My shave results; edge comparisons.

[SliceOfLife]

(Escher @ 98)

Mystery Jsynth-like tan (97)
Synth Coti (96.5)
Sigma Power (96)
( Les Lat Hybrid @ 95 )
Mystery Red/Brown (95)
Panama (94.5) Aurora (94.5)
Ender's Oak Leaf (93.5)

 

[Namkcakram]

(Escher @ 98)

Mystery Jsynth-like tan (97)
Synth Coti (96.5)
Sigma Power (96)
( Les Lat Hybrid @ 95 )
Mystery Red/Brown (95)
Panama (94.5) Aurora (94.5)
Ender's Oak Leaf (93.5)

mmmm... I love a good les lat edge, From the finer yellow or hybrid It’s just such a nice shave and especially for the minimal effort it requires to make and maintain IME. That really puts into perspective how good some of these old B-hones are, so just saying I appreciate your two factor scale.

 

[SliceOfLife]

Yeah, there are a few really good ones. Then there's a decent amount of alright ones. Then there's a lot of really bad ones.

 

[David]

Someone either just got a great deal, or paid 170 bucks for a Norton Razor Hone Box. Pretty sure it's the latter.

 

[SliceOfLife]

The latter... there was no imprint. Never seen one with no imprint. I suspect it's a Norton India/Carbo tool hone. I've seen them sold in the Norton razor hone boxes before and they come in that dimension.

That thing got bid to like $113 within a few hours of getting listed and I was wondering the same...was someone uninformed bidding it up or did someone want the box that bad...

 

[David]

I wanted the box for mine, but not that bad. I think someone thought they were getting the real deal.

 

[Tanuki]

I didn’t find out anything about this wild-caught Austrian barber hone last time I posted it, so I thought I would barge in here among the experts and find out what I could. I have the hone and the cardboard sleeve, neither of which have any branding I can identify. I am still not confident enough to have used it or lapped it.

 

[SliceOfLife]

Usually those really old looking plain ones have been quite bad in my experience (champion, King Barber, etc)... but it could always surprise you. Personally, I've never seen that one before.

 

[SliceOfLife]

Vintage Suehiro 6000 Jsynth

Got this in a lot in almost NOS condition. Box and papers look great, but no date anywhere. Based on look of the paper I'm guessing 45-53yrs old.

That suggests this could be any grit 6000+ (Back then I've heard that JIS rating stopped at 6k, so nothing Japanese got rated above 6000).

Doubt the modern examples are the same, reviews suggest they are soft, this stone is very hard for a waterstone.

In use... took about 200 passes to finish off the DMT 1200 it came with (which felt almost unused... was a duosharp that got used just for the C side I'm guessing... so probably not quite as nicely finished as off my daily DMT 1200)
This is a divergence from other tests (which went to DMT 8000 before), as I wanted to see how fast this stone was.

The edge was fairly solid in HHT. Not jaw dropping but good enough I gave it a shave test.


Shave test was telling. Definitely in the 3micron-1.5micron synth range (4k-9k JIS). It didn't struggle, but it had that abrasive, scraping feeling going ATG that finishes that are borderline have. Wasn't especially irritating though, so you could shave off it and not hate your life... but you'd probably want something a teeny bit finer to get rid of that drag. I'd say it's a really fine 6k... more in line with most 8k JIS stones I've tried than 6k ones.

Closeness was good for the grit. Stone on the whole outperforms a good number of Barbers synths.


Comfort: 41
Closeness: 38

Overall: 79



For a comparison, I took the razor back to the same DMT 1200, then honed it up again on my Sigma Power 6k.
Sigma Power much faster, and HHT close but maybe a tiny bit better (Edge seems less toothy/smoother off the sigma power). I'll Shave test it tomorrow and compare. Based on just use and HHT... seems the SP (modern) 6k has a tighter range of particle size and more particle density.

 

[LJS]

I have an identical stone and it was bought I want to say mid 1980s in Japan. It is different than modern stones.

 

[SliceOfLife]

Thank you. Good to know.


Sigma Power 6000 shave definitely better. Notably sharper feeling (but still a bit draggy), and slightly closer.

This is right on the line of what I’d consider acceptable.

Comfort: 44
Closeness: 41

Overall: 85

 

[SliceOfLife]

Guaranteed Extra Quality
The Velvet Razor Hone



Color looks a little like the Cataraugus. Texture is a bit grainy... kind of like a sandstone... hindostan sort of feel while lapping and honing. Melts away on a DMT to flatten. I've had a few barber's synths like this and they TEND to be fairly well made but on the coarser side of things.

Feedback similar to a sandstone, as mentioned... felt coarse, but like the abrasives were quite rounded. Actually felt like it may prove to be decent.

Had that crisp, noisy trait while doing the WTG pass. Shave reminded me of a Frictionite edge quite a bit, as well as a number of less well-known but good quality "dry" barber hones.

ATG on the throat, it definitely hesitated... didn't hurt or snag, but also didn't wipe the hair away the way a good Jnat, coti or even high end synth edge can. A little aftershave burn, but nothing to write home about.

The shave actually turned out to be a lot closer than I was expecting immediately after the shave. Again, it's not stellar, but it's certainly a passable shave. On par with or a little closer than an avg coti shave. Overall the closeness was quite a surprise though. There was a bit of resistance that blades this sharp usually don't have. Probably could use a little more time on the strop to improve comfort a pt or two.

44/50 Comfort
44/50 Closeness

88/100 Overall

 

[kcb5150]

I still have an unmarked one I haven't lapped. They always seem blah. Of all the ones I have tried the Wedgeway has been my favorite to date. The binder on mine is pristine though, the ones I see pop up on the bay tend to be chalky amd dried out looking.

 

[SliceOfLife]

Panama/Aurora are the cutoff for the ones I've kept. Above them are two mystery stones and the Coti synths. Pretty High bar, but not really imho. 6k Synths are almost up there. Good quality 8k-10k JIS synths probably would make that cutoff. The spread on Barber synths is pretty wide... from the ~2k Carborundum "Razor Hone" 118s, all the way up to the vintage coticules that give modern synths like the goku a run for their money. I'd say ~60% aren't worth using... another ~40% are passable, and only about 1-2% are actually GOOD and worth seeking out... and even those are only worth paying what a modern <1micron synth would run you, adjusted for size, imho. Really, Panama or synth coti (that isn't a JGES) are about the only ones that I'd say are worth keeping your eyes open for, and only then if you can snag them under $50 (in typical sizes... I've got a particularly large synth coti that I think is worth more). But heck if people want to keep buying Frictionites from me for $200 when I get them in lots, I'm all for that.


I don't remember if I've tried a wedgeway. I think I did in the first round. Can't say for sure though.

 

[kcb5150]

Every 00 I find has ended up in austrailia. I am of the opinion if you want that sort of edge, you are better off saving a lot of cash and getting the tonsorial gem. It's not all that dissimilar.

 

[kcb5150]

The only ones i have kept are the brackett's and the wedgeway. Former because it is just cool and the latter because it's the current benchmark.

 

[kcb5150]

If the search tool is accurate by user you haven't. The two that have been up on the bay in recent days have been roached. I conditioned mine and have only used it with sewing machine oil and it gives the most balanced bhone edge I have encountered. It's like the gti/type r variant of a swaty. That's how I perceive it anyway.

 

[SliceOfLife]

Picked one up today. I’ll give it a try once it’s here. From pictures it looks like a typical swaty type which can be terribly inconsistent, but maybe not.

 

[kcb5150]

Yeah if it is groaty I can mail you the pristine one to try one of these days. Also that little cube with the three pyramids I still have that kind of looks like the french ones that stink of fireworks but way finer. I think it came from some defunct machinist supply firm.

 

[SliceOfLife]

Wedgeway arrived over the weekend and I got home, lapped it up and tried it today.

It is quite a muddy stone to lap, and feels moderately coarse for a barber hone... but not terrible. It does feel very regular in grit, and has decent feedback when honing.

The first couple passes quite frankly struggled. I was not expecting much from the third, but evidently the edge was fairly smooth, if a bit fat, as the final ATG runs went quite easily, left a good shave and weren't irritating. I'll check it out under the scope when I find time to see if I can determine anything special about it... and I'll test it on a couple more razors to see if maybe the early passes were a reflection of some issue not just due to the hone.

Based on this shave, there's a couple pts off comfort because of the struggling early passes... still:

Comfort: 48/50
Closeness: 45/50
Overall: 93/100