timwcic
"Look what I found"
Just found this in one of my boxes
Pike Label Thread Collection
- Thread starter Adamo22
- Start date
I'd bet a ton of us have much worse conditioned labels. i surely do.Oh what the heck, for the record, here is my other label ”No. 1 Quality” As you can see neither of my labels is anywhere near as pristine as some of the other ones in this thread. But I bet there is someone out there with labels in even worse condition!
View attachment 1356968
I won't post my Superfine as David has already posted one.
I won't post my Superfine as David has already posted one.
Nice! Do we know how many different grades of Pike coti there were...?
Here's a catalogue page that @RobbyC posted on another thread:
A couple of interesting things there which I've never seen pictures of I don't think; Pike-labelled Hindostan and Deerlick stones. Anyone got one...?
Also that Pike India and Turkish stones weren't labelled, which I assume was because Indias were oil-filled, and Turkish stones effectively were too having been transported in barrels filled with (olive) oil. And a label isn't going to attach to an oiled stone.
I have what I am reasonably confident is an old Pike Turkey Oil Stone. It's the only one I have that was found in the US, and is a little different to my others; cut to a perfect 8x2 and with a finer, more homogenous grit, which I imagine is something to do with proper American quality control. Obviously unlabelled, but here it is FWIW:
A couple of interesting things there which I've never seen pictures of I don't think; Pike-labelled Hindostan and Deerlick stones. Anyone got one...?
Also that Pike India and Turkish stones weren't labelled, which I assume was because Indias were oil-filled, and Turkish stones effectively were too having been transported in barrels filled with (olive) oil. And a label isn't going to attach to an oiled stone.
I have what I am reasonably confident is an old Pike Turkey Oil Stone. It's the only one I have that was found in the US, and is a little different to my others; cut to a perfect 8x2 and with a finer, more homogenous grit, which I imagine is something to do with proper American quality control. Obviously unlabelled, but here it is FWIW:
timwcic
"Look what I found"
timwcic
"Look what I found"
I've had two turkeys just like that one (perfect 8x2 cut) that I resold on eBay (honestly yours might be one of them if it came from PA). Both came from the UK originally. Frankly 90% of the stones I have looked twice at for the past ten years have been out of the UK. Those imperialists of the last three centuries were taking everyone's art and sharpening stones.
That doesn't rule out pike though. UK and America did a ton of business in the 19th and early 20th century. UK has more ultra-old Washita's than the US. Wouldn't surprise me if they were buying turkeys from Pike too.
That doesn't rule out pike though. UK and America did a ton of business in the 19th and early 20th century. UK has more ultra-old Washita's than the US. Wouldn't surprise me if they were buying turkeys from Pike too.
Wow, that Pike-labelled lily white looks translucent. Can you provide a shot of it next to a lamp to see how translucent is?
Good spot! Yep that one's pretty translucent for a Washita, and quite hard/dense @ around 2.45 from memory.
I had to underexpose this picture otherwise it'd have been too bright, but second is a more 'normal' Washita for comparison:
Ah I'm not sure exactly where the previous seller was, though it wasn't sold as a Turkish to the guy I swapped it with I don't think, so possibly not one of yours (?)
I'd guess Pike Turkeys were ones that had come via the UK and the successors to the Turkey/Levant Company, just a hunch though. Interestingly all of my other old Turkish stones were dirty old stones found in Aus, which certainly would have come from Britain back in the day. And it's notable how much more often they seem to come up there than in the US, which certainly ties in with the history of them being replaced by Washitas very quickly in the US market.
Thanks for the pix! I'd love to see it in person. I have a similarly-labelled lily white from the era and it doesn't have that translucent glow that yours does. All the same, when smoothed, it does have the same "molten" feel that translucent Arks have when lapped fine. A great one-two progression. Always made me think that lily whites and translucents were in some way related, and your example comes pretty close to confirming this.
So that's what the rest of that stamp looks like! Does it have any on the ends?
This picture was on my phone, it looks different now a little closer to yours than a no.1 but every time I use it I can't believe how fine it is. By far the finest washita I've got. Id put it easily at 8k but it's insanely fast. Much faster and finer than my others. I should put a razor on it.
timwcic
"Look what I found"
WOW! Didn’t know that was there. First time out of the box. I normally pass on India Stones but the labeled box and stamp are in such good condition for early 20th century, I could not pass. It’s also the first time I seen the round “Sharp And Quick” stamp together with the Pike Label. At the same time don’t normally look for those. Also have a Washita and Trans Ark in about the same size
timwcic
"Look what I found"
A few more from B-Hone land
This is not my stone, but I really liked the photos. The backlit green label is sweet and the detail on the fish is quite good.
Here's something you don't see every day - a stone originally labeled "No. 1 Washita" that was relabeled "Lily White"! Not pretty, but certainly unusual. No, this is not my stone. I came across the photo while shopping the internet...
Another to add to Tim’s collection of BHs... the Pike ‘Handihone’. Box is a little tatty but the stone itself has barely been touched, so I might try to recondition at some point. Dunno if I’d have much use for it though...
Use it for axes or chisels. Good barber hones are usually valued by lumberjacks and timber men.
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