt will do the job. just keep it constantly under running water. could luck. main idea is make it flat. use pencil test and check it out. gl

 

[gugi]

so you already have the hone, and it's only a matter of how much your time to lap it is worth to you.
nobody can answer this for you, so i'd say start lapping it and see how it goes. you can always stop if you realize it's not going to be worthwhile.

 

[Utopian]

I disagree with most of the comments here. You do not have to lap it until it is a completely flat surface. It's not necessary. It's a waste of hone material. It's a waste of time.

I have several Swatys in a similar original condition that were repaired in this manner and they hone just fine.
First, the chips are irrelevant. As long as your round them out, they will do no harm. Wrap sandpaper around a marker (or comparably sized round rod) and sand the chips till their edges along the surface are rounded.

Second,as long as you lap the hone to flat (drawing gridlines with a pencil and lapping till they are gone), then the remaining scratches will make no difference.

 

[chess1]

I disagree with most of the comments here. You do not have to lap it until it is a completely flat surface. It's not necessary. It's a waste of hone material. It's a waste of time..

In this case blade's sharpness won't be same all other the surface?contact time will be different?
Ron you confuse me with this?

 

[RayG]

i agree with Sham that the chips on top are mostly on one end and can be avoided. But I'd be afraid to catch that chip on the bottom of the first photo.
You may be better off using the other side, despite the scratches. Should still work ok.

The problem with Swaty's is that they are so hard to lap especially when glazed. There's a good chance that your DMT 8C will get ruined. And it probably would not be worth getting a DMT XX just for that purpose.

 

[jkh]

Thanks for all the input!