Question about Frictionite 00

[gumbo]

So I just picked up another 00, this time for less than half of what I paid for the first, as it was filthy and needed a lot of work to get out some chips...but it's done now and actually came out very nice. I have a question though.
The first 00 I bought had a green felt pouch, with red trim (right side of picture). The stone itself is a tan color on one side (finisher, at least 10k, fast cutter) and greenish/brown on the other (second picture shows other side of stone, coarse, about 4k and wicked fast cutter)

The stone on the right, my old 00, had most of it's "American Hone Company" ink knocked out by a chisel or something like that, but you can see on the short side the remnants of the marking.

Now the new stone I just picked up came in a light green suede pouch, marked "No. 00 FRICTIONITE". The stone has an etched "American Hone Co" on the long side, and an indelible ink "*No 00 Frictionite*" on the other long side. Even more weird, one side is a lighter brown and the other a slightly darker brown, but still more tan. The light brown is the finisher, and the slightly darker brown the faster cutter, but I think a little higher than 4k, probably more like 6.

I know that American hone company moved from Olean NY to Moravia Iowa in 1950...but I'm not sure if the company changed designs at that time (and colors) or which stone is older, or really anything related to why they are at all different. I particularly like the pouch of the newer stone (the suede one)...it's much more durable - though it wreaks of cigarette smoke.

Any information would be great, and if you have a frictionite 00, which pouch is it contained in, and what colors are your stone?


Thanks.

 

[Disburden]

There's a very long thread on SRP somewhere about the frictionite hones. You may wanna search it out. I wish I could help but I haven't owned one of these yet, I hear they are excellent.

 

[SliceOfLife]

Tan with dark flecks and a clay color with a little grey/black character to it if memory serves. Sold them a couple years back.

Easy way to tell is to lap it. The **** is about as hard as diamond. I wore out dozens of belts and spent MANY hours on a 220 DMT to remove a relatively minor dish from one. Unquestionably the hardest sharpening stone I had ever held by a LONG way.

That said, those both look pretty clearly to be 00's.

Your guesses on grits sound about right to me. I found the dark side to be 5-6kish and the light side in the 9-11k ballpark. I didn't find either side especially fast, but the level of polish on it is definitely a huge factor for that, given how hard they are (and therefore how little they will wear and glass over with use).

 

[life2short1971]

Here is one I had for a short time. It was unused when I got it or barely used. Anyway I decided to lap it and it was one of the hardest stones I have ever lapped. In doing so I made the surface so smooth it felt like it was doing nothing with my novice skills at that time. I wish I had never lapped it and I seem to remember it having a velvety feel too.