Pierre Du Sud Ouest Love Show off your Rocks. (AKA Mystery Swirled hone)

[Bushdoctor]

Bushdoctor any updates on your stone? Used it? Found out any more information about it?

Unfortunately no, I haven't found the time to investigate more on this stone, and also no time for playing with it.
Meanwhile, I've bought another one thinking that was the same stone, but this one is an hard, glassy, stone. The one with black dots is very soft compared to this one. I hope to find some good info about this stone, soon or later. I'm actually lapping a mountain of stones, and also continue the research of old stones quarries, in the last months I'm focused on the Special Stone / La Lune.
This is my last acquisition.

 

[SliceOfLife]

Yeah, thats a PDSO for sure. Gorgeous stone and paddle. They vary a huge amount in hardness. Man I wish I could find stuff like that at the flea markets around here.

 

[SliceOfLife]

So, thanks to Kevin connecting me to this auction/seller. After many weeks struggling with language barrier, customs, etc... I got this paddle stone. Turned out to be the first labeled Pierre Du Sud Ouest I've ever seen... but unlikely the label will ever be made legible.

 

[eKretz]

Oh man, do you know any college students? Find one that is studying in the field of archaeology and see if they have a professor who might be able to help. Some very unreadable things have been read by those techniques that use multiple photographic exposures using varying light spectra. Maybe they can read it.

 

[Bushdoctor]

Nice score. Manifacturing suggest me that it comes from France, the color of the stone in the picture appear to be gray, more like a Thuri than a PSDO. It will be nice if you could find some trick to allow you to read the old label.

 

[fatwade]

Just to ask, there is only some pieces of a label left, is that right ?

The orange/brown stuff could be any discoloration....or am i totally wrong ?

 

[SliceOfLife]

No, there's a full oval label going almost the full dimensions of the stone in there, but it's almost fused into the box.

I don't see anything the orange could be other than ink bleed from the label. The stone wasn't cemented or glued into the box in any way... Nothing but the stone, the label and some old paper fras (bookworm droppings) was in there.
The stone is one of the greener sorts of Pdso, but unquestionably is a Pdso. I've got a few very similar ones to it that I purchased from the fellow on SRP who posted about them in the French hone thread.

 

[PaulMallorca]

Hi,

I live part time in the South west of France. Visiting local flea markets I've found razor stones, some could belong in this thread. I must admit the hunt for the stones has become a passion, and I'm a bit sad I'll probably soon move away.

3 of them are 100% pierre du sud ouest. Two are green, and the third has a more yellowish tint. They slurry easily, and show the distinct leaf like inclusions on the ends.

2 other are different, but they may still be PDSO. Much harder, they don't slurry and the over all impression is different. They don't cut the same way either, is more of a burnishing action. While the above are relatively uniform in color and texture, those two show veins and variation in color. One is green with darker green veins and an orange spot, very very old, was mounted on wood, but was originally suspended by a hole on the narrow side. The second one is green with areas green/yellow and a bit coarser

I'll try to take pictures as soon as possible.

What bugs me, is why the 3 first stones have a distinct convex shape on all sides? the main surfaces are not flat, and I find that very strange given that I've never seen any other stone cut that way. The two PDSU green were "new" when I got them. I've seen many similar stones on the web proving they where cut that way in purpose. One of those two is tinny, and if I was to flatten a surface, it wouldn't be much left on the sides. So they were obviously designed to be used that way!

Has anyone an idea why?

Great stones. A bit disconcerting to learn mixed with the others stones I've found, but I get better and better shaves from them.

 

[PaulMallorca]

Those are the 3 100% PDSU. I only use the middle one, the small one is too convex, and the yellow needs to be surfaced. The 3 share that muddy smooth feel, and slurry very easily.

Then the 2 that are not exactly like the ones above. Very hard, no slurry.

This seems like a very old stone. Not much left, about 3mm. Very fine mirror finish on soapy water. With use the surface becomes almost like glass. Sharpening is very smooth with almost no feed back, until the blade starts to stick. Awesome finisher!
It looks like originally it was made to be hung by a rope, then as it thinned down it was mounted on wood.

This is coarser, but I haven't used much.

 

[SliceOfLife]

Beautiful Stones what are the dimensions on the one you use? Of the two hard ones you posted I'm pretty sure the one on the left is a Pierre DSO, the one on the right reminds me of a purple slate I've gotten in a paddle from France that behaves just like a PA DSO, but which I assumed couldnt be because it's purple.

 

[PaulMallorca]

212x60mm

Both hard ones behave more or less the same, the left being coarser. They don't feel from the same geological origin. The PDSU are almost closer to thuris or cotis, than those two.

When I first got the one with the hole, I saw that orange spot by the top, and I got very exited to have a CF. Must understand back in time, here was English country. So when it comes to very old things, we do find English swords and some other stuff, why not a sharpening stone?

Now I don't know what to think, it just don't feel like the sames stones. Not that is surprising: I have another couple of unidentified pieces...

But you have to love the PDSU, smooth and easy shave! you are right on your above comments, no mater how much time I spend on technique, the lunes are much harder on the skin.

 

[SliceOfLife]

Yeah. I have a stone I doubt I will ever be positive whether it's a Pdso or a y/g Thuri. They behave similarly enough, and the stone in question has traits of both.

 

[notitfortat]

I was told that my new stone might be a PDSO. What say you?

 

[SliceOfLife]

Paddle and slurry match. Looks harder than Pdso tend to be and the stripes aren't what I tend to see. I've got a similar stone I keep with my Pdso, but I'm not confident it is one. Great finisher regardless.

 

[PaulMallorca]

I have some that while harder then my "classical" PDSO, are harder and I still thing the qualify as such. At least under magnification, the grain and the scratch pattern is fairly similar. All my PDSO have different harness and behave slightly differently, a bit like coticules...

 

[fatwade]

Here is a Pricelist from D. Giovannacci, L&B. Ghelfi from 1897. As during this time they were probably one of the biggest importers and sellers of stones worldwide. I always searched for a document which shows „Razor Hones“ from Italy. As the Ghelfis came from Italy its no too far away that the had a good knowledge what type of stones were available in Italy.

This is only a wild theory because we really don‘t know if the Pierre du Sud Ouest is really connected to Italy as a origin, because nothing ist proved today.

But as we can see in 1897 Razor Hones from Italy have been sold. Their coloration was white (blanche) and yellow (jaune). The are sold especially under a category of Razor Hones in the catalogue, which actually has around 30 Pages. So they have been on the fine side...

 

[ShaverAZ]

Got delivery of a DMD flattening plate & went to work on Grandpa's old stones. Dad mounted the smaller one in a wood holder & glued it in, since it was badly wedged on the back side. Grandpa taught me how to hone his razor with it around 1962 when I was a kid. They were both badly worn & the smaller one has some cracks in it, but it looks like the plate will even it out just fine. The bigger one is finished on one side & I have some gouges on the other side to hone out (that I did when I was a kid). Dad's Dad got these stones from his Dad when he went to work summers in the family iron foundry as a patternmaker. They were used for chisels and plane knives, and only later as razor hones. I have a couple of cheap razors on order & can't wait to try them with my newly flattened old stones.

As I recalled, Grandpa used a mix of mineral oil and ATF on these stones. Since I now have nice clean surfaces, should I use water or oil?

 

[SliceOfLife]

I’m on my phone, so not sure but that looks like a washita from here. Use it with oil.

 

[David]

I’ll second Washita. Definitely use oil.

 

[kcb5150]

I was told that my new stone might be a PDSO. What say you?

Looks a lot like this brick I have